Straight time: Inmates’ perceptions of violence and victimization in the prison environment

Although fear of crime among the public is well-documented, little attention has been paid to fear of crime within inmate populations. This gap in the literature is all the more surprising given the documented high level of violence in prisons. This paper presents results from a survey of 775 adult male inmates regarding their perceptions of violence in prison. Relationships between perception of the level of prison violence and individual background characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and prior criminal history are examined.