Gender differences in occupational characteristics of Canadian correctional officers

As women have increasingly become employed as correctional officers in prisons for male offenders, questions have been raised as to how they may, or may not, differ from their male counterparts. To examine this issue questionnaires were sent to all 866 correctional officers who directly supervised male offenders in five prisons operated by the Correctional Service of Canada. Responses were obtained from 339 officers (39%), 86% of which were male and the remaining 14% female. Female officers were more likely to be unmarried, better educated, less interested in the custody aspect of the correctional officer role, younger, have less experience as a correctional officer, have higher levels of job satisfaction, and be more accepting of women as correctional officers than were their male colleagues. No gender related differences were found in the variables of race, rank, security level worked, stress level, and quality of the working relationship experienced with coworkers. Implications of the findings are discussed     

An investigation into the risk perceptions held by maximum security correctional officers

Maximum security correctional officers play a crucial role in the establishment of order within their respective institutions of employment, yet they are also exposed to numerous occupational dangers that can threaten their general welfare. When they perceive high levels of injurious risk from workplace hazards, this cannot only jeopardize their job performance but lead to a poorly managed prison institution. Currently though, few studies have explored correctional officer perceptions of workplace dangers and risks, and even fewer have explored the factors that influence officer perceived risk of injury. Questionnaire data from a statewide population of maximum security correctional officers (N?=?649) were gathered in order to examine officer perceived risk of injury from workplace dangers, and the antecedents to this judgment. Results illustrated how officers perceived a high degree of injurious risk from their work, and that their risk perceptions were largely a product of psychological features of dangers. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.     

INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF CORRECTIONAL OFFICER ATTITUDES TOWARD INMATES*

This paper analyzes the impact of individual attributes and organizational influences in the determination of correctional officers’attitudes toward inmates. Drawing on survey data from 179 line-level correctional officers, the analysis evaluates the expectations of prison reformers that more highly educated, female, and minority officers will hold more positive attitudes toward their inmate clientele. Contrary expectations drawn from the sociology of work literature suggest that the work-role socialization will overshadow the effect of individual attributes in the determination of officer attitudes. The analysis reveals that minority officers hold more positive orientations toward inmates, while education and gender exert no impact. In addition, organizational-level characteristics are also important in the prediction of officer views of inmates. These findings suggest that correctional reforms that focus primarily on changing the demographic composition of correctional officers are quite unlikely to ameliorate significantly the tension in today's prisons. It is necessary for both reformers and social scientists to develop more sophisticated analyses of the interplay between individual attributes and work organization characteristics and their joint effects on behavior in the prison setting.     

Maximum Security Correctional Officers: An Exploratory Investigation into Their Social Bases of Power

Correctional officers are responsible for maintaining prison order, establishing institutional security and managing inmate behavior. To accomplish these goals, officers are sometimes required to deploy available bases of power, which are mechanisms of behavioral control used to achieve certain objectives, and include reward, referent, legitimate, coercive and expert. While power bases have been researched at length across numerous organizational settings, they have received comparatively less attention within corrections. Using questionnaire data from a statewide population of maximum security correctional officers (N?=?559), several ordered logistic regression models were estimated in order to explore the power bases upon which officers rely the most, as well as the antecedents to this decision. Referent and legitimate power ranked highest concerning their ability to control inmates, while measures of officer risk perceptions and work-related attitudes significantly predicted their power base reliance. To ensure inmate compliance with institutional regulations, it is recommended that correctional officers utilize softer forms of power such as referent and legitimate.     

Women Police

Abstract

This study investigated the use of force by and against women police officers using survey data from a large sample of female and male officers in six departments. Results suggested that female officers and same-gender female-female officer pairs used less force, and were less likely to use physical force, in police-citizen encounters when compared to their male counterparts. There was no evidence supporting the proposition that citizens used less force against female officers compared with male officers. In fact, the findings indicated that citizens used significantly more force against female officers relative to male officers in domestic calls. Although female officers were more likely to engage in underpredicted policing; that is, use less force than the situation would normally dictate, underpredicted policing was not related to an increase in the likelihood of officer injury. Implications for women officers, police use of force, and the institution of policing are discussed.     

