Putting Out Fires: Understanding the Developmental Nature and Roles of Inmate Gangs in the Philippine Overcrowded Jails

• Author: Raymund E. Narag,Sou Lee
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X17744726
• Date: 01 August 2018
• Published date: 01 August 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17744726

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2018, Vol. 62(11) 3509 –3535

© The Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X17744726

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Article

Putting Out Fires:

Understanding the

Developmental Nature

and Roles of Inmate

Gangs in the Philippine

Overcrowded Jails

Raymund E. Narag1 and Sou Lee1

Abstract

Utilizing intensive interview data from inmates in one of the most overcrowded and

underresourced jails in Metro Manila, Philippines, this article explores the origins

and roles of inmate pangkats (a derivative of gangs) in jail management. Responding

to institutional deficiencies, such as police misconduct and court case delays, and

structural shortages, such as lack of space, operational resources, and personnel,

this article investigates how the pangkats supplement jail management and help keep

the jail operations afloat. Specifically, this article documents how the pangkats put

out fires: their intricate roles in mitigating pains of imprisonment, conflict mediation,

order maintenance, and instilling discipline among their members. This article also

details the emergence of a give-and-take relationship that develops between and

among the pangkats and jail officials that are reflective of the Philippine sociocultural

realities. Implications to theory on prison community and policy on gang management

in a developing country context are discussed.

Keywords

shared governance, Philippine jails, inmate pangkat, prison gangs, prison communities

1Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA

Corresponding Author:

Raymund E. Narag, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 4224 Faner Hall SIUC, Carbondale,

IL 62958, USA.

Email: rnarag@siu.edu

744726IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X17744726International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyNarag and Lee

research-article2017

3510 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 62(11)

Introduction

In the United States and other developed countries, inmate gangs are commonly

viewed as negative facets of jail and prison management. Studies do suggest that jail

and prison facilities with established gang presence are more likely to be violent, drug

prone, and difficult to manage (Camp & Camp, 1985; Carlson, 2001; DeLisi, Berg, &

Hochstetler, 2004; Fleisher & Decker, 2001; Pyrooz, Decker, & Fleisher, 2011;

Skarbek, 2014). Individual prison gang members are more likely to engage in miscon-

duct (Gaes, Wallace, Gilman, Klein-Saffran, & Suppa, 2002), participate in violent

acts (Griffin & Hepburn, 2006; Ingraham & Wellford, 1987), involve in drug use and

trade (Skarbek & Freire, 2017; Valdez & Sifaneck, 2004), and instigate a host of other

negative outcomes (Irwin, 1980; Winterdyk & Ruddell, 2010). Inmate gangs are

believed to propagate beliefs that undermine the authority of jail and prison staff

(Camp & Camp, 1985) and lure first-time offenders to become hardened criminals

(Dooley, Seals, & Skarbek, 2014; Fleisher, Decker, & Curry, 2001; McShane, Williams,

& Dolny, 2003). Inmate gang members also undermine rehabilitative programs (Colon,

2004) and promote racial tensions in the jail and prison systems (Ross & Richards,

2002). As such, in the United States and many developed countries, inmate gangs and

their members are usually classified as security threat groups (STGs) that needed to be

controlled and managed separately from the general population inmates (Carlson,

2001; Fong & Vogel, 1995).

In the United States, official estimates pegged gang membership between 3% and

15% of the inmate population (Camp & Camp, 1985; Gaston & Huebner, 2015; Knox,

2000; Winterdyk & Ruddell, 2010). This relatively low number could be attributed to

the repressive policies implemented against STG formations. Despite this low preva-

lence, however, inmate gangs account for around 50% to 80% of all jail and prison

infractions (Camp & Camp, 1985). This virulent existence has necessitated the devel-

opment of inmate classification and housing policies that attempt to identify, segre-

gate, and control the existence of gang members while serving time in jails and prisons

(Pyrooz et al., 2011; Winterdyk & Ruddell, 2010).

Majority of the studies on inmate gangs are conducted in the United States and

Western developed countries, where jail and prison resources are more plentiful, at

least compared with the developing countries (Birkbeck, 2011; Darke, 2013; Martin,

Jefferson, & Bandyopadhyay, 2014). These gang studies emanate from context of rela-

tive affluence, and where criminal justice institutions generally follow the rule of law

but with a punitive and managerial bent (Feeley & Simon, 1992). In Western devel-

oped countries, custodial personnel-to-inmate ratio hovers around 1:3, housing accom-

modation standards are generally met (such as cell and living spaces), and overall

daily necessities are provided (such as food, medicines, toiletries, and other basic

needs; Birkbeck, 2011). Security equipment, such as CCTVs, automated metal bars,

biometrics, and wall sensors are routinely in place, especially in higher security set-

tings (Birkbeck, 2011). In addition, though not without their own problems, police

officers in the Western developed countries are generally professional and efficient,

leading them to arrest and detain suspects who are likely to have committed crimes