Cellmates share a prison cell due to overpopulation in prisons. They can be aggressive towards each other and must be evaluated before sharing a cell. Problems arise, including fighting, gang activities, and the spread of diseases. Rewards for good behavior help reduce illegal activity and overall prison population.
Cellmates are two or more people who share a jail or prison cell for a specific amount of time. This can last as little as a few minutes in a cell like a drunk tank, or up to a lifetime together in a prison cell. Cellmates are needed in the prison system simply because there isn’t enough room in prisons for there to be a cell for every inmate.
The term cellmate is composed of the words cell and mate. A cell is simply a small room, like in a prison, but it doesn’t have to be in a jail or prison. The word mate implies that there is some kind of amicable existence between these partners, but that need not be the case. Because cellmates can be aggressive towards each other at any time, they must be evaluated by corrections officers before being placed in the same cell.
Cell mates are not to be confused with prison mates. Prison mates differ in that they are in the same prison, as the name suggests, but they don’t have to share the same cell. Cellmates are needed mainly due to overpopulation of prisons, as there simply aren’t enough prisons or cells for there to be a prisoner for every cell. Many problems arise naturally due to cell sharing.
The biggest problem found among the cell mates in prison is the fighting. It’s hard enough for two people to live in such close quarters when they’re not in custody. Other problems have arisen as a result of cell sharing, including gang activities, the spread of HIV and other communicable diseases, the distribution of contraband, and drug use. Rewards for good behavior become necessary to help keep the peace between cellmates and to reduce the amount of illegal activity in prison. They also help reduce the overall prison population as the best thing an inmate can receive for good behavior is time off their overall prison sentence.
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