When a person is introduced to the jail, they are given more than the “required” treatment.
Prisoners are degraded throughout their stay, and in every aspect of the jail from the jail itself to the people, you interact with within the system. To start this process of degradation, it begins with the police officers and the arrest itself. When arrested, officers are in the process of removing people from whatever environment they are in. This can be in their home, workplace, or even in public where their friends, family, coworkers, or even strangers are witnessing the events taking place. If a person is less experienced with the arresting process, they may tend to joke around or even resist officers. This can lead to tougher tactics.
All these situations can cause humiliation and increase the amount of degradation a person may feel. Next, when a person is introduced to the jail, the degrading feeling increases. People are exposed to the jails “rituals” of being searched, stripped, bathed, sprayed, and their personal property being taken away from them. This experience continues when the prisoners enter the tanks. Officers do not really care about the individuality of each prisoner and jail routines make it impossible to maintain physical appearance and health. This entire process seems to degrade the appearance of prisoners. Additional degradation can come from arresting officers, deputies, and even in the courtrooms. They are wanting to make the “rabble” feel punished for the actions they have committed.
