TY - JOUR
T1 - Culture in prison, culture on the street
T2 - the convergence between the convict code and code of the street
AU - Mitchell, Meghan M.
AU - Pyrooz, David C.
AU - Decker, Scott H.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute of Justice [2014-MU-CX-0111].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Midwestern Criminal Justice Association.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The convict code guides behaviors, beliefs, and interactions of incarcerated people by encouraging them to mind their own business, never back down, keep to themselves, and not get too close with correctional officers. Within communities, a similar subculture exists, termed the code of the street, which values respect, toughness, autonomy, and anti-police sentiments. Despite the overlap in their themes, these cultures have been theorized and analyzed independently. Yet, with 600,000 people entering and leaving prisons annually, it is possible that these seemingly distinct cultures blend together through the transition of people into and out of prison, raising theoretical and empirical questions about their independence. We examine the overlap between the convict code and code of the street in a representative sample of prisoners. Our results indicate that the code of the street and convict code are moderately correlated (r = 0.368 to r = 0.591), although the code of the street indicator overlaps mainly with the convict code dimension for masculinity. A sizeable group (47%) of individuals held converging beliefs regarding these two constructs. Convergence was explained primarily by years in prison, prison misconduct, gang membership, and neighborhood quality. Implications for an integrated model of culture are discussed.
AB - The convict code guides behaviors, beliefs, and interactions of incarcerated people by encouraging them to mind their own business, never back down, keep to themselves, and not get too close with correctional officers. Within communities, a similar subculture exists, termed the code of the street, which values respect, toughness, autonomy, and anti-police sentiments. Despite the overlap in their themes, these cultures have been theorized and analyzed independently. Yet, with 600,000 people entering and leaving prisons annually, it is possible that these seemingly distinct cultures blend together through the transition of people into and out of prison, raising theoretical and empirical questions about their independence. We examine the overlap between the convict code and code of the street in a representative sample of prisoners. Our results indicate that the code of the street and convict code are moderately correlated (r = 0.368 to r = 0.591), although the code of the street indicator overlaps mainly with the convict code dimension for masculinity. A sizeable group (47%) of individuals held converging beliefs regarding these two constructs. Convergence was explained primarily by years in prison, prison misconduct, gang membership, and neighborhood quality. Implications for an integrated model of culture are discussed.
KW - Prison culture
KW - code of the street
KW - convict code
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U2 - 10.1080/0735648X.2020.1772851
DO - 10.1080/0735648X.2020.1772851
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85086912515
SN - 0735-648X
VL - 44
SP - 145
EP - 164
JO - Journal of Crime and Justice
JF - Journal of Crime and Justice
IS - 2
ER -