How Prison Dog Programs Challenge the Racial Code in Correctional Settings and Beyond

ABSTRACT

As the governing principle of prison dynamics, the racial code is sacrosanct due to the risk of violence that can result if its norms are violated. The setup of these racial arrangements appears immutable, but previous research finds prison-based concepts of race can be temporarily “suspended” during work assignments. This study is the first to draw upon in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated participants of prison dog programs (PDPs) in a way that not only contributes to the limited body of literature about the racial organization of incarcerated people, but finds that PDP participation results in elemental changes that de-stabilize these racial identities in a lasting way. Specifically, narratives from participants describe how lived experiences in the PDPs lead to internal and interpersonal shifts that dismantle racialized constructs and move toward a humanizing, empathetic view of others. Ultimately, this study finds that changes resulting from participation in the PDP contribute meaningfully to long-term, successful reentry.

KEYWORDS:

• Prisons
• rehabilitation
• reentry
• race
• prison dog programs
• qualitative

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank graduate research assistants Ali Millette, Seth Adam, Elise Titiner, Claire Mosier, Melody Reichard, and Megan Hevey for data transcription, and Alissa Neubauer, Basak Didem Meral, Madeline Whitley, and Chelsea Ernst for their assistance with coding.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Following Infante et al. (2023) we use more humanizing language to describe incarcerated people and use the term prison code instead of convict code.

2. CA runs one of the nation’s largest prison systems, practices “what might be termed a de facto policy of racial segregation” (Goodman, 2008, p. 736), and “has one of the worst prison gang problems in the nation, and is the birthplace of many of the most violent prison gangs” (737).