1. Chapter 9
The Staff World:
Managing the Prison Population
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

2. Staff
 Roles - The normal patterns of behavior
expected of those holding particular social
positions.
 Staff Roles - The patterns of behavior
expected of correctional staff members in
particular jobs.
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3. Four Main Goals of
Correctional Staff Members
1. Provide for the security of the community
2. Promote the smooth and effective functioning
of the institution
3. Ensure that incarceration is secure, but
humane
4. Give inmates the opportunity to develop a
positive lifestyle while incarcerated and gain
the personal and employment skills they need
for a positive lifestyle after release.
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4. Staff Hierarchy
 Administrative staff
 Clerical personnel
 Program staff
 Concerned with encouraging prisoners to participate
in educational, vocational, and treatment programs
 Custodial staff
 Most directly involved in managing the inmate
population
 Service and maintenance staff
 Volunteers
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5. Bases of Power
 Legitimate Power: derived from the correction
officers’ (CO) positions in the organization
 Coercive Power: based on the inmates’ belief
that COs can and will punish disobedience
 Reward Power: the COs’ ability to dispense both
formal and informal rewards
 Gain time – Time taken off an inmate’s
sentence for participating in certain activities
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6. Bases of Power
 Expert Power: based on inmates’
perception that certain COs have valuable
skills
 Referent Power: based on the inmates’
respect for a particular fair and non-
abusive CO
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7. The Staff Subculture
 Structured conflict - The tensions between
prison staff members and inmates that arise out
of the correctional setting
 Subculture - The beliefs, values, behavior, and
material objects shared by a particular group of
people within a larger society
 Staff subculture - The beliefs, values, and
behavior of staff; they differ greatly from those of
the inmate subculture
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8. The “Officer Code”
 Always go to the aid of an officer in distress
 Do not “lug” (bring in) drugs for inmate use
 Do not rat on other officers
 Never make a fellow officer look bad in front of
inmates
 Always support an officer in a dispute with an inmate
 Always support officer sanctions against inmates
 Do not be a “white hat” or a “Goody Two-Shoes”
 Maintain officer solidarity in dealings with all outside
groups
 Show positive concern for fellow officers
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9. Correctional Officer Personalities
 The Dictator: Enjoys giving orders and the
feeling of power derived from doing so
 The Friend: Tries to befriend inmates, who, in
turn, try to gain special treatment
 The Merchant: Provides commodities to
inmates, often in violation of institutional rules
 The Turnkey: Unmotivated and bored, does
little beyond the basic job requirements
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10. Correctional Officer Personalities -
Continued
 The Climber: Usually a diligent worker who
respects the corrections profession and is
focused on rapid professional advancement
 The Reformer: The know-it-all who constantly
complains and endlessly criticizes institutional
policies, procedures, and rules
 The Do-Gooder: Another type of reformer, but
one who is motivated by a personal agenda
such as religious proselytizing
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11. Job Assignments
 Block Officers - supervise inmates in housing
areas
 Work Detail Supervisors - oversee the work of
individual inmates and inmate work crews
 Industrial Shop and School Officers - ensure
efficient use of training and educational
resources within the prison
 Yard Officers - supervise inmates in the prison
yard
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12. Job Assignments - Continued
 Administrative Officers - control keys and
weapons and sometimes oversee visitation
 Perimeter Security Officers - fill security (gun)
tower, wall, and perimeter patrol posts to prevent
escapes and intrusions
 Relief Officers - temporarily replace absent
officers or filling staffing vacancies
 These are experienced COs who know and can
perform any custody role in the institution
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13. Female Officers
 Face special problems in male-dominated profession
 Typically perform with a less aggressive style than
men
 Rely more on established disciplinary rules
 Another issue concerning women in today’s
workplace is personal and sexual harassment.
Studies show that few female correctional officers
personally experience unwanted touching or other
forms of sexual harassment. The forms of
harassment women most commonly experience are
physical (nonsexual) assaults, threats, unfounded
graphic sexual rumors about them, and demeaning
remarks from peers, inmates, and supervisors.
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14. Female Officers
- Continued
 Take job due to interest in human service
work and rehabilitation
 Less likely to be assaulted than male officers
 Most male officers are supportive of female
officers
 Sexual harassment not always taken
seriously
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15. Stress
 Tension in a person’s body or mind,
resulting from physical, chemical, or
emotional factors
 Factors that create stress:
 Feelings of powerlessness
 Feelings of meaninglessness
 Social isolation
 Self-estrangement
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16. Stress Continued
 Correctional officers frequently deny that
they are under stress, fearing that
admitting to feelings of stress might be
interpreted unfavorably.
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17. Staff Safety
 Safety is a major stressor for COs and a
primary management concern for
correctional administrators
 Comprehensive planning and effective
training are essential
 Safety concerns permeate every task,
especially the ordinary or routine
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18. Job Satisfaction
 High levels of stress reduce the satisfaction
correctional officers get from their jobs.
 Correctional officers often feel alienated
from policymaking. This reduces
satisfaction with the job.
 Officers who feel that they have some
control over the institution and over their
jobs seem much more satisfied than
officers who believe they have no control.
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19. Professionalism
 Training
 Supervisory role models
 Leadership
 Correctional Officer’s Creed
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20. The Impact of Terrorism on
Corrections
 Threats in the communities and
institutions from both outsiders and
inmates
 “Prison Islam”
 Bioterrorism
 Those convicted of terrorism present new
challenges for administrators
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21. Terrorism
 The FBI says that al-Qaeda continues to
actively recruit followers inside American
correctional institutions. Islamic terrorists
are keenly aware of the 9,600 Muslims
held in the federal prison system and see
them as potential converts.
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22. Kevin James
 Sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana, California, to 16
years in prison. James had pleaded guilty in 2007 to
conspiracy to wage war against the United States 56 and
had been accused of plotting terrorist attacks on Jewish
and military targets throughout California. Among those
targets were Los Angeles International Airport, the Israeli
Consulate, and Army recruiting centers. Those who
investigated James’s background found that he had
formed an Islamic terrorist group in California’s
Tehachapi Prison in 1997. While serving a 10-year
sentence for robbery, James joined the Nation of Islam—
a traditional American Islamic faith. Soon, however, he
became engaged terrorist activates.
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