“Road” in thieves’ slang means prison mail. Despite the fact that the internal regulations of pre-trial detention centers and prisons prohibit inter-cell communication, it nevertheless exists. In thieves' jargon it is called "dear". There are several options for inter-camera communication, each of them has its own characteristics.
The understanding of a word in thieves' slang is only remotely related to its meaning in everyday life. The jargon "road" in prison is used to refer to various devices that prisoners use to pass notes, small objects and things to each other. Most often their size is determined by the “holster”. This is the name of the hole in the wall or the width of the grid cells on the cell windows.
Notes and letters in thieves' jargon were called "babies", and the authorities' appeals to prisoners were called "runs". According to the internal regulations, prisoners for installing inter-cell communication are subject to punishment, up to and including placement in a punishment cell. In practice, guards often simply pretend not to notice the “roads.” “Little things”, “runs”, things and objects sent by prison mail are called “cargo” in criminal slang.
The arrangement of inter-cell communication depends on the layout of the prison or pre-trial detention center, the material of the walls and ceilings, as well as the rules prevailing in them. Not every such closed institution allows for a “holstering”. Often prisoners have to look for alternative “roads” to communicate with other prisoners. For example, a rope telegraph. In slang it was called “horse”.
Specially trained prisoners are responsible for the operation of the prison mail.
In high security prisons they risk serious punishment. Most often it involves placing the prisoner in a punishment cell.
In addition to prison mail, prisoners use tapping to transmit information. This is the safest way to communicate between chambers. For this method of exchanging information, you need to know the prison alphabet.
The road through the "holster"
The connection of such a “road” is carried out through holes in the walls, floor or ceiling of the chamber.
This hole needs to be drilled. Drilling a “holster” is a very labor-intensive process. Sometimes prisoners have to drill into surfaces that are up to 1 meter thick. For this purpose, improvised tools are used, which prisoners call “toys.” They can be any household item, even a shoe support.
The prisoners carefully do jointing in the brickwork. A spoon is most often used for this. Its handle is used to scrape out the cement mortar between the bricks. The latter are removed and then installed in place so that no violation of the integrity of the wall is visible.
The location of the “holster” by prisoners is carefully masked from the watchful eyes of the guards, who periodically organize “shmons” in the cells.
In concrete floors, the “holster” is made at the joints of the slabs. To mask holes in whitewashed walls, plugs made from bread crumbs mixed with toothpaste are used.
When carrying out work on constructing a “holster” it is impossible to do without noise. Therefore, while one prisoner is drilling a hole, someone else is watching the guard walk along the prison corridor. The work is stopped when he comes close to the cell door.
Despite the prohibitions, many prisoners have smartphones and tablets, which they carefully hide from guards. The disadvantage of the “holster” is the inability to transfer things and objects along such “roads”.
Who lives under the bunk?
The prison subculture is built on a strict hierarchy. All prisoners are divided into “suits” or castes. At the top of the hierarchical pyramid there are thieves, also known as thieves. Next come the “men”. These are persons who have committed criminal offenses, but do not lead the life of a professional criminal, with its inherent prohibitions and requirements. At the bottom of the hierarchy are the “roosters” (“lowered”, “pigs”). These are prisoners who do all the dirty work and are also subjected to sexual violence by thieves.
Owners of “disrespected” articles (rape, seduction of minors, etc.), as well as those who touched the things that were omitted or themselves, can find themselves in this status.
The process of transferring to the “rooster” caste is often called “sending to the bunk.” It is accompanied by rape, after which the prisoner is forced to sleep on the floor under a bunk. He can leave there only with the permission of the thieves.
How does a “horse” work?
A “horse” in jargon is any rope that connects prisoners’ cells. The rules for keeping prisoners in pre-trial detention centers and temporary detention centers prohibit prisoners from having any kind of rope and belts in their cells. The guards are concerned that prisoners may use it to commit suicide or strangle their cellmates. This awakens the prisoners' imagination and ingenuity. They unravel threads from their clothes and use them to make ropes for the aerial “road.”
The advantage of such a prison telegraph is the ability to transmit through it not only “babies” and “runs”, but also small parcels in the form of a pack of tea or cigarettes.
Usually the “horses” are launched at night, when the vigilance of the guards is dulled. This is done so that the “horse” cannot be detected. In prisons with not very strict control, this method of transferring objects can work during the day.
Some air "roads" can reach lengths of up to 100 meters. Their creation represents a kind of art and requires a certain skill from prisoners.
