Who Are Some of the Most Respected Prison Inmates of Any Prison?

In prison, respect is something that is considered to be very important. This one has to be maintained. Violence may happen due to disrespect. Usually, prisoners may feel they have to prove that they are strong and not as weak as some may think. In some cases, they also feel that they need to do things even though they don’t want to. They are forced by harsh circumstances. If they follow what their heart says, there is no way for them to survive in the prison environment.

In a harsh environment like a prison, newcomers must establish who they are in the cultural hierarchy when they come to the correctional facility. This kind of hierarchy is based on two things. The first one is the crime the prisoner has committed and the second one is how the prisoner interacts with others.

Talking about cultural hierarchy in prison, a lot of people are curious about the most respected inmates in prison. So, who are some of the most respected prison inmates in any prison?

According to an article by Brian Palmer, mob kingpins, accomplished bank robbers, and cop killers tend to get the most respect. Prison Fellowship states that violent crimes such as murders and big-time robbery are respected among prisoners. Sometimes, these people are seen as heroes.

There is an interesting video on Youtube shared by Mainly Fact. This video called:

These Crimes Were Respected in Prison According to Former Prisoners

Basically, the video consists of a number of stories shared by former prisoners about crimes that are respected in prison. Here is the most respected crime or person in prison according to each story:

Story 1:

• Substantially violent crime
• “Smart guy” crimes
• A major drug player

Story 2:

• Stealing
• Making counterfeit money

Story 3:

• Robbery
• Assault on a policeman

Story 4:

• Murder
• Rival gang members
• Drug traffickers or dealers
• People on drug possession charges

Story 5:

• Not centered around one thing

Story 6:

• Charges without kids
• Those who don’t cooperate with authorities and snitch on others

Story 7:

• Gang members
• Killers

Story 8:

• Anything but child molesters, child murderers or abusers, rapists and sex offenders

Story 9:

• No crimes were really respected

Story 10:

• Bank robbery
• Murder
• Racketeering
• Hustles

Story 11:

• Graffiti

Story 12:

• Terrorism

Story 13:

• Murderers
• Drug crimes

Story 14:

• Fraud
• Drugs
• Affray
• Shoplifting
• Assault a police officer
• Beat abusive people

Story 15:

• Shooting white boys or any of that
• Those who commit violent crimes against the authority
• Shot callers
• Those who run shit on the outside or inside

Story 16:

• Those who kill someone in defense of their family or loved ones
• Bank robbers

Story 17:

• Anything aside from child rapists, child killers, etc.

Infographic of Prison Hierarchy: What Crimes Are Respected in Prison?

In correlation to the topic, there is a new article in the June issue of the Howard Journal of Crime and Justice. This one analyzes survey data collected by HM Inspectorate of Prisons between 2010 and 2019. It is to examine the responses of adult male prisoners of different ages and ethnicities on the extent to which they reported getting well-treatment from the staff. Anthony Quinn, Nick Hardwick and Rose Meek from Royal Holloway are the ones that conducted the research. Everything started from a feasibility study conducted by them in partnership with HM Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales to examine whether data archived by HMIP can be more accessible for research purposes.

According to the research, prisoners from non-white backgrounds were less likely to say they are treated with respect by staff. Aside from that, it also found that older prisoners of all ethnic backgrounds were more likely to say that they were treated with respect by staff. It is actually surprising that only 62% of blacks state that most staff treat them with respect within the under 21 and 21-29 years of age cohorts. However, the percentage for prisoners aged 70 years or over is 94%, which is the highest within the 70 years or over age cohort.

Furthermore, 62% of those from a Traveller community made a report that most staff treat them with respect within the under 21 years age cohort. It is the lowest or equal lowest in this age cohort. As for the 60-69 years age cohort, the percentage of Traveller prisoners reporting getting good treatment from the staff is 82%. It is down to 57% for those aged 70 years or over. However, only 12 prisoners were included in this cohort.