Correctional Officers Research Articles

“The Uniform’s in the Way”: Navigating the Tension Between Security and Therapeutic Roles in a Rehabilitation-Focused Prison in Norway

The Norwegian Correctional Service ascribes to both a humane and rehabilitative approach to incarceration which includes the use of dynamic security practices, emphasizing relationship-building and communication between officers and incarcerated individuals. In addition, officers are expected to actively participate in the rehabilitative process. Despite Norway’s low rates of prison-based violence, there remain questions about officers’ ability to implement dynamic security and contribute to therapeutic goals. The current study explores perspectives about dynamic security and officer relationships using a questionnaire ( n = 81) and semi-structured interview ( n = 47) data from individuals incarcerated at Halden Prison in Norway. Findings indicate that officers have generally attained authoritative legitimacy through dynamic security, but their participation in the rehabilitative process is met with resistance stemming from prison culture expectations of officers’ role in enacting State punishment. Results from this study provide meaningful insights into the role of dynamic security implementation and the contributions of correctional officers to the rehabilitative process.

“That shit doesn't fly”: Subcultural constraints on prison radicalization

AbstractMany observers describe prison subcultures as inherently and irredeemably antisocial. Research directly ties prison subcultures to violence, gang membership, and poor reintegration. In extreme cases, research has also suggested that prison subcultures contribute to incarcerated people joining radical groups or embracing violent extremist beliefs. These claims, however, ignore key differences in the larger cultural and social context of prisons. We examine the relationship between prison subcultures and prison radicalization based on semistructured qualitative interviews with 148 incarcerated men and 131 correctional officers from four western Canadian prisons. We outline several imported features of the prison subculture that make incarcerated people resilient to radicalized and extremist messaging. These features include 1) national cultural imaginaries; 2) the racial profile of a prison, including racial sorting or a lack thereof; and 3) how radicalization allowed incarcerated men and correctional officers to act outside the otherwise agreed‐to subcultural rules. Our research findings stress the importance of contemplating broader sociocultural influences when trying to understand the relationship between radicalization and prison dynamics and politics.

Incarcerated Women's Perceptions of the Role Model Prison Officer as Procedurally Just.

Studies applying procedural justice to the prison context have largely been quantitative and sampled men. These studies have explored prisoner's procedural justice perceptions of the police and courts, but whether and to what extent their perceptions of the prison officer are associated with procedural justice is unknow. This study extends this research by qualitatively exploring how a sample of women incarcerated in an American prison perceive the role model prison officer and if their perceptions of the model officer are in line with the tenants of procedural justice theory. Findings reveal women's perceptions of the model prison officer as procedurally just and point to the value of correctional officers developing strategies that enhance the procedural justice aspects of their encounters with women in prison.

A Qualitative Inquiry Into the Sources of Resilience Found Among Maximum Security Correctional Officers

Resilient individuals are better able to cope with trauma, and overcome life’s adversities. Correctional officers are routinely exposed to workplace stressors that can be psychologically harmful. For these essential workers, resilience, therefore, offers a way to counteract the aversive conditions of their employment. In light of its importance in promoting mental wellness, studies have explored antecedents of resilience, yet few of which were conducted among correctional officers. To address this literature void, open-ended questionnaire data were collected from maximum-security corrections officers ( N = 193) working in a southeastern state to understand the factors they believe most crucial in developing resilience. Respondents identified seven key themes associated with resilience, including co-worker support, establishing purpose in life, individual characteristics, self-care, life balance, prayer/meditation, and finally, maintaining positive attitudes. Results are discussed in light of interventions targeted at improving correctional officer mental health.

