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From 4/1952-9/1953 more prison riots occurred than during the preceding 25 yrs. The riots had a recurrent form: sudden flare-up of rebellion attended by violence and seizing of hostages. They usually begin with a few leaders plus active followers, often a large majority of prisoners do not participate at all. Among factors leading to riots are: (1) using an institution as a dumping ground for unstable, psychopathic prisoners; (;) overcrowding and enforced idleness accentuate tensions that simulate rioting among more stable prisoners; (3) the presence of a high % of teenagers and young adults provides energies and reckless abandonment which quickly ignites; (4) excessive idleness comes to demand some sort of relief; (5) pent up feelings of bitterness make up the emotional state in which most prisoners turn to rioting; (6) maladministration, political domination and lack of professional programs; and (7) the absence of prison industries organized on the pattern of a manufacturing concern. H. M. Trice,.