Assessing Staff and Inmate Perceptions of Their Environment: An Application of the Correctional Institution Environment Scale at Patuxent Institution

• NCJ Number: 112114
• Author(s): J R Coldren
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 39 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Presented at the 1985 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 1, 1985.

Annotation

This paper presents the results of a recent assessment of inmate and staff perceptions of Patuxent Institution, a mandated treatment facility for inmates who volunteer to participate in the program, using the Correctional Institution Environment Scale (CIES).

Abstract

In October 1982, Patuxent was forced to double-cell a portion of its inmate population. Some feared that Patuxent's therapeutic milieu would consequently suffer. The CIES was administered at Patuxent in 1982 and again in in 1984 and 1985. CIES measures perceptions of correctional environments along three dimensions: relationships, treatment program, and system maintenance. Patuxent staff exhibited positive perceptions of Patuxent's environment, with few changes between 1982 and 1985. Inmates tested in 1984 who had just arrived at the institution for the 1982 testing showed significant positive changes in their perceptions of Patuxent between testings. Double celling apparently did not detract from staff's and inmate's positive perceptions of the environment at Patuxent Institution. 7 tables, 7 figures, 9 references. (Author abstract modified)