“We shouldn't encourage drug use”: Unpacking correctional officer opposition and support of the Prison Needle Exchange Program

BackgroundThe Prison Needle Exchange Program (PNEP) is a harm reduction initiative which involves providing people who are incarcerated (PWAI) with sterile injection equipment to avoid harms associated with unsterilized needle use, such as the spread of infectious diseases. While current evidence strongly supports the implementation and monitoring of PNEP, the program's success requires institutional support along with staff and prisoner commitment. MethodsThe current study draws on interview data to examine policies surrounding PNEP and correctional officers’ (COs) (n = 134) perceptions and attitudes toward PNEP. ResultsThe COs in our sample were strongly in opposition to PNEP, with only a handful supporting PNEP. Emergent themes underpinning their opposition related to a sense of injustice and an inherent tension between introducing needles into the prison versus how they understand their occupational role and responsibilities. ConclusionWe conclude with a discussion of policy recommendations aimed at implementing PNEP collaboratively with staff to ensure the benefits of harm reduction are fostered and realized.

The Archaeology of Twentieth-Century Drug Paraphernalia at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

The use of cannabis, narcotics, and other intoxicants is widespread within North American prisons, where do-it-yourself instruments are fashioned, used, traded, discarded, and/or confiscated. This cycle contributes to the long-term record of material culture and provides an opportunity to study innovations employed by incarcerated persons. An assemblage of improvised devices for consuming illicit drugs (pipes, syringe, and decoys) from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary (HMP) in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, provides an opportunity to explore the culture of twentieth-century drug consumption at an exceptionally long-lived penal institution. The collection of drug paraphernalia dates between 1971 and 1983 and represents a palimpsest of curated items confiscated by correctional officers. By drawing upon actor-network theory and a folkloric approach to the material assemblage, we situate this local assemblage within the larger carceral context wherein individuals “make do.” These objects speak to longstanding and widely shared technological traditions, an accomplished do-it-yourself ethic amongst those incarcerated, and the complex entanglement of criminality, carceral practices, and drug use.

Trust and service engagement among people who inject drugs after release from prison.

Compounding histories of injecting drug use and incarceration can marginalise people engaging with services, making it difficult for them to address their health and social welfare needs, particularly when they navigate community re-entry service supports. Drawing on Hall and colleagues' five components of trust, this paper seeks to understand how trust in service providers fosters (or inhibits) effective service engagement from the perspective of people who inject drugs during the prison post-release period. Between September 2018 and May 2020, qualitative in-depth interviews were completed with 48 adults (33 men, 15 women) recruited from SuperMIX (a longitudinal cohort study of people with a history of injection drug use in Victoria, Australia). Data relating to service engagement were coded against the five components of trust: competence, fidelity, honesty, global trust, and confidence. Reflections of post-release service engagement frequently focused on interactions with community corrections (parole) officers. Depictions of trust were consistently portrayed within the context of negative experiences and deficits, whereby trusting provider relationships and interactions were rarely described. Most participants recounted a stark absence of fidelity (that is, "pursuing a [client's] best interests"), with some participants detailing circumstances in which their vulnerability was purposefully, almost strategically, exploited. These encounters nearly always had the consequence of impeding the participant's positive progression in the post-release integration period. There is an urgent need to prioritise the client in health and social service delivery in the post-release transition-to-community period and recognise the importance of trust in delivering effective services to people whose life histories make them highly vulnerable to marginalisation.

Community Corrections Officers' Perspectives of the Impact of Hurricane Maria on the Participant's Mental Health and Substance Use: A Qualitative Content Analysis.

This study explored community supervision officers' perceptions of the individual, community, and organizational challenges confronted by program participants after Hurricane María and their recommendations for future emergency management. A qualitative content analysis was conducted for nine focus group with community supervision officers in Puerto Rico. Participants were asked about their perceptions of how the mental health and drug abuse of persons on parole or probation were affected and the measures taken to address these concerns in disaster response. Narratives expose vulnerabilities experienced by those supervised and the aggregated challenges that impact retention in health and rehabilitative services, all of which can detract from successful sentence completion. The disaster response categories call for a more adaptable approach to overseeing procedures in light of the difficulties involved and recognizing the support of the supervised population who have contributed to community initiatives. Findings will contribute to informing planning, preparedness, and responses that mitigate the adverse consequences this vulnerable population may experience when exposed to future disaster hazards. Addressing emergency preparedness in this setting provides an opportunity to enact reforms in community supervision and improve access to services needed to enable the successful reintegration of individuals into their communities.

