Hierarchy of positions in prisons
In prisons for men, there is a set order of positions. In a male prison system, this means that there are roles that inmates either choose to play or are forced to play. In these roles, there are people in charge and people below them. People have found and grouped prisoners in different ways, and Schmalleger made a typology of inmate roles in male prisons based on “actual social roles found among prisoners in prison.” () The 13 inmate roles are: (1) The real man, (2) the mean guy, (3) the bully, (4) the agitator, (5) the hedonist, (6) the opportunist, (7) the retreatist, (8) the legalist, (9) the radical, (10) the colonist, (11) the religious inmate, (12) the punk, and (13) the gang-banger. In a prison for men, it looks more like a hierarchy.
Female prisons are quite different than male prisons. Not only in how they are built, but also in how they are put together socially. Schmalleger and Smkyla (2021) say that there are differences in how the buildings look, like how clean and where female prisons are located compared to how rough male prisons are. They also say that women in prison create a “substitute universe” and “keep an identity” because of the way the prisons are set up. They talk about how relationships are encouraged and how the roles people take on depend on things like personality, personal dependence, etc.
Because male inmates have a lot of facilities and opportunities that aren’t available in female prisons, these structures have an effect on the problems that female inmates face while they are locked up. “Treatment, education, recreation, and other programs in women’s prisons have often been criticized as being worse than those in men’s prisons,” Schmalleger and Smkyla (2021) write (Schmalleger & Smkyla, 2021). Because there aren’t enough programs and there are too many people in the prison, it’s harder for women to get better. I think that correctional institutions can do more to help both male and female inmates deal with these problems. Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember those who are in prison as if you were in prison with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering yourself.” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Heb. 13:3) This teaches us and makes us more likely to want better treatment for prisoners, especially if there are programs to help them get better. When it comes to treatment, education, opportunities, etc., women in prison will find it harder to figure out how to be better if they are treated worse than men. We should pay close attention to that.
For correctional institutions to meet the special needs of inmates, they must first learn and use the right ways to find inmates with special needs and act accordingly. The Handbook on Prisoners with Special Needs says that “public health policies and strategies must include the needs of prisoners, and prison health services must have enough money to meet the needs of prisoners with mental (and physical) health care needs.” (UNODC, 2009) This is very important for young people because if psychologists and correctional agencies can find out about special needs earlier and then address them, they will be better able to help. It is very important to meet these needs so that people who are in jail can get the help they need.

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