Abstract

The rapid growth of American prison populations has had a strong impact on the growth of prison gangs. These gangs have flourished because increased crowding, longer sentences, and the increasing violence of drug crime have helped create a more violent prison environment, which in turn has made gang membership relatively more attractive.

A simple, two-part model of population dynamics can be used to analyze the nature of the choices that lead some prisoners to join prison gangs when others do not. This analysis is supported by economic utility theory, which offers further insight into the choice facing a prisoner not yet in a gang. Social Ecology theory offers an alternate means of analyzing prisoner behavior. The model and the two theoretical frameworks together can help evaluate the potential effectiveness of different prison policies aimed at controlling prison violence, prison gangs, and enhancing the social protection function of the United States penal system.