Serious, Violent, and Chronic Prison Misconduct: Are the Predictors the Same for Women and Men?

• Author: Matthew W. Logan,Joshua Long,Matt DeLisi,Andrea R. Hazelwood
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00328855221139855
• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Date: 01 January 2023

Serious, Violent, and

Chronic Prison

Misconduct: Are the

Predictors the Same for

Women and Men?

Matthew W. Logan

1

,

Joshua Long

2

, Matt DeLisi

3

,

and Andrea R. Hazelwood

4

Abstract

Inmate misconduct is a focal concern among those who live and work in pri-

sons, and is committed primarily by a few offenders with discernable back-

grounds. The current study examines the most prolific rule violators (the

top 1 and 10%) among a large sample of inmates housed across Ohio correc-

tional facilities. We focus on the characteristics that predict membership

into these categories and whether differences in their rates of occurrence

exist between males and females. Findings show more similarities than differ-

ences between groups. Implication for theory and practice are discussed, as

well as suggestions for future research.

Keywords

institutional misconduct, prison, prison violence, gender

1

Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA

2

University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MS, USA

3

Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

4

Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Matthew W. Logan, Texas State University School of Criminal Justice & Criminology, 601

University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA.

Email: mwl39@txstate.edu

Article

The Prison Journal

2023, Vol. 103(1) 23–44

© 2022 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855221139855

journals.sagepub.com/home/tpj

Introduction

On March 23, 2021, at the Anamosa State Penitentiary in Iowa, two male

inmates serving 50- and 25-year sentences, respectively, murdered a correc-

tional officer and nurse, and nearly murdered another inmate during a

failed escape attempt. The perpetrators, both with extensive criminal

history, currently face prosecution for two counts of first-degree murder,

attempted murder, and kidnapping. Although the prevalence of extremely

violent incidents such as this is relatively rare in correctional facilities, the

event underscores the significant challenges of maintaining institutional

security and safety in American prisons where nearly 5,000 inmate homi-

cides, inmate suicides, and staff homicides have occurred since 2001

(Carson & Cowhig, 2020). Data from the National Institute of Justice

further shows that inmates injure approximately 2,000 correctional staff annu-

ally, while the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports a fatality rate of 2.7 per

100,000 full-time correctional staff—40% of which are inmate-related

(Brower, 2013). Evidence-based assessment of offenders in prison who are

most likely to engage in serious and violent institutional misconduct is there-

fore critical. Ascertaining the correlates of who are the most antisocial and

noncompliant inmates also informs a diametric purpose; namely, understand-

ing the correlates of compliant inmates who are unlikely to engage in institu-

tional misconduct, and who are potentially the best candidates for release via

parole, sentencing modification, or COVID-19 mitigation.

Maladaptive Behavior in Prison

Early penological studies, which employed a structural perspective that high-

lights the assorted deprivations and institutional norms of prison life (e.g.,

Clemmer, 1938; Fox, 1958; Garabedian, 1963; Hanks, 1939; Sykes, 1956),

also show the variance with which inmates adjust to prison, engage in rule

violations and other institutional misconduct, and threaten institutional

order. Although this body of scholarship indicates that most prisoners

adjust relatively well to confinement, comply with vocational, treatment,

and educational programs, and generally pose little threat to the functioning

of the facility, a small cadre of inmates exhibit significant adjustment prob-

lems. Whereas the former inmates appear to be in the process of rehabilitation

to prepare for release, the latter appear unwilling to desist from criminal activ-

ity (Adams, 1977; Coe, 1961; Drury & DeLisi, 2010; Trulson et al., 2011).

This pattern is evinced in the now-classic 1976 documentary Inside San

Quentin, where an unnamed prison psychiatrist poignantly explained the

culture of violence in that facility:

24 The Prison Journal 103(1)