RT Article
T1 The security mindset: Corrections officer workplace culture in late mass incarceration
JF Theoretical criminology
VO 27
IS 2
SP 224
OP 244
A1 Schoenfeld, Heather
A2 Everly, Grant
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1843246767
AB Prison officers’ behavior is one of the most consequential features of the modern prison. In this article, we introduce an organizational culture conceptual framework and build on previous prison scholarship to develop a model of prison officer workplace culture. We then apply the proposed model to original research in a US prison to investigate the relational aspects of prison officer culture during early 21st-century penal reforms. We find a set of collective norms and beliefs among officers consistent with the “traditional” prison officer culture historically documented by penologists, including high levels of distrust of prisoners, avoidance of relationships, and distancing from rehabilitation goals. We name this culture the “security mindset” because officers use multiple conceptions of “security” to rationalize their behavior. Our findings suggest that prison officer culture in late mass incarceration may work against the positive and supportive relationships necessary for rehabilitation.
K1 Prison officers
K1 Prison
K1 Organizational Theory
K1 Culture
K1 Corrections
DO 10.1177/13624806221095617