SECURITY THREAT GROUPS

STUDENT NAME

AFFILIATION

PROFESSOR

SUBMISSION DATE

Security threat groups pose threat to safety of other inmates and are a concern for correctional administrators. STGs is considered a formal or informal group in most city state prisons ,but clearly definition is prison gangs who are clustered with more than two members in custody. The SGT is primarily gang members getting together upon parameters such as (gang history, purpose, involvement in illegal activities structure and composition) but due to concern the term gang is not used. This informal group of prison inmates are involved in various activities that contribute to disruption within facilities and are a constant security concern.

The prison system is used as a hub for either punishment for crimes against society, prevention of future crimes or rehabilitation. The prison inmates are incarcerated to prevent them from doing any harm to society (Roth, 2006). This has been the case but due to gang affiliations the correctional agencies have been having a difficult time maintaining their goal. According to reports there has been recurring threats and disruptive behavior that has resulted into gang crime or gang violence while in custody. SGTs are involved in illegal activities that increase and poses a threat to other inmates, staff, prison guards and the institution.

In the prisons they have been known to be involved in illegal activities such as murder assault and kidnapping. Due to their affiliation STGs are known to hold control over other inmates by threatening and instilling fear. STGs may be considered as large groups such as the Aryan brothers or the Texas mafia but smaller and less complex prison gangs pose a major problem around the country to prison administrators.

Groups within the correctional facilities are involved in controlled substance distribution not limited to the correctional facility. These groups affect society at large by enforcing their rules outside the boundaries of the correctional facility. Gang affiliated members put out instructions while still in custody and are considered more dangerous because of their power (Skarbek, 2014).

Street gang member get their instructions from incarcerated gang members and carry out gang violence as per instructed. This poses a threat to society with the increased gang wars and the supply of illegal substances in the streets. Kidnappings, assault and murder are a constant norm in regards to gang affiliated regions. Racial extremism is a racial conflict that spreads inside the prisons. Inmates are segregated to a particular racial group and protect their territory as a unit SGT (Skarbek, 2014). This type of criminals further carried out extortion rackets to individuals who feared the safety of their lives.

An STG example is the Nuestra family that was able to conduct and carry out death hits and drug deals in secured housing units. The family distracted law enforcements to their activities by forming a different SGT for administrators to focus on. This are the threats that SGT pose to correctional facility and the problem needs to be solved (Skarbek, 2014)

Measures have been considered while vetting the threats of Security Threat Groups. The most affected parties are the prison administrators since they are with inmates on a daily basis. Staff members should be trained on handling this types of incidences. Through gang awareness and gang recognition training, the staff will have an idea of how the groups operate. Staff programs should be implemented and increase in administrators should be enforced. In statistical terms in most prisons the number of guards is unproportioned to the number of prisons thus blind spots will eventually develop (Miller & Gaines, 2012).

Gang control strategies have been implemented over the past few years to control the threats. This has been done through organizational, legal and legislative means (Miller & Gaines, 2012). Probation is one such method as it helps the offender live in the community under supervision. This measure tries to rehabilitate and reintegrate the offender into the society with probability that he/she will not commit a new offense.

The most effective and commonly used method is suppression strategies .This focuses on reducing gang violence, and recruitment within the institution. This can be done by taking steps like placing violent convicts or gang leaders into solitary confinement .Suppression can also be done by putting up segregation units or isolating problem inmates and gang members in pods to restrict interactions with other members.

Reference

Skarbek, D. (2014). The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Miller, R. L., & Gaines, L. K. (2012). Criminal Justice in Action (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Roth, M. (2006). Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia (1st Ed.). USA: Greenwood Publishing Group.P.300-349