Prison Culture and Restorative Justice

Prisoners with Ties to Terrorism

Describe and Explain the unique challenges associated with the increase in prisoners with ties to terrorism and other extremist groups. Develop a plausible approach that prison administrators could implement in tackling some of the most significant challenges.

One of the challenges associated with the increase in prisoners with ties to terrorism and other extremist groups is the problem of preventing terrorist recruitment in correctional institutions (Hamm, 2007). Another challenge is that prisons can often be where inmates are first introduced to radicalization (Siegel et al., 2019). However, as Jones (2014) notes, it is not necessarily a given outcome that terrorist prisoners will recruit or radicalize others; in fact, a lot of it depends on the type of programs the prison has available. An additional concern is the culture of the prison and whether or not it is giving inmates the dignity they require in order to have a sense of fairness and justice (Burdett et al., 2018). This paper will explain the unique challenges associated with the increase in prisoners with ties to terrorism and extremism, and what a plausible approach for prison administrators could be in addressing these challenges.

The rise in prisoners with ties to terrorism or extremism is due to the fact that terror networks have grown as a criminal group around the world, and this has resulted in more inmates with terror ties. This means that in the closely cramped quarters of prisons today, there are more radical elements that can more easily spread their message of extremism, hate, violence, or radicalization. Yet, depending on the type of environment in which the terrorist inmate dwells, the likelihood of success in spreading extremism may be great or little (Jones, 2014). That is because the environment, the inmate culture, the extent to which a moral code exists among inmates, the nature of the prison regime, social obstacles, religious beliefs, and the basic needs of the inmates (and whether they are being met) will all play a part in determining the extent to which a message of terror can be spread (Jones, 2014). The fact is that many elements prime a person for radicalization: it is not simply exposure to the ideology of a terrorist that turns one into a radical; rather, there is a groundwork that is first prepared by years of neglect, prior beliefs or convictions about society or religion, whether the individual has any morality (and what type of morality it is), and so on. These factors will play a part in the decision to embrace terrorism. Understanding how these factors impact an inmate can be important for a prison administrator.

Administrators have to be conscious of the fact that in their prisons there is now a greater risk of terror transmission and the spread of extremism. This risk exists because prisoners with ties to terror are now more common than ever before: 9/11 and the wars that followed have helped to perpetuate a terroristic mindset across cultures. It is not just a matter of Islamic radicalism; any culture or ethnic subgroup can be radicalized. The solution is to identify the factors that enable the virus of radicalization to infiltrate and spread.

Recruitment and radicalization represent some of the challenges associated with inmates with terror ties; a plausible approach that prison administrators could implement in tackling these challenges is to focus on promoting an inmate culture and prison culture that focuses on equity, justice, fairness, and ensuring that the human needs of inmates are being met. This is where having the right programs in place can really help administrators reduce the risk of recruitment and radicalization.

Prison inmates need to feel that they still have their human dignity: if they do not feel that they are respected or that their community is respected, they are more likely to operate out of a sense of anger and injustice; they are more likely to respond favorably to an inmate who preaches extremism. On the other hand, if prison inmates feel that their voices are heard, that their needs are met by the prison regime and the administration, they are less likely to be sympathetic to extremist voices. They will feel empowered already, and will not need the voice of extremism to lead them to a type of fulfillment or promise of fulfillment.

That is why administrators adopt a practical approach to establishing a positive culture of corrections (Burdett et al., 2018). The idea behind this approach is to give the inmates a positive sense of self-worth and to truly focus them on rehabilitation. They can implement restorative justice programs where inmates are given opportunities to work in the community outside of the prison walls and thereby develop a better sense of their connection to the community. This is a good step toward helping to prevent the possible spread of radicalism, which has to have a ground of resentment and anger in order to fester and multiply. If administrators give inmates the chance to overcome any resentment they might have toward the community, they can effectively immunize the inmates against radicalization.

Mental health programs can also be made available to inmates so as to give them better access to health care, which is so often at the root of crime. If administrators do more to understand and appreciate the reasons offenders are incarcerated in the first place, they can take the proper steps to addressing their human needs, such as mental health (Siegel et al., 2019). By denying inmates access to mental health care, administrators unwittingly establish an environment that fosters a negative culture and spirit and that increases the risk of extremism and terrorism spreading.