A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners.
Academic studies of prison riots emphasize a connection between prison conditions (such as prison overcrowding) and riots, or discuss the dynamics of the modern prison riot.Useem, B. (1985). Disorganization and the New Mexico prison riot of 1980. American Sociological Review, 50 (5). 677–688.Newbold, G. (1989). Punishment and Politics: The Maximum Security Prison in New Zealand. Auckland: Oxford University Press. In addition, a large proportion of academic studies concentrate on specific cases of prison riots.Colvin, M. (1982). The 1980 New Mexico prison riot. Social Problems, 29 (5). 449–463.Useem, B. and Kimball, P. (1987). A theory of prison riots. Theory and Society, 16 (1). 87–122.Dinitz, S. (1991). Barbarism in the New Mexico state prison riot: The search for meaning a decade later. In Kelly, R. and MacNamara, D. (eds.). Perspectives on Deviance: Dominance, Degradation and Denigration. Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing Company. Other recent research analyzes and examines prison strikes and reports of contention with inmate workers.
Prison conditions In the late 20th century, the analyses and conclusions presented to account for prison disturbances and riots began to shift and change based upon new studies and research. Initially, prison riots were considered irrational actions on the behalf of the prisoners. Nevertheless, there has been a shift in the form of explanation as external conditions like overcrowding are promoted by authorities as possible sources of causation.Ellis, D. (1984). Crowding and prison violence: Integration of research and theory. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 11 (3). 277–308.
List of notable prison riots The list does not include prisoner-of-war camps.
Event Date LocationDeath toll Notes Ref.Cooking Pot Uprising1846, July 1Penal colony of Norfolk Island, Australia4 officials killedNorfolk Island, Melbourne Argus, 14 August 1846, page 2. 1929, October 3 Colorado State Penitentiary, Cañon City, Colorado, United States 13 (5 inmates, 8 guards) A majority of the physical plant was destroyed during the riot. Battle of Alcatraz 1946, May 2–4 Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, United States 5 Kingston Penitentiary riot 1954, August 14 Kingston Penitentiary, Kingston, Ontario, Canada 0 Two-hour riot involving 900 inmates. Breakout attempt was foiled. Several buildings set on fire. $2 million in damages. 160 troops and a squad of police responded. 1954, September 22 Missouri State Penitentiary, Jefferson City, Missouri, United States 4 inmates 29 injured, including 4 guards Montana State Prison Riot 1959, April 16–18 Montana State Prison, Montana, United States 3 1958, July 31 Shita Prison, Harod Valley, Israel 13 (2 jailors and 11 inmates) The most deadly prison riot in the history of Israel. The prisoners, most of them were Palestinian Fedayeen, assaulted the prison's duty officer, took control of the armory, and fought against the police reinforcements who arrived to the scene in order to suppress the rebellion. The full story of Shita's prison riot, A scan from the Israeli newspaper Davar saved in National Library of Israel, August 8 1958 (in Hebrew) Pulau Senang prison riot 1963, July 12 Pulau Senang, Singapore 4 prison officers Kingston Penitentiary riot 1971, April 14 Kingston Penitentiary, Kingston, Ontario, Canada 2 inmates 1971, August 10 Idaho State Penitentiary, Boise, Idaho, United States 1 inmate 2 buildings destroyed, in March 1973 another riot that left multiple buildings destroyed. San Quentin 1971 riot 1971, August 21 San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, United States 6 Riot between Black Guerrilla Family and Mexican Mafia Attica Prison riot 1971, September 9–13 Attica Correctional Facility, Attica, New York, United States 43 1973, July 27 Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester, Oklahoma, United States 3 inmates 21 injured, 24 buildings were damaged and only 4 buildings were left usable. Over $25 million in damagesAugust Rebellion 1974, AugustBedford Hills Correctional Facility, Bedford Hills, New York, United States 0 Prisoners held 7 guards hostage and controlled parts of the prison for 2.5 hours. Twenty-five women were injured and twenty-four women were transferred to the Matteawan Complex for the Criminally Insane. New Mexico State Penitentiary riot 1980, February 2–3 Penitentiary of New Mexico, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States 33 Over 200 injured Welikada prison massacre 1983, July 25+27 Welikada Prison, Sri Lanka 56 (53 inmates and 3 officers) Fremantle Prison riot 1988, January 14 Fremantle Prison, Fremantle, Australia 0 Prisoners created a fire and 5 officers were taken hostage. The fire caused $1.8 million in damage and unintentionally prevented the planned escape 1988, July 20 Centro Penitenciario, Michoacán, Mexico 10 inmates 13 injured Atlanta prison riots 1987, November United States Penitentiary, Atlanta and Federal Detention Center, Oakdale, United States 1 250 injured 1989 Davao hostage crisis 1989, August 13–15 Davao Metrodiscom, Davao City, Philippines 21 (5 hostages and 16 prisoners) Leopoldov prison uprising 1990, March Leopoldov Prison, Leopoldov, Slovakia 1 inmate 40 injured (11 prison officers, 29 inmates) 1990 Strangeways Prison riot 1990, April 1–25 Strangeways Prison, Manchester, England 1 inmate 194 injured (147 prison officers, 47 inmates), 25-day prison riot Carandiru massacre 1992, October 2 Carandiru Penitentiary, São Paulo, Brazil 111 1990, June Robinson Correctional Institution, Enfield, Connecticut, United States 0 300 to 400 inmates set fire to the mess hall and gymnasium 1993, Easter Sunday Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Scioto County, Ohio, United States 10 (9 inmates, 1 officer) 1994, July 12 Robinson Correctional Institution, Enfield, Connecticut, United States 2 inmates 37 injured (35 inmates, 2 correctional officers) Prison Six rebellion 1997, August 9 Prison Six, near Atlit, Israel 0 The most famous case of a military prison riot in Israel, started by three imprisoned soldiers who demanded more humane treatment from the staff. The rebellion changed the military police's approach to its prison service sector and led to improvements in the physical structure of military prisons, as well as in conditions for both jail instructors and prisoners.Gili Cohen, 20 Years After Infamous Military Prison Revolt, Reform Still Proves Hard Sell in Israeli Army, Haaretz, September 13th 2017 Kalutara prison riots 1997, December 12 Kalutara, Sri Lanka 3 Bindunuwewa massacre 2000, October 24 Bindunuwewa, Sri Lanka 26 2001, May Centro de Cumplimiento Peniteciario, Iquique, Chile 28+ 150 injured 2002, January 2 Urso Branco prison, in Porto Velho, Brazil 40 2003, April 5 El Porvenir prison, La Ceiba, Honduras 69 2004, May 16 El Porvenir prison, La Ceiba, Honduras 86 inmates 2004, May 29–31 Benfica prison, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 38 2004, August 19 La Esperanza prison, San Salvador, El Salvador 31 24 injured 2004, December 17 Pul-e-Charkhi prison, Kabul, Afghanistan 8 (4 inmates, 4 guards) 2005, January Camp Bucca, Umm Qasr, Iraq 4 inmates 6 injured 2005, March 15 Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig, Philippines 23 (22 inmates, 1 officer) Almost all Abu Sayyaf members who rose up, including several leaders, were killed 2005, August Pavón Prison / Granja Pino Canada / El Hoyon, Guatemala 35 2006, February North County Correctional Facility, Castaic, California, United States 1 inmate 100+ injured 2006, February 26 Pul-e-Charkhi prison, Kabul, Afghanistan 7+ 2007, January 7 Apanteos jail, near Santa Ana, El Salvador 21 2007, December Santa Ana prison, San Cristobal, Tachira, Venezuela 30 inmates 2008, March 28 Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers, Live Oak County, Texas, United States 1 inmate 22 injured 2008, April 20 United States Penitentiary, Florence High, Florence, Colorado, United States 2 inmates A large scale race riot erupted between white supremacist inmates and black inmates, resulting in 2 deaths and 5 serious injuries. 