Follow-Up Study of Correctional Officers and Their Partners in 1981 - Report to the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada

• NCJ Number: 89805
• Author(s): T C Willett
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 66 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Canada Solicitor General
• Corporate Author: Queens University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Canada Correctional Service; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This 1981 followup study explores Canadian correctional officers' perceptions of their work and its impact on their lives and their families. Its results are compared with those of a 1973 study in which the 17 male guards were first interviewed.

Abstract

The study explored the effects of the guards' early training at the Correctional Staff College to see whether their careers had developed according to their expectations. It looked for indicators of morale that may have arisen from changes in penal policy and from subjects' own conceptions of their roles. The men appeared to be relatively satisfied with their jobs and materially secure. Much of this improvement in material benefits can be traced to the corrections union which, however, still ignores programs to improve the status of corrections workers through further education and training. Staff also need more supportive services to alleviate the considerable stress of prison work. Prisoners are still contemptuous of guards. Obtaining trust and mutual respect can only be accomplished through personal example and leadership. Results of the 1973 study along with the present study's questionnaires are appended.