The Inmate Code (sometimes referred to as "Convict Code") refers to the rules and values that have developed among prisoners inside prisons' social systems.[1] The inmate code helps define an inmate's image as a model prisoner. The code helps to emphasize unity of prisoners against correctional workers.
This code highlights the reasons why "rehabilitation" is often so difficult to achieve.
In New Jersey, Gresham Sykes performed a study in prisons and refined the code as follows:[1]