Artificial Intelligence in Correctional Facilities: A Comprehensive Examination (Part II of III)

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is being integrated into the criminal justice landscape. The second paper in a three-part series explores the future of A.I. replacing correctional officers. This study relies on six academic articles and examines how A.I. transforms community programs, its likely impact on the prison workforce, and changing security measures within jails and prisons. Additionally, our article discusses the application of A.I. in private prisons versus state prisons, thereby revealing its ethical implications. As we cover these issues, the paper ends with a brief overview of findings that justify further research into these new complexities and a highly curated reference list.

Canadian Correctional Officers’ Experiences of Workplace Safety and Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research examined the experiences of Canadian correctional officers (COs) in providing essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study applied theoretical models of stress to explore correlates of COVID-related stress in the correctional setting. Provincial COs (N = 596) took part in an online survey at the end of 2020. Only a quarter of participants reported they felt safe at their workplace during the pandemic. Participants also reported high levels of work stress typified by significant changes to their job responsibilities and role confusion stemming from pandemic-related policies. While most participants agreed that their workplace successfully implemented safeguards, they indicated key downstream considerations were lacking and perceived low levels of certain types of support. Several individuallevel, situational workplace stressors, and coping resources were revealed to be significant correlates of COVID-19 stress. In estimating a hierarchical linear regression model, COVID-19 stress was found to be primarily driven by perceived safety precaution implementation when controlling for individual-level vulnerabilities. Findings examine the impact of COVID-19 among frontline workers in forgotten sectors such as corrections to contribute knowledge that can be used to support COs’ well-being in the face of future infectious disease planning, as well as implications for policy planning.

The role of correctional officers in the prevention of recidivism

The role of correctional officers in the prevention of recidivism

경찰조직 내 심리부검 도입에 관한 연구

The police officer manages the initial measures and case records in the case of suicide against ordinary citizens, verifies the actual part of the suicide, and concludes the investigation by submitting formal records on the cause of suicide.
 In addition, the Central Psychological Autopsy Center and the Metropolitan Mental Health Promotion Center are conducting psychological autopsy on ordinary citizens, and based on this, they propose policy proposals for suicide prevention. However, when a police officer commits suicide, psychological autopsy is not performed on them.
 In this study, the number of post-traumatic stress and counseling is increasing in the case of police officers, and the suicide rate is not decreasing. Therefore, the issue of introducing a psychological autopsy center in the National Police Agency was raised by comparing the suicide rates of police officers, firefighters, and correctional officers The causes of suicide of police officers can be divided into personal problems and social problems. The personal problems are difficulties due to personal tendency, job-related problems and illnesses. The social causes are problems caused by low conflicts and support in the organization.
 In addition, there are cases where the exact cause of the suicide of police officers due to the absence of the psychological autopsy center is not solved, which is why the police department insisted on introducing the psychological autopsy center.
 Since the police are reluctant to disclose the part of counseling or post-suicide treatment due to the specificity of the organization, it is expected that the establishment of police officers in the office will contribute to lowering the suicide rate of police officers by establishing suicide prevention policies and accumulating databases based on the results of psychological autopsy.
 In addition, the burden will be reduced if the police officers due to overwork are consulted with the mental companion center in the local government office rather than visiting each center.
 Therefore, this study suggests ways to improve the system through the establishment of countermeasures manuals for police suicides and the establishment and revision of related legislation for the establishment of a dedicated organization.

