Increased Violence in Arizona Prisons

Today’s awareness level inside Arizona prisons has drawn serious concerns by those employees with boots on the ground inside these volatile workplaces. Arizona legislators must be prepared for increased violence because the administration has not fulfilled its obligation to provide sound prison management in those areas that are in dire need of attention to detail and effective prevention methods. Recent mass “fighting” has brought indicators of racial unrest within the agency and more violence is expected as moving those identified perpetrator to a higher custody level does not resolve the outstanding problem that remains on these lower custody yards.

Arizona must admit they are at a rough point in their ability to manage current prison dynamics. Reactive strategies are putting employees at risk as well as public safety. Please understand my reasons for writing this article as it is only meant to help and prevent prison violence, harm to employees, and destruction of state property as well as the safety of inmates. It is not meant or designed to be an adversarial relationship but rather an informative one to avoid a potential crisis.

Delaying the necessary action to be taken to avoid such violence could harm those in harm’s way and will only allow more violence to occur. Failing to address the issues will create vast chasms of miscommunication and mistrust between the central office admin and local facility administrators. The result will be procrastination and hesitation to act. Central office admin has maintained they are in complete control of the situation however; evidence within these prisons illustrated conditions to the contrary as security is not sufficient to be vigilant and enabled to pick up intelligence that pre-warns the admin of any future problems on those prison yards. Yard security is totally depended on responding resources from other units leaving those sending units exposed to their own dangers.

It is suspected the recent racial tensions will draw more and more inmates together in a common bond to reject administrative efforts to further change the way things are related to reducing violence, gang and drug activities, reduction of programs and other factors causing idleness and boredom among them throughout the state.

The greatest danger exists when these different races combine with collusion to resist or protest current administrative efforts to deny the shortage of staffing for their own protection purposes, delays in medical and mental health care, high telephone costs and prices at the commissary, poor food service and interrupted visitation or other privilege related activities. It is predictable that the unusually warm weather could mean an early start to the fighting season because the hot weather often tests the inmate’s ability to withstand the heat and the tension that exists inside prisons today since the HVAC has been deficient for years now in every state prison that exists.