,ESOL,,,O, O, STRATEGIES -- ! AHD POLICIES I..@ t.@ BERT USEEM I"', CAMILLE GRAHAM CAMP %--- GEORGE M. CAMP Using close-up studies of eight prison riots, Resolution of Prison Riots gives readers an inside view of what these events are like. The riots examined include those that grabbed national attention--one in which over 100 hostages were taken and held for 11 days-- as well as lesser-known disturbances whose details are equally gripping. The book explores the conditions that precipitate disturbances, the course of events during the disturbances, and the aftermath and recovery on the part of the corrections agencies. At its heart, the book seeks to explain why and how these events occurred. Along the way, the authors explore issues related to conflict management, negotiations, the use of force, and strategies of administrative organization. The analysis offers practical and timely advice for those responsible for preventing and resolving large-scale disorders. The authors bring together broad theoretical insight concerning social conflict with a pen- etrating understanding of the operation of correctional institutions. Resolution of Prison Riots is a must not only for correc- tions professionals, but for everyone con- cerned about the difficult situation in which prison administrators and prisoners find themselves today. In addition, the book pro- vides an ideal introduction to sociological theories of collective action and conflict. Resolution of Prison Riots RESOLUTION OF PRISON RIOTS Strategies and Policies Bert Useem Camille Graham Camp George M. Camp PROPERTY OF National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NOJR8} Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 ~~- New York Oxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1996 Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Bombay Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Dares Salaam Delhi Florence HongKong Istanbul Karachi KualaLumpur Madras Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi Paris Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1996 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Useem, Bert. Resolution of Prison Riots / Bert Useem, Camille Graham Camp, George M. Camp. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-19-509324-0 1. Prison riots--United States--Case studies. 2. Prison administration--United States--Case studies. 3. Prison riots-- Prevention. I. Camp, Camille Graham. II. Camp, George M. III. Title. HV9469.U84 1996 95-32607 365'.641--dc20 135798642 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Acknowledgments This project was made possible by the financial support of the National Institute of Justice (Project Number 90-IJ-CX-0026) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Ms. Voncile Gowdy of the National Institute of Jus- tice helpfully saw the project through. The project was also made possible by the on-site corrections practi- tioners who opened many doors, and security gates, for us. Their com- mentary was forthright, insightful, and generous. Our every request for assistance and information was fulfilled. We would like to thank each by name but can not. One group we do wish to thank by name is the directors of the agen- cies in which we conducted the research. They were unreservedly helpful in providing information, both written and from memory. We gratefully thank Former Director J. Michael Quinlan, Federal Bureau of Prisons Former Commissioner Thomas A. Coughlin, New York State Depart- ment of Correctional Services Former Director Gary Maynard, Oklahoma Department of Correc- tions Former Director Samuel Lewis, Arizona Department of Corrections Former Commissioner Parker Evatt, South Carolina Department of Corrections Former Commissioner Joseph Lehman, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Former Director Richard Vernon, Idaho Department of Corrections Also, a number of individuals at the interview sites went above and beyond the call of duty in their assistance. Special gratitude goes to War- vi Acknowledgments den Kenneth McKellar, South Carolina Department of Corrections; Superintendent Gary Filion and Crisis Intervention Unit Director Rich- ard Roy, New York State Department of Correctional Services; Mr. George Miller, Idaho Department of Corrections; Superintendent Jeffrey Beard, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; Director Dave Miller, Oklahoma Department of Corrections; Regional Director Sam Samples, Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, Georgia; and Warden Roger Scott, Federal Corrections Institute, Talladega, Alabama. We also thank the directors of each correctional agency in the United States who answered a survey at the start of this study. Their responses provided a sample of disturbances from which to choose. Professor Mat- thew Silberman, Bucknell University, helped make available transcripts of testimony given to two state legislative committees inquiring into the Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, riot. We very much appreciate his effort. Mr. Jeffrey Dupont helped prepare the figures. The manuscript benefited greatly from comments by John DiIulio, Renie Dugan, Patrick O'Day, John Roberts, Patricia Useem, and especially Peter A. Kimball. David Gascon (LAPD) contributed indirectly but sig- nificantly to the final product. At Oxford University Press, editors David Roll and then Gioia Stevens helped see the project through. To all, a deep note of appreciation. Albuquerque, New Mexico B.U. South Salem, New York C.G.C. G.M.C. September 1995 Contents 1. Introduction 3 I. Protracted Riots 2. United States Penitentiary, Atlanta 11 3. Federal Correctional Institution, Talladega, Alabama 39 4. Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill 56 5. Mack Alford Correctional Center, Oklahoma 84 11. Contracted Riots 6. Coxsackie Correctional Facility, New York 107 7. Kirkland Correctional Institution, South Carolina 121 8. Arizona State Prison Complex, Cimarron Unit 131 9. Idaho State Correctional Institution 137 m. Conclusions 10. Before the Riot 149 11. During the Riot 162 12. After the Riot 185 Notes 193 Index 213 Authors' Note We wish to express our special appreciation to Renie Dugan, Research Associate at the Criminal Justice Institute, for her commitment to the publication of this book. Involved in the project from beginning to end, she contributed significantly to the quality of the final product and we are deeply indebted to her for her persistence and thoroughness. Resolution of Prison Riots 1 Introduction It would seem that a prison should be less subject to riots than any other sort of place. Elsewhere--on the public streets, in the city squares, in shop- ping centers, at sporting events--people are free to discuss, initiate, and (to an extent) organize riots. Masses of people not previously known to the authorities may congregate and move about as they please; the police are constitutionally barred from taking many actions that might impede riots from developing. In prison, the situation is different. The very purpose of the institu- tion is to restrict and regulate the behavior of its inhabitants. The courts respect the authorities' comparatively broad powers to restrain movement and restrict speech. Authorities are permitted to know and to regulate the inmates' locations, associates, and activities at all times. The inmates' personal histories are known to the authorities. They are free to classify inmates, disperse them, group them together--in short, place each in the setting in which his or her behavior can most easily and most certainly be controlled, whether it be a work camp in a remote forest or a fortress of stone and steel. The greater the inmate's inclination to defiance, the more intense the regulation can be. And yet prison riots are chronic. Two dozen or more times every year inmates seize and hold territory within prisons. In the course of the riot they may capture hostages, make demands, destroy property, or attack one another. Some of these disturbances last no more than an hour or two, some 10 days or more. These riots occur even, indeed especially, in those units where regulation is tightest and physical constraints are supposed to make riots impossible. 4 Introduction Prison riots are also costly to all involved. The tab for a single riot can exceed $100 million. The suffering imposed on the hostages can not be measured in money. Inmate perpetrators may have years of prison time added to their existing sentence. Inmate nonparticipants may lose work and program opportunities, or themselves be victimized during the riot. This book is about reducing those costs, by avoiding violent distur- bances; preparing to meet them; taking action to prevent the small inci- dent from expanding into a full scale riot; limiting the extent or damage of riots in progress; and terminating riot situations in the least costly fashion. Be]ore the Riot The importance of advance preparation in all its guises can not be over- stated. The superior force that the state can muster after the riot has begun is no substitute for effort made in advance to maintain the institution's physical setting and the morale of its staff. It is the preexisting situation within the prison that is likely to determine