“A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens, but by how it treats its criminals.” Fyodor Dostoevsky

“A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens, but by how it treats its criminals.”

Prisons are a place where criminals should be given punishments, and in the darkness of prisons, they should reflect on their actions. But in recent years, prisons have become radicalization centers for extremists. It has raised national security concerns globally. Radicalized criminals indoctrinate other inmates and organize their further violent activities within the penitentiary facilities. Michael Chiolo is an example of a victim of indoctrination. In 2019, he injured two prison officers, and when asked, he confessed his actions were due to the support of Cherif Chekatt, the perpetrator of the jihadist attack in Strasbourg on 11th December 2018. Radicalized in prisons and having contacts with terrorists, Michael is living proof that prisons are becoming hubs of radicalization. In other words, a place that was meant to contain violent activities is now strengthening the very threats.

Factors Leading Towards Prison Radicalization

Factors favoring prison radicalization can be understood through the ORFN framework, which stands for the following 4 major factors leading to prison vulnerabilities:

Failure of rehabilitation

Networking beyond prisons

Overcrowding and Vulnerability

Due to the increasing rate of crimes in penitentiary centers, there is overcrowding, and there is a scarcity of staff. Due to this, it becomes difficult to manage them. This creates a hierarchical system in prisons. The new inmates are forced to subordinate to the senior criminals. In this subordination, they have to follow the orders of the old rogues. In this vulnerable environment, the new inmates are influenced by those seasoned criminals and become extremists. Sometimes indoctrination occurs due to frustration and to seek a sense of recognition. In penitentiaries, inmates are socially marginalized; they don’t have any aim or job to do. This leads to inner frustration, and they seek to be recognized. Due to this, they become extremely vulnerable, which results in joining extremist groups raised in a restricted environment.

Influence of Radical Inmates

The radicalized criminals force their inmates to join their extremist networks. This........

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