Prisoner On Prisoner Crimes

18 Pages 4535 Words

at the reason, the fact that most of the victims are men is the reason that I will refer constantly to male prisoners when discussing these issues.
When examining the issue of male rape in prisons, it is difficult to state any exact numbers, simply because no exact numbers exist. According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, most states do not keep statistics on male rapes within the U.S. prison system. Additionally, an article in the Prison Journal in 1997 stated that, “Although more than 69,000 New Yorkers currently reside in one of the 69 correctional facilities operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS), little information is kept regarding crimes committed in prison.” As a result of this lack of statistical data collection, these crimes that are so rampant within the criminal justice system can’t be quantified to a scientific certainty. However, that does not mean that they are not occurring. As a matter of fact, that Human Rights Watch report previously mentioned notes that, “Indeed, it has been estimated that as many as 70 percent of inmates are assaulted by other inmates each year.” While this number may not be exact or accurate, the idea that the percentages may even be close to this high is in itself alarming.
And, of course, the lack of statistical collection and analysis is not the only reason that many crimes in prison go unaccounted for. In addition to the lack of tracking of th
ese crime statistics, the simple fact is that many people believe that a large number of these crimes go unreported. In much the same way that abused spouses or abused employees do not report such abuse to the proper authorities; inmates often do not report attacks that they have been victims of. However, the actual numbers are not the issue. The issue is why do these crimes continue to happen at all?

The Problems
Legal recourse
There are many reasons why experts believe that crim...