Shanks are one of the most dangerous weapons in prison that are indeed handmade by inmates to attack or injure other inmates, even prison staff. These are usually made to stab or slice the skin, but a puncture would be considered a more effective killing mechanism in prison.
Until now, shanks cannot be completely eliminated from prison; they can instead be limited, in which case the prison plays an important role. Living in prison means you need to be prepared for all the consequences, including the threat of shanks from other inmates.
The number of shanks made by inmates secretly with the intention of self-defense could become a real threat in plain sight. One day, these shanks might hurt you. Even though it’s hard, you may have to develop your mindset to survive Shanks’ attacks. Let’s learn how to avoid Shanks’ attack below!
How to Survive Shanks’ Attack in Prison?
An inmate could be attacked by others at any time, but particularly when prison tension builds among them. Self-defense from shanks’ attacks is one of the encouragements that underlies the inmate to make shanks. In other words, inmates protect themselves and defend against shanks attack with shanks again.
Shanks are prohibited for use in prison; the answer is, “How to avoid shanks to keep alive in prison?” It might be hard for inmates but it’s still possible since not all inmates produce shank, indeed only certain inmates.
Usually, inmates who make shanks are the ones who have problems with other inmates, in other words, there is pending violence between them. Even if you do not have any problems with other inmates or alliances, you still need to build a survival mindset in prison.
To survive in prison without Shanks, you need to accept that you may be a target of Shanks’ attacks. Planning and preparing for this is a must for you. Keep in mind that you can fight back even when you are hurt.
You also need to adopt the mindset that you can survive. You can also imagine being in that danger, so you can know how you will actually respond. In this case, the fight-or-flight reaction is such a natural human response to things that are life-threatening.
Many inmates try to take visualization training to condition their minds to respond to life-threatening incidents. In addition, one of the best ways to defend against any attack in prison, including Shanks’ attack, is by maintaining a constant state of situational awareness.
Shanks’ attacks are commonly performed in an ambush style. Even though you cannot control this on your own path, you can at least control the way you respond. It’s better for you to make yourself a hard target for Shanks’ attack by always expecting the unexpected.
Building an alliance with other inmates is one of the most effective ways to fight people with shanks on. After that, you can further learn how to defend yourself along with them. Being kind and humble toward other inmates could be a plus for you. Last but not least, you may have to stay alert and avoid dangerous situations as much as possible.
How to Stop the Use of Shanks in Prison?
It’s pretty hard for correctional facilities to stop the usage of shanks since it is impossible to deprive everything that can be used to make shanks, such as toothbrushes, combs, papers, etc. Instead, correctional facilities can limit the potential lethality of available materials with items such as “shank-free” cleaning mops made of plastic rather than wood and metal.
In addition, the corrections staff must focus on detecting the presence of weapons and precluding their use. Of course, it should have a constant state of awareness within the institution via the maintenance of an intelligence culture, including the ongoing supervision of phone calls, emails, and outside visits. They also need to keep on top of what is going on within the prison by assessing the climate among the inmate population.
The best way is for the corrections staff to perform unannounced searches of prisoners and their surroundings for weapons at every turn. They also need to check every inmate after exiting the kitchen, metal shops, and other areas in which lethal weapons can potentially be gained by using screwdrivers and kitchen knives.
Another way is to increase overall security and safety within a facility. It could be performed by monitoring the inmate and enhancing surveillance, as well as decreasing the perceived “need” for inmates to create weapons as self-protection.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
