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. Dur ...
) 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 strikes 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 camps.
Gulag uprisings
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Norilsk uprising, May 1953 – strike
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Vorkuta uprising, July 1953 – 66 killed
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Kengir uprising, May 1954 – 37 killed (Official Soviet figure), 500–700 killed (Prisoner provided figure)
See also
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Prison escape
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Walpole prison strike
Following a March 1973 prison officer strike, the inmates of Walpole state prison, a high-security facility outside Boston, ran the prison under watch of citizen observers for two months during a policy impasse with the prison officers' union a ...
Notes
{{Incarceration
Penal imprisonment
Riots
Prison-related crime