Riots in Prison

AbstractPrison riots are a high profile and destructive threat to the ability of corrections officials to maintain control over their facilities. While early theories of prison riots focused primarily on the social context and relationships in prisons affected by riots, more recent theories have focused on the role of prison leadership in preventing the development of conditions conducive to riots. The development of theories focusing on the role of prison management in preventing riots coincided with a significant decline in rioting in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which followed on the heels of significant episodes of correctional violence in the 1970s and 1980s. Contemporary correctional management seeks to mitigate the likelihood of riots by promoting organizational cohesion and consistency in response to correctional incidents and disturbances.