Abstract

TRAJTENBERG, Nicolás  and  SANCHEZ DE RIBERA, Olga. Prison violence. Definition, assessment and explanation. Rev. Cien. Soc. [online]. 2019, vol.32, n.45, pp.147-175.  Epub Dec 01, 2019. ISSN 0797-5538.  https://doi.org/10.26489/rvs.v32i45.6.

Prison violence is a fundamental problem for all prison systems in the world. It compromises the human rights, security, and integrity of the lives of the inmates and prison officers, affects the effectiveness of programs, recidivism and economic costs in society. Despite its relevance, prison violence has been little studied and the scarcity of studies becomes particularly serious in contexts where knowledge is more necessary. The objective of this study is to revise the specialized literature on violence in prisons to discuss its most relevant conceptual and methodological problems. Firstly, the violence definition problem in the penitentiary settings will be discussed. Secondly, the main challenges when attempting to measure the phenomenon will be examined. Thirdly, we will revise different theories and explanations of violence and alternative models. Finally, we make some conclusions regarding challenges for future research.

Keywords : violence; prison; assessment; theories.

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