Street Gangs behind Bars

This paper reports on a participant observation study carried out at Stateville Penitentiary, a maximum security prison, during the summer of 1972. The social organization of the prison has been a topic of frequent sociological attention. Efforts have been made to explain “inmate culture” and the often referred to “inmate code.” Contrary to the traditional structural-functional explanation for inmate organization which focuses upon situational variables, this analysis supports the Irwin-Cressey (1964) position that much of what has been termed inmate culture is actually imported from outside the prison. The most significant reality behind Stateville's walls is the existence of four lower class Chicago street gangs which have brought into the prison their street activities, hierarchies, rivalries, and ideologies. The purpose here is to describe the social organization which has emerged as a result of this phenomenon and to relate this development to the traditional literature.