Competing for Control
Gangs and the Social Order of Prisons

'This fascinating book takes readers inside the prison system and explains how it operates on a day-to-day basis.' E. Smith, Choice

‘Overall, then, this is a theoretically strong, well-written, and insightful book, which will no doubt become a key text for criminologists and penologists in the years to come.’ Dev R Maitra, British Journal of Community Justice

‘This study will long stand as a tour de force in this field – for four important reasons. First, there is no other study of gangs inside prisons that rivals theirs. Second, the public policy import of their research provides guidance for prison administrators in future programming that surely will produce worthwhile benefits in the enterprise of controlling prison gang violence. Third – and most important – future generations of gang researchers will view this book as a foundational body of research on prison gangs, in the same way that Thornberry and colleagues’ (2003) book was the first longitudinal study of gang membership from childhood into adulthood, and it inspired numerous other such studies. Fourth, Pyrooz and Decker utilized a rigorous study methodology.’ Buddy Howell, Criminal Justice and Behavior

‘The book stands as an exemplar of social science. Grounded in theory and the collection of data specifically suited to stimulate and test theoretical arguments, it hits on all pistons - generating knowledge about social order in general, social order in prisons more specifically, and then, still more specifically, gangs.’ Dan Mears, ACJS Today