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Document Type: | Book |
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All Authors / Contributors: |
James B Jacobs |
ISBN: | 0226389774 9780226389776 0226389766 9780226389769 |
OCLC Number: | 1079865260 |
Description: | xvii, 281 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm |
Contents: | 1. The search for a stable equilibrium, 1925-36. -- 2. Emergence of personal dominance, 1936-61. -- 3. Challenge to institutional authority, 1961-70. -- 4. Emergence of a professional administration, 1970-75. -- 5. Intrusion of the legal system and interest groups. -- 6. Penetration of the gangs. -- 7. Transition of the guard force. -- 8. Overview : restoration and beyond. -- Appendix 1. Participant observation among prisoners. -- Appendix 2. Tables. |
Series Title: | Studies in crime and justice. |
Responsibility: | James B. Jacobs. |
Abstract:
The author presents the first historical examination of a total prison organization--administrators, guards, prisoners, and special interest groups. Jacobs applies Edward Shils's interpretation of the dynamics of mass society in order to explain the dramatic events of the past quarter century that have permanently altered Stateville's structure. With the extension of civil rights to previously marginal groups such as racial minorities, the poor, and, ultimately, the incarcerated, prisons have moved from society's periphery toward its center. Accordingly Stateville's control mechanisms became less authoritarian and more legalistic and bureaucratic. As prisoners' rights increased, the of the staff were sharply curtailed. By the early 1970s the administration proved incapable of dealing with politicized gangs, proliferating interest groups, unionized guards, and interventionist courts. In addition to extensive archival research, Jacobs spent many months freely interacting with the prisoners, guards, and administrators at Stateville.
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