The situational explanation

• The situational explanation and the deprivation model received support from the research findings of McCorkle (1995).

  Examining 371 US prisons the study found that situational factors such as overcrowding, lack of privacy and the lack of meaningful activity all contributed to prisoner violence towards other inmates and staff.
• David Wilson set up two units for violent prisoners which reduced these variables
• David Wilson used the knowledge of the deprivation model and its proposed variables that increased aggression such as noise and overcrowding to set up two units for violent prisoners which reduced these variables. For example these wings were less claustrophobic, less prison-like in appearance. Prison noise was also reduced and masked by music from a radio station and temperature was also controlled and cooled. The results found that assaults on other prisoners and staff were almost eradicated which provides strong support for situational variables as the cause for prison violence.
• Adjusting the prisons like this raises other ethical and moral issues as well as issues of justice. Prisons are designed to be a punishment for dangerous offenders and adjusting them to make them “pleasurable” goes against their purpose. Many people, particularly victims would feel justice is not being served if prisoners are allowed such adjustments just so staff and other prisoner lives are improved at the expense of justice.