Criminal subcultures affect most prison systems globally and their prevalence has been increasing in recent decades, particularly gangs. They constitute one of the biggest challenges to prison administrations, especially where they self-govern or share governance with authorities. They are formed as informal hierarchies under which rules and a code of conduct are created among groups of people in prison.
Although academic research on prison subcultures has mostly been limited to the US, recently there has been increasing attention globally due to highly publicised unrest and fatal gang violence in prisons (see Security and violence). New research published in 2022 explores the Numbers gangs that operate in South African prisons renowned for using their own language in prison called ‘Sabela’ and tattoos as a tool for identification, gang affiliation and level of authority. The research has offered an account of the detailed and elaborate hierarchical command structures within each of the three Numbers gangs as well as the ‘highly ritualised codes of conduct’ and induction rituals which are ‘driven using violence’.
Prison gangs are the most widespread form of prison subculture, operating much like gangs on the outside.
Studies available suggest a range of reasons as to the establishment and longevity of subcultures in prisons. These include absence of good governance, sharp increases in prison numbers, and overcrowding with limited oversight by prison staff. Additionally, shared social, religious and political values may also explain the consolidation and monopoly of prison gangs, as recent research showed in Kyrgyzstan, Brazil and Northern Ireland. Lack of access to basic necessities and safety, as well as tolerance by prison staff who actively use criminal subcultures to maintain order, have also been identified as drivers.
Prison gangs are the most widespread form of prison subculture, operating much like gangs on the outside. They often form along racial or ethnic lines and are usually organised around the protection of their members. There are currently more than 75 white supremacist prison gangs in at least 38 states in the US, according to research from 2022. In Chile, the Gendarmerie (prison service) reported 754 prison gangs in early 2022, of which one in five members are foreign nationals, mostly Colombians often detained for drug-related offences. Elsewhere, in Singapore, the Omega gang is made up exclusively of Malay-Muslim detainees.
Where gangs or subcultures are dominant, violence rates in prisons are high.
Wherever prison gangs gain firm control over the prison system, as seen in several countries across Latin America and Asia, authorities often secure perimeters only. For example, in Venezuela, civil society published findings in 2022 that eight of the country’s prisons were entirely controlled by ‘pranes’ (prison bosses), while criminal gangs had at least partial control of a further 15 facilities, meaning only 8 were entirely under government control. This situation is amid a background of high corruption levels, weak security systems, poor infrastructure, overcrowding, insufficient and undertrained prison staff, according to Human Rights Watch. In the Philippines’ biggest prison detaining some 30,000 people, staff rely on gangs for their leadership structures, and even become affiliated to the latter.
Where gangs or subcultures are dominant, violence rates in prisons are high. Authorities at Ksani Prison 15, in Georgia, frequently delegate tasks to leaders to maintain order and security among other detainees, resulting in different forms of violence among people in prison and often leading to further acts of violence and punitive measures. Gang leaders in some Brazilian prisons dictate everything in the detainee’s day-to-day life, from sleeping arrangements to orchestrating riots.
As is the case outside prison walls, prison gangs engage in a series of illegal activities such as the smuggling of contraband or extortion. In Colombia, currently the gangs who use extortion are predominantly operating from prisons. In June 2022, a gang of foreign national in prison in Chile sent videos to family members of other detainees being violently tortured, demanding up to €56 a day in exchange for their security.
In Georgia, because cash is not permitted in prisons, detainees who are at the highest levels of hierarchies have used commodities like cigarettes or online gambling platforms to collect ‘fees’ from other detainees (and their families). The ‘fees’ paid make up the socalled ‘Obshyak’ (common fund), which is used to control others under the informal rules set down and to pay for goods and services not available to others.
Prison gangs generally adopt self-policing strategies to maintain order and to develop and preserve protective social arrangements. Methods to consolidate power include violence and the threat of violence, but also ‘softer’ means such as promoting a sense of belonging and solidarity among the community in prison. For example, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) gang in São Paulo, Brazil, was able to gain its power by ‘supressing divisions and producing a cohesive and unifying identity’ among detainees by forcing other rival groups into submission. A study conducted in Moldova found that strong leadership enforcing informal rules contributed to a heightened perception of insecurity, resulting in threats and bullying.
Positively, in some Peruvian prisons, detainees organise themselves in brigades – one brigade per block, which is usually self-governed by an informal hierarchy – wearing different shirt colours depending on the services they provide (first aid, signalling emergency exits and evacuation routes, etc.).