The Cognitive Interview: novice police officers' witness/victim interviewing practices

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate novice police officers’ witness interview practices immediately post investigative interview training (known as PEACE) with reference to the eight Cognitive Interview (CI) components taught. Forty-eight UK police officers took part as interviewers. Forty-eight undergraduates participated as mock witness; they viewed a non-violent crime video and 2 days later were individually interviewed by a police officer. Interviews were recorded and rated for officers’ application of the CI procedure.

Despite having recently completed the only training available to them no officer applied or attempted to apply the CI procedure in its entirety. However, some of the individual CI components were applied more frequently than others. This study provides a unique insight into the interviewing practices of some of the least researched, least experienced, and least trained investigative interviewers who, nonetheless, conduct witness interviews on a daily basis. The emergent picture suggests that either the CI procedure currently taught to novice police officers is too complex at so early a stage in their police career and/or that the current training may be insufficient to equip them with the skills necessary to effectively apply the procedure.     

Gender differences in mediation of severe occupational stress among correctional officers

This study explored gender differences in how correctional officers react to severe occupational stress and addressed differences in coping processes and social support utilization. The subjects were 244 correctional officers (167 men and 77 women) employed in Kentucky medium security institutions for male offenders. The study employed a survey administered to the volunteering participants. The Ways of Coping Questionnaire was used to assess coping processes used to deal with a stressful work event, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to assess severe occupational stress. Statistical analyses revealed that correctional officers experience high levels of occupational stress but did not indicate gender differences in emotional exhaustion or depersonalization. The results indicated that female officers more frequently than male officers processed stress by seeking social support, while male officers more frequently than female officers processed stress by “planful problem solving.” No differences were found in correctional officers’ relationships with oppositesex peers. The results suggested that male and female correctional officers follow traditional sex roles in coping with occupational stress, but they revealed no differences in how they are affected by occupational stress in terms of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment.     

Is There a Difference? Exploring Male and Female Correctional Officers' Definition of and Response to Conflict Situations

Abstract

Although the use of force in corrections is a topic of interest, little is known about the factors that influence correctional officers' decisions. In particular, very little is known about similarities and differences between male and female correctional officers in their definitions of and responses to conflict situations. Interviews were conducted with 192 officers at a large southwestern jail. Using a realistic vignette of an inmate disobeying a direct order, 96 female and 96 male officers were asked about their perceptions in defining and responding to conflict. Results indicate that male and female officers react to conflict situations in a similar manner, although it appears that the inmate's sex is a salient factor in the officers' decision on how to resolve conflict.     

The social dimensions of correctional officer stress

Based on a survey of line staff in a southern correctional system, we analyzed how various stressors, coping factors, and status characteristics influenced three types of stress: work stress, job dissatisfaction, and life stress. The stressors of role problems and perceived dangerousness were positively related to multiple forms of stress. While supervisory support mitigated both work stress and job dissatisfaction, the effects of other coping factors were variable. Black and educated officers had higher levels of dissatisfaction, while female officers experienced more stress on the job. Taken together, the independent variables in our framework accounted for a large amount of the variance of work stress, a moderate amount of job dissatisfaction, and a relatively low amount of life stress. Apart from the specific findings, the data suggest that theoretical models of officer stress must incorporate coping factors and specify how the dimensions of an officer's occupational role and personality differentially impact on distinct types of stress.     

Fear is a Disease: The Impact of Fear and Exposure to Infectious Disease on Correctional Officer Job Stress and Satisfaction

This study examined individual and work-level factors that impact job stress and satisfaction for correctional officers. Existing research has explored officer job stress and satisfaction, but very few studies have focused specifically on fear of contracting an infectious disease while at work (HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and tuberculosis), and the impact fear of and exposure to infectious disease have on correctional officer job stress and satisfaction. Random sample data were collected from 2,999 male and female officers from across the state of Texas to assess job stress, satisfaction, personal safety, and exposure to infectious disease. Ordinary Least Squares analyses indicated that fear of disease was positively correlated with job stress, and inversely correlated with job satisfaction. Exposure to disease however, failed to yield any significant effects on job stress or satisfaction. Officers who felt that their supervisors were supportive of them on the job reported less stress and higher satisfaction levels, while perceived dangerousness of the job was positively correlated with job stress. These findings highlight the importance of supervisory support as well as continuous, in-depth education and training on infectious diseases for officers.     

