Where do Incarcerated People Feel Most Unsafe?: An Analysis of Location-based Perceptions of Safety in Two Minnesota Prisons

• In Event: Safety and the Consequences of Imprisonment

Abstract

Research at the neighborhood-level has revealed that perceptions of safety are influenced not only by individual characteristics, but also by the interaction between these characteristics and specific locations. Although corrections literature has examined the relationship between perceptions of safety and demographics, there has yet to be research on the degree to which these perceptions are concentrated in particular locations within a facility. This presentation will use data collected as part of a project funded by the National Institute of Justice to implement and evaluate an enhanced video surveillance intervention in correctional settings. The Urban Institute conducted a survey of 222 men incarcerated in two Minnesota prisons, which included questions about their perceptions of safety in different areas of the prison (e.g. “the showers,” “cells,” “the rec yard,” etc.). Using this survey, we offer findings from an analysis of self-reported perceptions of safety in relation to specific locations and individual characteristics (e.g., age, race, sexual orientation, number of prior incarcerations, time spent in current housing unit, etc.). We also draw from semi-structured interviews we conducted with staff in the two prisons to supplement and explain our survey findings.

Authors

• Bryce Peterson, Urban Institute

• Mathew Lynch, Urban Institute

• David Leitson, Urban Institute

• Grant Duwe, Minnesota Department of Corrections