Prisons with fair and skilled prison officers have lower rates of violence than other prisons. A new study published in the journal Criminology shows how a prison officer can reduce violence within prison walls.
Prison Officers and the Criminal Justice System
Prison officers form a very important part of the criminal justice system and they have a lot of power inside prison walls. For inmates, a prison officer is the most visible representatives of the criminal justice system while they’re in prison, and prison officers also decide on a daily basis how rules in prison are enforced. The results of this study suggest that the way in which a prison officer handles day-to-day encounters with inmates matters.
Rule-Breaking in Prison
In the study, led by criminologists Steiner and Wooldredge, researchers visited 33 prisons in Ohio. Over 3,800 inmates plus prison officers completed a survey. The researchers also had information on rule breaking by these inmates. Rule-breaking in prison includes, for example, assaults on other inmates or on prison staff, threats, theft, or disrespect towards a prison officer.
The results provide evidence that the way in which prison officers do their job affects whether or not inmates break rules in prison. More specifically, prisons where officers behaved lawfully and fairly had lower rates of violent and nonviolent rule breaking. In addition, prisons where prison officers relied on their skills and expertise had lower rates of rule breaking than other prisons.
In fact, the study found some evidence that prisons with officers who relied on coercion had higher rates of rule breaking. This suggests that the use of coercion in prison may lead to defiance and resistance by inmates. Using coercion in prison work means an overreliance on punishment, such as room restrictions, extra duty, a loss of privileges, and segregation. Other, more informal, examples of coercive strategies include not protecting an inmate from other inmates, not opening doors on time, and threatening to inflict (or actually inflicting) physical harm.
In contrast, strategies where officers relied more on lawfulness, fairness, and on their skills turned out to be more effective. For example, officers can use their skills to help inmates in solving their problems and their differences, and adapting to prison life.
How a Prison Officer Exercises Power Matters
It appears that it’s not so much how prison officers act in a single incident with an inmate that determines how that inmate views the officer. What is more important is how officers exercise their power in general in everyday prison work: It is this day-to-day behavior that impacts inmates’ perception of officer legitimacy and the extent to which inmates break prison rules.
In sum, the results of this study suggest that the way in which prison officers do their job and use their power influences whether or not inmates follow prison rules. The way in which inmates are treated by prison staff and how prison officers exercise their authority and treat inmates in general is associated with inmates’ later rule violations.
In other words, treating inmates with dignity, fairness, and respect appears to be an effective way to reduce rule breaking in prison and to increase prison safety.
Study reference
Steiner, B., & Wooldredge, J. (2018). Prison Officer Legitimacy, Their Exercise of Power, and Inmate Rule Breaking. Criminology. DOI: 10.1111/1745-9125.12191
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