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Paper 4 (15%) -Case Study: Prison Threat Groups (Gangs)
Background: The growth of prison gangs and the increased violence and illegal enterprises that result from that growth has resulted in new interest regarding prison threat groups control strategies and a renewed vigilance for the potential violence
and disruption of civil society from prison gangs. Prison gangs have proven to be a rich breeding ground for terrorist recruitment (radicalization) as well as a serious corrections problem that saps fiscal, personnel, and physical facility
resources from correctional systems.
All correctional administrators must address the threat of such groups in the
facility, which encourages further study of this important criminal justice
issue.
Assignment: The objective of this assignment is to
select for study one (1) of the prison threat groups listed below that
currently operate in the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation.
Aryan Brotherhood
Mexican Mafia
Develop an essay and ensure that the following topics
are discussed and documented in this essay:
1. Define the
terms that will be used, such as prison gangs or security threat groups,
etc. Do not use a generic
dictionary. Use peer reviewed, refereed,
or academic journals or use definitions provided by governmental web
sites. These definitions should be
direct quotes with proper citation and references. Keep in mind that the APA format for a
governmental web site differs from the format for a journal reference.
2. Provide
background information including the history and development of this group
including:
The history and development within the state you have
chosen to investigate (California). For
example, there should be a detailed section concerning the history and
development of the specific gang you select in California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation. Pay
particular attention to the dates and location of the gang’s inception.
Include specific dates, locations, and inmate names
whenever possible.
Include a discussion describing the membership
characteristics, gang goals, mission, reason for the group’s existence,
etc. This is a good issue to use peer
review journals in addition to the departmental web sites for
documentation. Avoid web sites with no
authors, etc. because there is no way to confirm or challenge that data. You will note this prohibition in the
syllabus. Discuss each element in some
detail; do not just list issues. For
example, if you discuss a goal or process, include as much information as
possible about the purpose of the goal or process, etc. DO NOT WASTE SPACE RETYPING THEIR OATH, ETC.
That is also merely a waste of space. Instead, discuss the fact that there is
an oath, if appropriate, and the purpose of the oath, etc.
Evaluate the degree to which this group is a threat to
that prison system and provide concrete examples of the threat.
Discuss the specific strategy used in California to
identify and control gang membership and activity. Identify the names of their programs, names
of their specific databases, departmental organizational design (chain of
command) of any specific gang units, etc.
Be specific in their approach to gang control. Name specific gang units and refer to
specific policies and procedures.
Include in the discussion some summary of the effectiveness of the
strategy being discussed.
3. Discuss a
variety of options and strategies used by the following states to control and
contain threat groups:
Texas
Florida
Identify the
names of their programs, names of their specific databases, departmental
organizational design (chain of command) of any specific gang units, etc. Be specific in their approach to gang
control. Name specific gang units and
refer to specific policies and procedures. This will require some research in
the department’s web site and publications.
4. Finally,
arrive at a conclusion as to whether the current strategy is working in
California and provide any alternative approaches that have a proven track
record in the comparative states you selected that California should
consider. Include in the conclusion and
discussion of the merits of either continuing the current approach (such as
statistics on membership decline, etc.) or the advantages of using specific
alternative strategies.
To this end, the instructions for this assignment
follow:
Students are to use library resources to find at least
three peer review, academic or refereed journal articles (or other reference
documents once this minimum requirement is achieved) which can be used to
identify and validate the history and characteristics of the selected threat
group, definitions of threat groups (gangs), or the variety of strategies
implemented to contain and control threat groups in a prison environment. It is also recommended that you document the
management approach from the web site and rules and regulations of the agency
you are studying as well as possible statutes implemented to assist in gang
control. One of the purposes of this
assignment is to develop the student’s ability to do graduate level research on
this topic. The essay must be a minimum
of five complete pages of text. In
addition to the required number of 3 peer reviewed, academic or refereed
journals required in this question, students may additionally use resources
(studies, statistics, etc.) from the
U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of Justice Programs, the Bureau of
Justice Statistics the National Institute of Corrections and National Gang
Crime Research Center (NGCRC) for applicable studies and data. You may not use an abstract or any
subheadings in your essay. The title
page and the reference page(s) do not apply to this minimum requirement. This is an exercise in academic research, graduate
level thinking and academic writing ability.
Do not discuss jail gangs at all in this essay. This essay is focused on prison gangs which
may be quite different in operation and controls from a jail system. The laws governing detention facilities can
be quite different from a prison that houses convicted felons. Do not discuss juvenile gangs in this
essay. This course focuses on adult
corrections.
The following elements should be included in your
essay’s rhetoric (Remember not to use any subheadings! These are identified merely to assist you in
developing a framework for your response).
Cover page: Include the title of the paper, your name,
class title and date of submission.
Please see the sample essay provided in the Course Content for
additional assistance. Remember not to
use an abstract!
Introductory paragraph(s): Make an introductory
statement about the topic of your paper and what threat group you intend to
examine. These first paragraphs should
provide the purpose of your paper (the thesis).
This is also an excellent place to define your terms such as prison
threat group, prison gang, etc. Avoid
using generic dictionaries to define terms.
In addition to academic journals, federal research sites can be useful
here where definitions are often included in their studies.
Rhetorical content: discuss the history of the group
Include a discussion of the strategy employed by California to identify
membership and to control gang activity.
What strategies does the research of the other two other specific states
recommend and to what degree have they been effective? How do they differ and where have the
competing strategies been ineffective?
How do you measure program success for an intervention program such as
this?
Conclusion content:
This paragraph(s) is based on your research. Based on your analysis of the threat group,
the articles and their conclusions, and information regarding the efforts of
the jurisdiction under study, what are your conclusions as to the solutions
currently in place? Can you provide a
viable alternative if you are not satisfied with the status quo? Remember not to have a subheading of
“Conclusion” etc. Just move
right into the final discussion and let your rhetoric carry the day. Your choice of wording will make the
conclusion clear to the reading. The
better your writing, the clearer your conclusion will be to the reader.
Reference Page: References must be correctly cited on
a separate reference page in perfect APA format.