2008, October 20 Cedes prison, Reynosa, Mexico 21+ 8 injured 2009 Ciudad Juárez prison riot 2009, March 4 CERESO state prison, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico 20 15 injured 2010, May 5 Santa Ana prison, San Cristobal, Tachira, Venezuela 8 3 injured 2011, October 15 Matamoros prison, Matamoros, Mexico 20 12 injured Altamira prison brawl 2012, January 4 Cereso de Altamira, Altamira, Mexico 31 13 injured Apodaca prison riot 2012, February 19 Apodaca, Mexico 44 12 injured 2012, May 20 Adams County Correctional Facility, Natchez, Mississippi, United States 1 guard 7 injured Yare prison riot 2012, August 20 Yare Prison near Caracas, Venezuela 25 43 injured 2012 Welikada prison riot 2012, November 9–10 Welikada Prison, Sri Lanka 27 40 injured 2013 Uribana prison riot 2013, January 25 Uribana prison, Barquisimeto, Venezuela 61 120 injured 2013 Palmasola prison riot 2013, August 23 Palmasola, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia 31 37 injured 2015, January 4 Brandvlei Maximum Correctional Centre, Western Cape, South Africa 1 inmate death, at least 6 injured Prison gangs attacked a warder, followed by retaliation from authorities. Kaohsiung Prison riot 2015, February 11–12 Kaohsiung, Taiwan 6 (suicide) Topo Chico prison riot 2016, February 10–11 Topo Chico prison, Monterrey, Mexico 52+ 12 injured 2016, July 19 Pavón Prison, Fraijanes, Guatemala 13 2016 New Bilibid Prison riot 2016, September 28 New Bilibid Prison, Muntinlupa, Philippines 1 4 injured Agricultural Penitentiary of Monte Cristo riot 2016, October 16 Agricultural Penitentiary of Monte Cristo, Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil 25 inmates 2017, January 1 Anísio Jobim Penitentiary Complex, Amazonas, Brazil 60+ 2017, January 2 Prison Unit of Puraquequara, Manaus, Brazil 10 2017, January 6 Agricultural Penitentiary of Monte Cristo, Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil 37 2017, January 8 Desembargador Raimundo Vidal Pessoa jail, Manaus, Brazil 4 2017, January 15 Natal State Prison, Natal, Brazil 27 9 injured 2017, February 1 James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, New Castle County, Delaware, United States 1 officer 2017, May 15 Buimo prison, Lae, Papua New Guinea 17 2017, June 7 Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig, Philippines 2 17 injured 2017, July 6 Las Cruces prison, Acapulco, Mexico 28 2017, August 11 Cedes prison, Reynosa, Mexico 9 11 injured 2017, October 11 Cadereyta prison, Nuevo León, Mexico 13 Lee Correctional Prison Riot 2018, April 15 Lee Correctional Institution, Bishopville, South Carolina, United States 7 2019, May 20 Vahdat prison, Vahdat, Tajikistan 32 Acarigua prison riot 2019, May 24 Police station cellblocks in Acarigua, Venezuela 29 19 injured July 2019 Cameroon prison riots 2019, July 22–24 Kondengui Central Prison and Buea prison, Cameroon Unknown Unknown 2019 Altamira prison riot 2019, July 29 Centro de Recuperação Regional de Altamira prison, Altamira, Brazil 62 2019, December 23 El Porvenir prison, La Ceiba, Honduras 18 Cieneguillas prison riots 2019, December 31 Cieneguillas Regional Center for Social Reintegration, Cieneguillas, Mexico 16 inmates 5 injured Cieneguillas prison riots 2020, January 2 Cieneguillas Regional Center for Social Reintegration, Cieneguillas, Mexico 1 inmate 5 injured 2020, March 8–9 Sant'Anna prison, Modena, Italy8 inmatesAccording to Modena's magistrature, all 8 deaths were caused by methadone and benzodiazepine overdose. The substances were looted from Sant'Anna's pharmacy.