If that is the case, and I cannot verify that it is, that would be because a lot of the rookies don't know the details about the North Hollywood Shootout. Probably more about bravado than anything else. though.

I like the picture in our police office, shows a prisoner in a jump suit, crossing arms, and he is ripped. Muscles on his muscles. It says "Work out, everyday you don't he does."

Its true, why do they let violent criminals lift weights and get more scary and jacked? Have them play b ball or something that doesnt add 20 pounds of muscle while there in the joint.

We should try to make them weaker.

Yeah I figured it was some sort of trophy more than anything else.

I've took college Penology; and one of the few things that I remember from that is that weight lifting is largely important to them somehow.
It keeps them occupied and they feel importance in it. That and making sure the food doesn't suck. If you don't have then your just creating a breeding ground for trouble.

I studied prison system in college as well and there's a problem with just "keeping prisoners occupied" and giving them luxuries they should not have because they are in there for punishment not retirement. There's a prison in IL where they have a game room with an XBOX 360 and they get to play GTAIV. Computers for learning and the ability to get high school and college degrees. Sure I agree on the theory that if an inmate learns more, he can possibly become a better person, but more or not, you give them a shop class, they learn how to weld, becomes smarter criminals. And more than not, what they've learned will always aid them in further crimes. Sure some become better people, but the ratio to those against the unchanging villain scum of society is low.

I don't know much about prisons, but I'm pretty sure that inmates with behavior/disciplinary problems are usually denied weight-lifting privileges. The same applies to recreation privileges in general: The prison staff can take their stuff away if they act up. The whole purpose of allowing prisoners to have "luxuries" (whether it's weights, TV, computers, whatever) is to give them an incentive to behave, so that they won't attack the guards. Take that stuff away from them permanently, and what incentives do they have not to riot? On the contrary, I'd think that the boredom would just make them angry enough that they'd be more likely to become violent.

As far as weight-training making prisoners more "dangerous": It may be true to some extent, but I don't see how the inmates will ever be a match for guards who have access to high-tech weaponry, both lethal and non-lethal, regardless of their advantage in muscle mass.

Also, I might be talking completely out of my ass, but how common are prison riots and prison breaks in the U.S. compared to Third World prisons where the inmates get no luxuries, barely any food, and get tortured by the guards for misbehaving? Probably not as common, right? Don't you think there's a reason for that?

Comparing prison to retirement is ludicrous. The "punishment" doesn't come from deprivation of recreation; it comes from the fact that they're separated from the rest of society, don't enjoy 99% of the same liberties as us non-convicts, and are in an environment where their well-being is often at risk (rape, beating, or even death) at the hands of other inmates.

Those aside it obviously doesn't deter crime or even change criminals. All prisons do is provide a place that breeds worse criminals. Attempts to stop all the bad things that happen to convicts don't seem to work either.

My cousin was, until recently, a prison guard. All he had was mace and a rifle that was on a rack far away from wherever he could possibly be attacked

Weight training may be dangerous to prisoners who fight each other, most know to leave guards alone. But remember, america isnt known for harsh sentences, they may get paroled and you have a jacked scary guy whos pissed off and has no money rolling around town.