Clemmer postulated that the variables affecting degree of prisonization are: socialization during pre-penal life, continuation of positive relationships outside of the penitentiary, affiliation with inmate groups with inmate groups, placement into small groups that are separate from the general population, and the duration of the sentence. In The Prison Community (1940; 1958), Donald Clemmer coined the word 'prisonization' and defined it as the process by which the psyches and behaviors of convicts were molded by the social and structural hallmarks of prison life.
‘Socialization in Correctional Communities’ discusses Donald Clemer’s process of prizonation. Prizonation is defined by Clemmer as, “the taking on, in greater or lesser degree, of the folkways, mores, customs and general culture of the penitentiary.” Clement saw prizonation as an illustration of more general pro- cesses of assimilation occurring wherever people are introduced to an unfamiliar culture. The result is an individual that is immune to a conventional value system. Degrees of prizonation in an individual can be examined to determine one’s adjustment to release. Prizonation is considered an incomplete concept because it only examines transmission of culture but it does not examine the culture of prison itself. Prizonation is upheld by the prison system process. One is stripped of identity and given a serial number to be identified by. Impersonality is present among the prison system and it supports prizonation. Clemmer postulated that the variables affecting degree of prisonization are : socialization during pre-penal life, continuation of positive relationships outside of the penitentiary, affiliation with inmate groups with inmate groups, placement into small groups that are separate from the general population, and the duration of the sentence. Clement conducted a survey to test an inmate’s rate of conformity to guard’s rules. The more conformity an inmate displays to the guards rules, the more the inmate has undergone prisonization. Clement reasons that no inmate can escape prizonation because of the exposure one faces to concepts such as inferiority, and understanding lacking basic needs. His survey was made up of hypothetical questions that analyzed if an inmate would conform to a guard’s general expectations. An example of one of Clemmer’s situations were: “Inmates Smith and Long are very good friends. Smith has a five-dollar bill that was smuggled into the institution by a visitor. Smith tells Long he thinks the officers are suspicious, and asks Long to hide the money for him for a few days. Long takes the money and carefully hides it.” If one were to respond to a situation in the way the guard would have liked, then they have conformed to the prison system and will most likely experience hardships adjusting to the outside world. The general results were that the beginning stage displayed low conformity during their first six months. The middle stage displayed the second highest rate of conformity. The last six month category displayed the most conformity.
This information in this source is from an old study in 1961 but the paper makes concessions for what the study leaves out. This source is a study on resocialization in prison. The study is credible and therefore it is good for research on resocialization. This is a scholarly article that I would cite. The author is a non profit organization that is there to help scholars so the authority is credible. This information is the most detailed account of resocialization processes in prison but it can not be assumed to repeat in every situation. This is non biased and the article stayed focused on the study and the results. Discussion of the results is backed up by the facts in the study.
Donald Clemmer Prisonization Of Veterans
Resocialization is when old behaviors are discarded because they do not fit a new social situation. Inmates are a group that faces resocialization. Clemmer’s term “prizonation” is an example of resocialization. Prizonation is taking on the norms of prison. Resocialization is prizonation because during the resocialization process, people unlearn non-useful habits and struggle to find habits that are beneficial. Clemmer’s survey is an in-depth analysis of resocialization in prisons. A concept from Clemmer’s analysis of prizonation that is interesting, in correspondence with the subject of resocialization, is that the degree of conformity to the previously occupied society will impact the adjustment period to the newer one.
Donald Clemmer Prisonization Of Women
Word Count – 624
Shanequa Ricketts
John Jay College
CRJ 425
Prof. Cheloukhine
Summer 2015
Abstract
Prisonization is a concept first introduced in 1940 by Clemmer. He defined it as the process of assimilation in prisons, where new inmates take on a less or greater degree of the customs, folkways, and the general culture in a penitentiary. Prisonization can be described in similar terms to those used by sociologists in capturing the processes of assimilation and socialization of communities at large. In the same manner people are assimilated to the customs and norms of a society, inmates must also assimilate themselves into the self-contained community they find in prison. They need to re-adjust from their normal lives and learn the new norms and rules, as well as the implied expected patterns of behavior since they are discordant from the societal values of a free world. Also referred to as the “inmate code”, this is the kind of behavior that is considered to be unacceptable in the free world but is encouraged, and rewarded within the prison walls.
In the United States of America, the jail culture has been referred to as out of control and unruly in most cases. There have been instances of gang control of prison activities through member inmates. There are also patterns of assimilation in the jails, especially bearing in mind that most of the people incarcerated are from different cultures most and countries. In essence, the