Prison phrases of bandits (100 phrases)
Unfortunately, human life is very unstable and you never know where you will find yourself tomorrow. Fate can bring even a person who is innocent of anything to places not so distant. Prisoners are a separate subculture with its own principles, concepts and vocabulary, which is popularly called jargon. And who knows, maybe one day knowledge of criminal language will come in handy. This collection contains prison phrases from bandits.
Listen to advice that gives you an edge. Don't give this advice to anyone.
If you are an anvil, wait; if you are a hammer, strike.
To finish faster, take your time.
Don't shake a green apple tree - when the apple is ripe, it will fall down on its own.
If you lie, be brief.
If your business prospers, everyone will be your friend; only when they are destroyed will you discover true friends.
If your only tool is a hammer, imagine that all your problems are nails.
Always pull the snake out of the hole with someone else's hands.
An open mouth kills fish.
Failures first come in pairs, and then in formation.
Treaties are made to be broken.
As a child, I prayed to God for a bicycle. Then I realized that God works differently. I stole a bicycle and began to pray for forgiveness.
Don't touch the problem until the problem touches you.
Never expect logic and reason to define human relationships.
Never leave unpaid debts. By you or you.
Never expect logic and reason to define human relationships.
Some people are careful not to lose. If you play carefully, you will definitely lose.
Tolerate fools from time to time, you might learn something worthwhile. But never argue with them.
The time always comes to pay bills.
Fortune will smile, then betray you.
There are no random coincidences.
Don't test the depth of the river with both feet.
Most people never listen to anything - except for threats or promises.
The wrong choice always seems smarter.
A fool is one who cannot hide his wisdom.
The world belongs to the patient.
When you compromise, you lose. By pretending to compromise, you take a step towards victory.
When everything around is hopeless, the situation can only change for the better.
Is it possible to forgive an enemy? God will forgive! Our task is to organize their meeting.
Be fair with everyone, sociable with many, close with a select few, and a friend to a few.
Difficulties show what people are capable of.
Luck is on the side of the strong.
A minute of patience is ten years of comfort.
A prison differs favorably from a grave in that its doors will someday open.
Preparation is the mother of success, daring is its father.
The world belongs to the patient.
The eagle does not hunt flies.
A bullet changes a lot in the head, even if it hits you in the ass.
The wife of a carefree man is almost a widow.
Many people are careful not to lose. If you play carefully, you will definitely lose.
Nothing personal, it's just business.
I will give three dozen of my thugs for one person who knows how to solve problems by talking.
Wine and girls empty their wallets.
There is nothing easier than a promise.
I will give three dozen of my thugs for one person who knows how to solve problems by talking.
Capitalism is a legal racket of the ruling class.
All sins grow old, greed remains young.
Be flexible. As soon as you stop being flexible, you die. This is a metal-forged and completely inflexible rule. The most flexible element gradually becomes the controlling element in the system.
There is nothing easier than a promise.
I'm the same person as everyone else. All I do is satisfy the demand.
Listen to advice that gives you an edge. Don't give this advice to anyone.
If you are an anvil, wait; if you are a hammer, strike.
To finish faster, take your time.
Don't shake a green apple tree - when the apple is ripe, it will fall down on its own.
If you lie, be brief.
If your business prospers, everyone will be your friend; only when they are destroyed will you discover true friends.
If your only tool is a hammer, imagine that all your problems are nails.
Always pull the snake out of the hole with someone else's hands.
An open mouth kills fish.
Failures first come in pairs, and then in formation.
Treaties are made to be broken.
As a child, I prayed to God for a bicycle. Then I realized that God works differently. I stole a bicycle and began to pray for forgiveness.
Don't touch the problem until the problem touches you.
Never expect logic and reason to define human relationships.
Never leave unpaid debts. By you or you.
Never expect logic and reason to define human relationships.
Some people are careful not to lose. If you play carefully, you will definitely lose.
Tolerate fools from time to time, you might learn something worthwhile. But never argue with them.
The time always comes to pay bills.
Fortune will smile, then betray you.
There are no random coincidences.
Don't test the depth of the river with both feet.
Most people never listen to anything - except for threats or promises.
The wrong choice always seems smarter.
A fool is one who cannot hide his wisdom.
The world belongs to the patient.
When you compromise, you lose. By pretending to compromise, you take a step towards victory.
When everything around is hopeless, the situation can only change for the better.
Is it possible to forgive an enemy? God will forgive! Our task is to organize their meeting.
Be fair with everyone, sociable with many, close with a select few, and a friend to a few.
Difficulties show what people are capable of.
Luck is on the side of the strong.
A minute of patience is ten years of comfort.
A prison differs favorably from a grave in that its doors will someday open.
Preparation is the mother of success, daring is its father.
