NCJ Number
169374
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: (1997) Pages: 51-68
Date Published
1997
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Field data and interviews conducted in several police agencies and corrections sites were used to compare the police and corrections occupations.
Abstract
The analysis focused on the features of the work; the bureaucratic setting of the work; and structural factors such as the inspectorial strategy, rank structure and hierarchical chain of command, and rule orientation. The research also compared the occupational cultures of policing and correctional work in each of the three segments: lower participants, middle management, and top command. Findings indicated that common themes of corrections and police are that they involve working with people, they often involve conflict, they are risky and uncertain, and they require both tact and secrecy. Corrections is also hierarchical, paramilitary in character, rule-oriented and punishment-centered, and carried out largely through informal and negotiated interactions. Corrections and policing also tend to be a predominantly male occupation with little mobility but high turnover. Corrections and policing also have their own history, experience, and meaning. Neither the correctional culture nor the police culture is a unitary entity; each of the three segments has characteristic areas of concern, orientation, values, norms, and sentiments. Understanding that each segment has a different orientation will enable management to make more relevant and effective decisions concerning policies and procedures. Notes and 49 references (Author abstract modified)