From our perspective (the perspective of people formerly incarcerated) the single most pressing problem in the prisons of the United States, and anywhere in the world where American prison officials are in charge, is that there is an ingrained, ongoing, self perpetuating organizational culture of racism, brutality and lawlessness. It is an organizational culture that is steeped in racism and sexism, considers itself elite and therefore above the law, and is protected — even, sometimes encouraged — by other sister state and federal agencies, including the judiciary.

This organizational culture is seen by those who work within the prisons as necessary to the survival and effectiveness of the institution. Violence and brutality are viewed as the primary ways in which people in these institutions gain respect and maintain control. In the prisons, guards say, "clubs are trumps," meaning the billy club they carry ultimately supersedes everything else and when all else fails it can be relied upon to restore or maintain order. Violence and brutality are endemic and are understood by all members of the institution to be vital weapons that are needed for institutional defense and to exert dominance and order.

…the hypocritical and contradictory approach taken by prison guards diminishes respect for law and order and, at some level, justifies other anti-social behaviors. There is an unspoken assumption in communities of color, where disproportionate numbers of its people are in prison, that prison guards, supervisors and administrators can not be trusted, will abuse their given state power, are racist, brutal and especially disrespectful to the very citizens they are sworn to serve, when those citizens are people of color or poor people. As entire communities now hold a distorted view of law enforcement — agencies that were established to protect and serve — this has, of course, limited their effectiveness, leaving urban communities more vulnerable.

Excerpted from a written statement submitted to the Commission