Games guards play: a self-report study of institutional deviance within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice

While most correctional officers adhere to the highest level of professionalism, some engage in institutional deviance during the course of their eight-hour shifts. In the present study, we administered 501 self-report questionnaires to correctional officers within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Respondents who reported that their supervisors were not supportive tended to admit to higher levels of institutional deviance than their peers, though peer support did not contribute to correctional officer deviance. Additionally, respondents who perceived their jobs to be less dangerous than other officers were more likely to have attitudes that were conducive to institutional deviance. Moreover, a perception of deviance among others also helped ‘normalize’ these acts in the prison setting and contributed to more favorable attitudes toward institutional deviance by correctional officers. Theory X and Theory Y is used to explain the lack of supervisory support that leads to institutional deviance among correctional officers. These findings have important policy implications toward reducing deviance among correctional officers, thereby making prison facilities safer and more secure.     

Common past - different paths: Exploring state regulation of private security industry in Eastern Europe and post-Soviet republics

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore the nature of the security guard industry with a focus on security guard employment relative to police officer, the diverse legislative guidelines pertaining to the scope of their functions, employment eligibility, training, and legal powers in the new independent and post-socialist countries in Eastern Europe and post-Soviet republics. Findings suggest that despite the rapid proliferation of private security industry in the post-socialist countries relative to the gradual growth experienced in the European continent in many of the new independent states, public police continue to play a critical role in the form of employees of state-owned security guard companies. Further, we find considerable disparity in the employment ratios of police officers and security guards in these countries though not much variation in the rigor of legislative framework for private security guard employment in the post-socialist nations appeared, which was minimal at best.     

People matter more than numbers: organized efforts against prison privatization in Florida

As the American prison population increased, so did the correctional labor force. Correctional officers in the United States have gained increased professionalism and strong representation since the 1980s. Meanwhile, many states have pushed to privatize state-run prisons in order to dampen correctional spending. Although a substantial amount of research has been conducted on the comparison of costs and qualities of confinement in public and private prisons, correctional officer labor has so far not been examined. In Florida, Senate Bill 2038, proposing the single largest expansion of prison privatization in US history, was defeated in February 2012 in the state Senate mainly as a result of lobbying by state correctional workers. By investigating the question of correctional labor from a critical perspective and by comparing salary levels, work benefits, training, and education opportunities in public and private prisons in Florida, the professionalism of correctional officers in state-run prisons vs. the working conditions their counterparts face in private facilities is contrasted. The findings suggest that adverse working conditions for correctional officers in private prisons may negatively impact correctional costs and efficiency in the longer term.     

PERCEPTIONS OF THE WORK ENVIRONMENT AMONG CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS: DO RACE AND SEX MATTER?*

This article examines the relationship between race and sex and perceptions of the work environment among correctional officers. It addresses four central questions: (1) Are there race and sex differences among correctional officers in their perceptions of the work environment? (2) Do characteristics of the job and the institutions in which officers work account for these differences? (3) Do these differences attenuate over time? (4) Are there factors that mediate the relationship between race and sex and perceptions of the work environment? These issues are explored using data drawn from the correctional officer sub-sample (N= 2,979) of the 1992 administration of the Prison Social Climate Survey. Findings indicate that race and sex do play a role in shaping officers’ perceptions of the work environment, that these differences between groups are not completely accounted for by job or institutional characteristics and do not attenuate over time, and that there are factors that mediate the relationship between race and sex and workplace perceptions. Among minority male officers, greater efficacy in working with inmates appears to be an important factor in creating lower levels of job stress, while white female officers’ higher levels of overall job satisfaction are accounted for largely by a more positive evaluation of the quality of supervision.     

Juvenile probation officer cynicism

This article addresses the question of cynicism among juvenile probation officers in Alabama. The findings reveal that Alabama juvenile probation officers are not as cynical as police and correctional officers have been found to be. It also reports that Alabama juvenile probation officer cynicism cannot be explained by the demographic variables of sex, length of service, and age.     

