NCJ Number
102096
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: (1986) Pages: 283-294
Date Published
1986
Length
12 pages
Annotation
To provide a 'relief valve' for prison overcrowding, the Alabama Department of Corrections instituted a program for the community supervision of selected inmates by correctional officers. Since these officers were placed in a role very similar to that of parole officers, a condition akin to a natural experiment in job enlargement occurred.
Abstract
Accordingly, it was hypothesized that officers in this program would report more positive attitudes and/or perceptions regarding personal accomplishment, professional orientation, and job satisfaction than two representative samples of institutional officers and probation/parole officers, respectively. Analysis supported the hypothesis and indicated that officers in the program enjoyed providing human services to offenders. Since no convincing evidence of a Hawthorne effect was found during a follow-up study conducted one year later, several implications of the study for expanding the correctional officer's role in providing human services within the prison environment are presented for consideration. (Author abstract)