Prisons as Total Intitutions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Prisons as Total Intitutions - Essay Example This process according to interpretations by Hassine and Abbott creates a subculture for the prisoners with behavioral ways, beliefs and values that though antisocial to the world outside are promoted and even rewarded within the institution of prison. The in-prison socialization helps in this adaptation process but will be severely damaging when the inmate is released to the real world society. Deprivation within the walls of the penitentiary in various forms causes loss of self-esteem in prisoners. It starts from the point of becoming an inmate. It is therefore desirable to introduce correctional policies to reduce the level of deprivation like allowing weekend leaves and conjugal visits as has been done to alleviate sexual deprivation. One way of reducing the prisonization is to involve the inmates in the management of the prison obviously excluding the administrative part. This will help in developing a reciprocal and balanced relationship of the prisoners with the prison administrators providing scope for mature handling of the situation. The real prisons do not, however, fully behave like a total institution of Goffman but in a manner demonstrated by Hassine and Abbott referring to the prisoners falling in line with the inmate sub