Summarised by Centrist
Sociologist Dr Jarrod Gilbert, in a study commissioned by Corrections, found that gang members wield significant power behind bars, creating a culture of fear and pushing inmates into joining for protection.
To counter this, the report suggests segregated wings for patched members to prevent them from dominating the general prison population.
One Corrections staffer admitted that gangs “run the jail,” while an inmate described them as the “biggest group of monkeys in the cage that dictate what is okay and what is not.”
Gang members rob vulnerable prisoners of nicotine lozenges and chicken dinners—highly prized for their protein content—and coerce others into illegal activities.
In 1983, only 4% of the prison population was voluntarily segregated. By 2023, that number had skyrocketed to 35%—more than a third of all inmates—because many prisoners fear for their safety. Gilbert suggests this shift is already creating “two prisons” within the system, and if segregation is inevitable, it should be done intentionally with a proper plan.
The report recommends formalised gang-only wings, balancing numbers within units, isolating key “disrupters” in 23-hour-a-day segregation cells, and training staff to better manage gang influence.
Gilbert argues that rehabilitation is difficult under any circumstances but becomes nearly impossible in a system where gangs have the upper hand.