Predicting work-related stress in correctional officers: A meta-analysis

The present review examined the predictors of job stress in correctional officers and marked the first meta-analysis of this topic area. Twenty studies were selected for inclusion, producing 191 individual effect size estimates. Overall, the findings revealed that work attitudes (i.e., participation in decision-making, job satisfaction, commitment, and turnover intention) and specific correctional officer problems (i.e., perceived dangerousness and role difficulties) generated the strongest predictive relationships with job stress. Furthermore, both favorable (i.e., human service/rehabilitation orientation and counseling) and unfavorable (i.e., punitiveness, custody orientation, social distance, and corruption) correctional officer attitudes yielded moderate relationships with job stress, with the country of study emerging as a critical moderating variable. The weakest correlates of job stress were demographic variables and job characteristics (e.g., security level). The implications of these findings are discussed and directions for future research are provided.     

Correctional officer attitudes toward inmates and working with inmates in a “get tough” era

The past few decades have seen an ideological shift to a more punitive attitude in policy and practice toward crime and criminal offenders. This study examined the orientation of local correctional officers toward inmates and worked with inmates to ascertain whether their attitudes mirror this punitive inclination. Findings indicate that despite the more punitive sentiment among the public and policymakers, officers still do not express a punitive attitude toward inmates and generally support rehabilitation programs for inmates. The study also looked at the impact of several individual characteristic and work variables on officer attitudes. Results show work variables are more strongly associated with attitudes among correctional officers. The implications of this research for correctional management are discussed.     

Trepidation among the “keepers”: Gendered Perceptions of Fear and Risk of Victimization among Corrections Officers

Determining the attitudes of correctional officers relative to their level of fear and risk of victimization is important to investigate due to the relationship of the conditions of confinement and the care and custody of offenders. Furthermore, consideration of such attitudes by gender may uncover differences because of the unique obstacles female corrections officers face. This study examines the level of fear and risk of both inmate and staff related victimization by gender through administering a survey to all corrections officers employed in the adult prisons within one-state. The overall analysis indicated some level of apprehension among officers regarding their fear and risk of victimization for inmate-precipitated victimization more than staff-to-staff victimization. Female officers were also more likely to demonstrate a higher level of perceived fear and risk of inmate-precipitated and staff-precipitated victimization. In addition, race and security level were shown to be significant as predictors of both fear and perceived risk of victimization among officers.     

Are old witnesses always poorer witnesses? Identification accuracy,context reinstatement,own-age bias

Abstract

Anecdotal evidence suggests that it is unwise for a criminal defense lawyer to allow a law enforcement officer, former law enforcement officer, or relative/close friend of an officer to serve as a juror. This project examined the decisions of 2853 jurors of whom 235 reported being or having been a law enforcement officer and 1348 reported knowing a close friend or relative who is or was an officer. Participants watched a videotape of a trial of a burglary of a habitation and were asked to give individual verdicts. Results indicated that the average conviction rate was 57.6%. Past and present officers did not differ in their conviction rate from non-officer jurors. Jurors who indicated knowing a past or present law enforcement officer did not convict the defendant more than those who did not know anyone in law enforcement. Implications for this research are discussed.     

Picking battles: Correctional officers,rules, and discretion in prison

To outsiders, prisons vacillate between visions of regimented order and anarchic disorder. The place of rules in prison sits at the fulcrum between these two visions of regulation. Based on 131 qualitative interviews with correctional officers across four different prisons in western Canada, we examine how correctional officers understand and exercise discretion in prison. Our findings highlight how an officer's habitus shapes individual instances of discretionary decision‐making. We show how officers modify how they exercise discretion in light of their views on how incarcerated people, fellow officers, and supervisors will interpret their decisions. Although existing research often sees a correlation between “rule‐following” by incarcerated individuals and official statistics on such misdeeds, our data highlight that official statistics on rule violations do not easily represent the rate or frequency of such misbehavior. Instead, these numbers are highly discretionary organizational accomplishments. Our findings advance an appreciation for correctional officer discretion by focusing on the range of factors officers might contemplate in forward‐looking decisions about applying a rule and how they rationalize the nonenforcement of rules.