The world belongs to the patient.
The eagle does not hunt flies.
A bullet changes a lot in the head, even if it hits you in the ass.
The wife of a carefree man is almost a widow.
Many people are careful not to lose. If you play carefully, you will definitely lose.
Nothing personal, it's just business.
I will give three dozen of my thugs for one person who knows how to solve problems by talking.
Wine and girls empty their wallets.
There is nothing easier than a promise.
I will give three dozen of my thugs for one person who knows how to solve problems by talking.
Capitalism is a legal racket of the ruling class.
All sins grow old, greed remains young.
Be flexible. As soon as you stop being flexible, you die. This is a metal-forged and completely inflexible rule. The most flexible element gradually becomes the controlling element in the system.
There is nothing easier than a promise.
I'm the same person as everyone else. All I do is satisfy the demand.
How to pave the “road” in prison
There are several ways to lay “roads”. Most often, prisoners use homemade pipes for this purpose, from which, in the manner of the Indians, they shoot ropes with tips attached to them into the windows of neighboring cells. Such a “road” can lead not only from one cell to another, but also beyond the prison fence.
The second method of constructing a rope telegraph is to shoot a rope through the cell windows using devices resembling crossbows or slingshots. In slang, this process is referred to as “getting caught.”
The party receiving the rope must catch it and pull it. Then you can attach any item or letter to it and transfer it from cell to cell.
When the rope telegraph threads are discovered, the guards cut them off with hooks.
There are other ways of fighting: in addition to bars, external “muzzles” are installed on the windows of prison cells. They are hinged cornices, but the practice of constructing a rope telegraph shows their low efficiency.
This type of prison telegraph is often called “the road through the bucket.” In prisons, toilets are being replaced by “gene bowls.” They are a structure consisting of a white metal oval and a hole in it for flushing. A curved pipe extends from it below, connected to the central sewer pipe.
Prisoners cover the pipes in the riser with rags and pump out the water in the bowl, after which they can communicate across several floors. In case of transfer of such an “expensive” “cargo”. it requires careful packaging in waterproof material and hermetically sealed.
The disadvantage of such a telegraph is that it cannot be installed in every pre-trial detention center and prison.
Transmissions through sewer pipes are transported in much the same way as through rope telegraphs.
The lower and upper chambers agree to lay a rope line in the sewer pipes. All other prisoners must not use a boner. In the upper chamber, a rope with some kind of sinker is inserted into the hole in the bowl and lowered down 2 floors.
In the lower chamber, the same operation is performed, only the rope with the sinker is lowered to 1 floor. When both ropes are in the sewer pipe of the riser, water begins to drain sharply on the top floor. Flowing down, it twists the ropes, after which they are pulled into one of the chambers.
“Malyavs” or transfers at the transfer or “stage” are transferred with the prisoners being transferred. They are periodically inspected, so prisoners have to be creative in order to deliver the “cargo” to its destination and transfer it to the person for whom it is intended. The prisoners who are being transferred are sewn into their clothes, hidden in their shoes or placed in their personal belongings.
They often smuggle drugs into prisons as parcels. They immerse them in a sealed package and swallow or insert them into the rectum. The latter method was called “torpedo” among thieves. Such a courier has to eat and drink little during the shipment. Prison prisoners transport “babies” into the vagina.
The role of the bunk in the life of a prisoner
You need to understand that a bunk for a prisoner is not an easy place to sleep, it is the only personal space. He sleeps on it, relaxes, reads. A bunk and a bedside table, and in some prisons also a chair - that’s the entire set of personal furniture for the prisoner. All other furniture in the cells is shared. A related rule is to not sit on someone else’s bunk without permission. In pre-trial detention centers it is often allowed to sit on bunks during the daytime, but much depends on the administration of the pre-trial detention center. In prisons, it is usually strictly forbidden to lie down on the bunk from wake-up until bedtime (from 6 am to 10 pm), and often it is also forbidden to sit. You can only sit on a stool or bench located along the table in a prison cell. The table and benches are usually screwed to the floor.
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In camp barracks, the most “prestigious” are considered to be the lower corner bunks, away from the passages and the entrance to the barracks.
Depending on the nature of the distribution of power in the camp, the degree of personal space varies significantly. In the so-called “black” areas, the lower bunks are often curtained on the sides with sheets, which allows you to create the feeling of a private room. Of course, this is all very conditional, since the noise of the barracks does not disappear anywhere. In the “red” zones, the entire barracks are under the close control of an administration officer. To ensure that all rows of bunks in the barracks are clearly visible, the rules of residence prohibit prisoners from hanging them.
