A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators,
prison officers, or other groups of prisoners.
Prison riots have not been the subject of many academic studies or research inquiries. The analyses that do exist tend to emphasize a connection between prison conditions (such as
prison overcrowding
Prison overcrowding is a social phenomenon occurring when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners. The issues associated with prison overcrowding are not new, and have been brewing for many years. Du ...
) and riots, or discuss the dynamics of the modern prison riot. In addition, a large proportion of academic studies concentrate on specific cases of prison riots. Other recent research analyzes and examines
prison strike A prison strike is an inmate strike or work stoppage that occurs inside a prison, generally to protest poor conditions or low wages for penal labor. Prison strikes may also include hunger strikes.
United States
At the national level, declares "en ...
s and reports of contention with inmate workers.
Prison conditions
In the late 20th century, the analyses and conclusions presented to account for prison disturbances and riots began to shift and change based upon new studies and research. Initially, prison riots were considered irrational actions on the behalf of the prisoners. Nevertheless, there has been a shift in the form of explanation as external conditions like overcrowding are promoted by authorities as possible sources of causation.
[Ellis, D. (1984). Crowding and prison violence: Integration of research and theory. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 11 (3). 277–308.]
List of notable prison riots
The list does not include
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...
s.
Gulag uprisings
*
Norilsk uprising
The Norilsk uprising was a major strike by Gulag inmates in Gorlag, a special camp mostly for political prisoners, and later in the two camps of Norillag TL Norilsk, USSR, now Russia, in the summer of 1953, shortly after Joseph Stalin's death. A ...
, May 1953 – strike
*
Vorkuta uprising
The Vorkuta Uprising was a major uprising of forced labor camp inmates at the Vorkuta Gulag in Vorkuta, Russian SFSR, USSR from 19 July (or 22 July) to 1 August 1953, shortly after the arrest of Lavrentiy Beria. The uprising was violently stopp ...
, July 1953 – 66 killed
*
Kengir uprising
The Kengir uprising was a prisoner rebellion that occurred in Kengir (Steplag), a Soviet labor camp for political prisoners, during May and June of 1954. Its duration and intensity distinguished it from other Gulag rebellions during the same peri ...
, May 1954 – 37 killed (Official Soviet figure), 500–700 killed (Prisoner provided figure)
See also
*
Prison escape
A prison escape (referred as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, or prison break) is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture t ...
*
Walpole prison strike
Notes
{{Incarceration
Penal imprisonment
Riots
Prison-related crime