the underground economy is real in
prison and people who don't understand
it can get into a lot of trouble
there's actual inmates that create their
own store and you would see guys with
these huge necklaces filled with money
and i would think where did they get
this money hustling is taking place 24
hours a day in prison guys in there were
getting killed getting robbed like they
would on the street an inmate with a gun
another appears to be shooting up heroin
all caught on video they found 14 cell
phones nine chargers
you used to get off a dozen in a cell a
couple of because the ocean just wedged
the door up and just have a party online
say come and get us copper christmas eve
2021 wasn't exactly a normal day inside
for one group of brazilian prisoners
instead there were scenes that looked
more like a stag do than a grim festive
period behind bars
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clearly the inmates based at a men's
lockup in guyana a city in northeastern
brazil had put some careful planning
into making the best of a bad situation
leaked mobile phone footage shows a dj
and two female dancers hired for the
night's entertainment though prison
authorities launched an immediate
investigation questions remain
smuggling in drugs smartphones and
scrappy pieces of contraband is one
thing but people
the prison economy is a strange thing
wherever you are in the world
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prison life has its own informal economy
and when it comes to economic inequality
being inside isn't always so dissimilar
to the outside world they're still the
people who represent the haves as well
as the have not
naturally there are a few key
differences commodities usually take the
pace of cash as the dominant currency i
realized that there was a world inside
this world one dollar was like a value
of 20
valuable resources can be traded in kind
of for favors and influence it's
practically like unbelievable the stuff
that you can purchase with food tobacco
tinned food toiletries anything that
might make the boredom and squalor of
prison life that little bit more
bearable it makes economic sense
anything non-perishable easily traded
and packed into standard units is ideal
what became currency was believe it or
not
ramen
was a noodle ramen is big business
inside out of necessity rather than any
great love of cheap dried noodles you
gotta have it there's
you're gonna starve if you don't cuts to
the number and quality of meals over the
years have created an obvious problem in
u.s prisons
ramen and other kinds of long life food
can help plug the gap and help mark an
inmate's status
you can tell how well a man's doing
financially by how many suits he's got
in his locker
plus ramen can also make a nasty weapon
they would wet it and wrap it with
newspaper it hardens you know when you
you have a dry piece of fruit or
something it gets so hard that it gets
to a point where you start sharpening it
and it creates a shank where you insert
it in somebody and he could break it in
cigarettes are old news toiletries and
tinned fish are where it's really at
food seasoning also serves as a
lucrative side hustle for enterprising
inmates working the kitchen detail basic
staples like black pepper and chili
powder are too easily weaponized in
fights to be readily available at the
canteen that's why the kitchen is such a
coveted job especially if someone is
looking to exploit and take advantage of
the rules you could sell just about
anything that comes out of that kitchen
you know and there's people that live
off that though maybe it isn't quite
right to ignore tobacco's enduring
appeal at least in the uk inflation
bites even inside and the costs have
ballooned over the last decade
in part due to an often ignored smoking
ban inside prisons
in late 2021 a single packet of
cigarette papers worth 59p in an
ordinary shop was worth five pounds at
least in one staffordshire prison one
inmate even demanded four pounds for a
strike of a match
rolling tobacco worth 12 pounds 50 in a
supermarket trades for a thousand pounds
in several jails across the country
drugs form another cornerstone of the
prison economy it's hardly news that
jails around the world are awash with
narcotics first time i took it i smoked
it like a spliff and the guy said yeah
that's a big mistake for those who fall
into depth with their dealers the
consequences are often severe with
beatings and worse a very real threat i
mean there's men quite frankly they get
raped
they get killed
the last decade has seen an explosion in
the prevalence of spice the synthetic
cannabis alternative
it's potent addictive and often leads to
crippling prison debt what might be
cheap and nasty outside is a very
different beast in h p the smooth
working of the prison economy can be
crucial in reducing tensions
in the autumn of 2021 ghanaian
ex-prisoner tete taye took to the radio
to talk up the importance of weed in the
country's jails
the authorities he claimed were well
aware of the booming trade and often
turned a blind eye
the system required a steady supply to
inmates who needed it to keep them in
good spirits
without it violence often rises the
ghanaian press recently reported several
cases of prison guards bringing in
indian hemp which was then sold on to
prisoners who in turn could sell it to
fellow inmates
the prison economy isn't so different
from that in the outside world
money talks where there's a well there's
generally a way even behind bars media
reports suggest at least one employee
was sacked for his part in the brazilian
christmas party while three inmates have
been transferred to other institutions
according to embarrassed authorities the
investigation is still ongoing
you