Gangs exist in every U.S. prisons, and they tend to form along racial or ethniclines.

The influence of prison gangs form according to racial, ethnic, or even religious affiliation has become increasingly important as a means of perpetuating and preservingi n m a t e s u b c u l t u r e . I n m a t e s u b c u l t u r e s a n d g a n g s a r e a l s o p e r v a s i v e i n p r i s o n inten tionally, existing in countries such as Poland, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan. Many of this prison gangs have evolve elaborate social organizationand hierarchies of authority. In many respects, these gangs have taken the control of prisoners away from prison administrators. gangs create a network of members able toharm those who violate their code or who resist them. The penalties the formal prison system can inflict often pose less of a treat to individual prisoners than the dangers posed by gangs.H e r d i n g i n d i v i d u a l s i n c r a m p e d s p a c e s i s c r u e l a n d u n j u s t p u n i s h m e n t . Overcrowding is dangerous to help and to human life. It breeds diseases, breaks downdiscipline and exacerbates tensions. Having to fight for air and space 24 hours a daymakes prison, in words of inmates, a living death. Add dirty tap water, dingy toilets,substandard meals, gang war, poorly trained guards, favoritism, and you have a system built for punishment, not rehabilitation. This is not the enlightened approach to penology.I t i s a throwback to the 18 th century the treated prisoners as animals unfit to renew themselves and rejoin society.