A Comparative Analysis of Four Countries: The Challenges to Effective Prevention and Response to Prison Sexual Assault

Rape and other forms of sexual violence against prisoners are recognized as forms of torture that are prohibited by international conventions. Despite this, prisoners are at heightened risk of sexual assault by other inmates or corrections officials across the globe. The current study conducts a comparative analysis on the data collection practices and the relevant laws and policies on prison sexual assault across four countries including South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Results indicate that currently, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia collect data and publish official statistics on the prevalence and occurrences of prison sexual assault. In addition, only the United States has a mandate such as the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 legislation, which requires all confinement facilities to implement specialized laws and legal standards stipulating practical strategies for effective prevention, detection, and response to prison sexual violence. The findings suggest that the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Correctional Service should make efforts to collect, record, and publish more reliable official data on all forms of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual assault occurred within correctional facilities. Moreover, the governments of South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Australia should consider legislating specialized laws and policies to effectively prevent and respond to sexual violence within correctional facilities. To support rape victims and ensure their recovery, specialized responses such as medical and legal services should be implemented. Furthermore, it is critical to establish legal standards and administrative policies of staff training and education aimed at increasing the accountability of corrections officials.

Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Pengangkatan Tamping Pada Tanjung Gusta Medan Menerapkan Metode Analytic Process Network (ANP)

This study aims to build a support system in the main decision making for the appointment of Tamping at Tanjung Gusta Medan. Tamping is a prisoner who assists correctional officers in carrying out coaching activities in prisons. The research data used were obtained from Tanjung Gusta Prison. This decision support system was built using vb.net 2008 by implementing the Analytic Network Process (ANP). The Analytic Network Process (ANP) method is a method that is applied to various problems including decision making, prediction or forecasting, evaluation, mapping, resource allocation and so on. The results of the study are useful to help the leadership of the Tanjung Gusta Medan prison choose quality tamping and can provide direction to every convict at the Tanjung Gusta Medan prison

The (Power) Struggle: Experiences of BIWOC Correctional Officers at Rikers Island Jail

To understand the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC) correctional officers (COs) with justice-involved individuals and other staff, we draw on interviews with 15 BIWOC COs at Rikers Island. Despite power differential between COs and justice-involved individuals, participants described relatability through their shared backgrounds and upbringings. We found that relatability minimized the distance between them and may be particularly beneficial for confined persons of color. Nevertheless, hierarchical power dynamics shaped power struggles between BIWOC COs concerning mutual respect and professionalism in the workplace, coupled with power differentials reinforced by BIWOC supervisors in their decision-making.

Pull and Push: The Effect of Social Support and Professional Resilience on the Relationship Between Correctional Officers' Cynicism and Service Impact.

This research examines the protective influences of social support and professional resilience to probation officers' cynicism and service impact simultaneously. Data on psychological characteristics of a sample of 382 forensic social workers in Chinese legal systems were collected. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple-group analyses were used in a three-step analysis process to test our research model. Results identified that cynicism was negatively associated with probation officers' service impact, ascertained that social support functioned as an extrinsic pull mediating the relationship between probation officers' cynicism and service impact, and determined that professional resilience served as an intrinsic push moderating the impact of cynicism and social support on service impact, respectively. This research proposed a push and pull mechanism by which probation officers' service impact is increased and their work pressure is alleviated, providing tentative recommendations for the alleviation of probation officers' job pressure and improvement of their service impact.

