A prison gang[1][2] is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system, that has a corporate entity, exists into perpetuity, and whose membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment.[3] Political scientist David Skarbekargues the emergence of prison gangs are due to the dramatic increase in the prison population and inmate's demand for safety. Skarbek observes that in a small, homogeneous environment, people can use social norms to interpret what behavior is acceptable, but a large, heterogeneous setting undermines social norms and acceptable behavior is more difficult to determine. Prison gangs are geographically and racially divided, and about 70% of prison gang members are in California and Texas.[4] Skarbek suggests prison gangs function similar to a community responsibility system. Interactions between strangers are facilitated because you do not have to know an individual's reputation, only a gang's reputation. Some prison gangs are transplanted from the street. In some circumstances, prison gangs "outgrow" the internal world of life inside the penitentiary, and go on to engage in criminal activities on the outside.[5] Gang umbrella organizations like the Folk Nation and People Nation have originated in prisons.[6]
^"We spoke to hundreds of prison gang members – here's what they said about life behind bars | Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine | University of Colorado Boulder". April 3, 2020.
^"White Supremacist Prison Gangs in the United States: A Preliminary Inventory" (PDF). adl.org. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
^Skarbek, David (2014). The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System. Oxford University Press (published July 24, 2014). ISBN 978-0199328505. LCCN 2013041577.
^"David Skarbek on Prison Gangs and the Social Order of the Underworld | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty". Retrieved April 12, 2017.
^Skarbek, David (November 2011). "Governance and Prison Gangs" (PDF). American Political Science Review. 105 (4): 702–216. doi:10.1017/S0003055411000335. JSTOR 23275348. S2CID 48293373. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2019.
^"Street Gangs — Chicago Based or Influenced, People Nation and Folk Nation". Florida Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on November 28, 1999. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
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