RT Article
T1 An Examination of the Effects of Personal and Workplace Variables on Correctional Staff Perceptions of Safety
JF American journal of criminal justice
VO 45
IS 1
SP 145
OP 165
A1 Haynes, Stacy H.
A2 May, David C.
A2 Lambert, Eric G.
A2 Keena, Linda D.
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1764202007
AB Research on victimization has progressed dramatically over the last four decades. This research has identified important individual and contextual predictors of both fear and perceived risk. Nevertheless, few studies have examined perceptions of safety among corrections employees. The current study used data from 322 correctional staff working at a large Southern prison to explore personal and workplace predictors of perceived safety. Specifically, it examined the effects of personal and workplace variables on three measures of perceived safety: perceived dangerousness of the job, concerns about inmate-on-staff physical assault, and concerns about inmates verbally assaulting staff. Across all three measures of perceived safety, workplace characteristics mattered more than personal characteristics. The personal and workplace variables were grouped into fear facilitators (i.e., variables that increase perceptions of one’s safety being at risk) and fear inhibitors (i.e., variables that decrease perceptions of one’s safety being at risk). Gender, age, and organizational climate (i.e., disobedient inmates, unethical staff behaviors, role ambiguity, and overload) represented fear facilitators and social support (i.e., support from coworkers, supervisors, and home), quality training, and input into decision-making represented fear inhibitors. In the current study both fear facilitators and fear inhibitors were important, but the nature of their effects differed depending on the employee’s position and the type of perceived safety under consideration.
K1 Fear inhibitors
K1 Fear facilitators
K1 perceived risk
K1 Fear of victimization
K1 Correctional Staff
DO 10.1007/s12103-019-09497-1