1368. Stakeholders Perceptions on Barriers and Facilitators to Opt-Out Infectious Diseases Care in Jails

Abstract Background Despite national guidelines on infectious disease testing and vaccination in prisons, there is heterogeneity in operationalization. Previous literature has shown that using the “opt-out approach” to infectious diseases testing increases equitable access. Although opt-out testing is endorsed by national guidelines, there is little research on the acceptability from key stakeholders in jail healthcare. Additionally, perspectives on using the opt-out approach to vaccination are unknown. Interview Themes Themes and quotes that came out of semi-structured qualitative interviews. Methods We developed an interview guide based on the Theoretic Domains Framework. Guided by the 7Ps framework for stakeholder engagement, we conducted semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in jail healthcare, including people incarcerated in Hampden County jail, clinicians working in jail and community settings, corrections officers, and representatives from public health, government, and industry. All persons eligible to receive a stipend were offered $50 for participation. Interviews were offered in the jail in English and in Spanish. Results Between July 2021—March 2022, 48/108 (44%) of people approached agreed to be interviewed including 13 incarcerated men. Most stakeholders agreed that infectious diseases testing and vaccination in jails are essential tools for mitigating the spread of disease. Major themes that emerged from stakeholder interviews included confusion about the wording of the “opt-out” approach, reluctance to operationalize “opt-out” testing because of concerns for coercion, and concern that it gives people any “easy out” from taking the test or vaccines. People who supported the operationalization of opt-out testing were more often stakeholders from the community, including public health experts, researchers, and clinicians. Conclusion Although “opt-out” testing is evidence-based, we found that key stakeholders who work and are incarcerated in jails did not understand the concept and did not support implementation. Our work is further evidence that successful implementation of public health strategies requires vetting from all key stakeholders in jail healthcare, especially people working and incarcerated in jail when developing strategies to improve healthcare. Disclosures Curt Beckwith, MD, Gilead Sciences, Inc: Grant/Research Support.

ВОПРОСЫ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ В ИСПРАВИТЕЛЬНЫХ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЯХ

The article deals with the issues of security in correctional institutions, consisting of ensuring the safety of correctional officers and the safety of the convicts themselves. Ensuring security depends on the ability and ability of correctional personnel to prevent crime and criminal behavior of subjects in places of deprivation of liberty. In order to effectively prevent crimes and ensure the safety of convicts, constant monitoring of the operational situation in the institution is necessary.

Associations Between MMPI-3 and Psychosocial History Findings Obtained in Preemployment Evaluations of Public Safety Candidates.

The present study evaluated the validity of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) scores among police (n = 1,294), correctional officer (n = 190), dispatcher (n = 205), and firefighter (n = 237) candidates using psychosocial history data collected with the Psychological History Questionnaire (PsyQ) at a private practice in the Northwestern United States. MMPI-3 scale elevations at T score cutoffs specified in the MMPI-3 User's Guide for the Public Safety Candidate Interpretive Reports (Corey & Ben-Porath, 2022) were examined. Consistent with previous research using the MMPI-2-RF, MMPI-3 T score means were lower and less variable in this public safety preemployment context relative to the normative sample. In addition, MMPI-3 scores were meaningfully associated with a number of aggregated scale scores derived from PsyQ data, particularly in the behavioral/externalizing domain. To address limited research on preemployment personality testing among female police candidates and the absence of research among nonpolice public safety occupations, Cohen's q was used to compare validity coefficients across male and female police candidates and across police and correctional officer, dispatcher, and firefighter candidates. Differences were minimal, with all statistically significant effects being small in magnitude, indicating the MMPI-3 correlates identified with police candidates replicate to other public safety positions.

Evaluation of antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 variants after 2 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in a correctional facility

ABSTRACT The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has posed a challenge for correctional facilities worldwide. People in such settings are more vulnerable to severe forms of infection and it is impossible to completely isolate inmates from the outside world. This study aimed to assess the antibody-mediated immune response in terms of neutralizing antibodies against Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omicron (sub-lineage BA.1) variants of concern after two doses of mRNA vaccine in correctional officers and inmates from an Italian correctional facility. Most of the correctional officers (56.5%) and inmates (52.3% and 63.6%) retained their neutralizing activity toward the Alpha and Gamma variants, respectively. By contrast, the most striking reduction in comparison with the ancestral virus was found in the antibody response toward the Beta and Omicron variants, in both correctional officers (91.2% and 93.9%) and inmates (85.1% and 92.8%). In addition, subjects who had undergone primary vaccination and had previously been naturally infected had higher neutralizing antibody titers toward the 4 variants than negative subjects. Overall, our findings indicate that primary mRNA vaccination is able to induce neutralizing antibodies toward the ancestral virus, while titers toward variants may vary, depending on the mutations harboring by the variants. Although the correctional setting is often considered distinct or isolated from the wider society and sanitary system, the health of correctional workers and prisoners is inexorably linked to the public health of the country as a whole and it is of paramount importance to monitor the antibody response in these settings.