Prison Gangs

Prison gangs are often formally referred to as “security threat groups” or “disruptive groups.” Compared to street gangs, they are understudied criminal organizations. As is the case with many organized criminal groups, official definitions of prison gangs tend to be broad, typically defining one as any group of three or more people who engage in disruptive behavior in a carceral setting. Many prison gangs, however, have other, distinct characteristics, such as having formed or matured in adult prisons, being comprised primarily of adults, having a clear organizational structure that allows the gang to persist, and having a presence both in and out of prison.

Research on prison gangs has been sporadic and focuses primarily, though not exclusively, on the United States. The first studies of inmate life occurred in the 1940s and 1950s, and in prisons that did not have modern incarnations of prison gangs. Until the 1980s, only a few academics described the existence of prison gangs or, their precursor, cliques. The 1980s saw the first studies of prison gangs, notably Camp and Camp’s (1985) historical study of prison gangs within the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s and Buentello and Fong’s 1991 work that documented the foundation and evolution of prison gangs in the Texas prison system in the 1980s. These studies marked some of the first and last significant, systematic studies of prison gangs until the new century.

The 21st century brought renewed attention to security threat groups as scholars from a variety of disciplines, including sociology, criminology, and economics, engaged in the study of prison society and how inmate groups influence it. Some of these scholars introduced new methodologies to the study of prison gangs, thereby significantly increasing the available knowledge on these groups. Research on prison gangs has expanded to consider four broad categories: defining prison gangs and describing their formation and evolution; evaluating prison gangs’ organizational structure and governance in carceral and free settings; assessing the role of prison gangs on reoffending; and gauging how to control prison gangs both in and out of prison.