Prison Officers and Professional Practice

Fergus Timmons, IT Sligo

Can we identify / define professional practice?

• The work of prison officers

• Mission, vision and values of Irish Prison Service

• ‘Distinctiveness’ of prison officer work

• ‘Dynamic authority’ – 5 distinctions

• Some Irish research findings

• Concluding thoughts

The work of prison officers

•Turnkey & Security led

•Growing importance of rehabilitation & links to recidivism

•Power and authority central to prison officer work

•Distinctiveness - Balancing security and social care role

•“Relations between staff and prisoners are at the heart of the whole prison system and that control and security flow from getting that relationship right” (Home Office 1984 para. 16).

•So, how do prison officers build and maintain these relationships?

Irish Prison Service: Mission, Vision & Values• Mission

Providing safe and secure custody, dignity of care and rehabilitation to prisoners for safer communities.

• Vision

A safer community through excellence in a prison service built on respect for human dignity.

• Values

Service, public safety, leadership, integrity, respect, principle-led, collaboration, accountability, family life and community, courage and excellence.

Source: Irish Prison Service website (

http://www.irishprisons.ie/index.php/about-us/mission-statement)

Authority and legitimacy

•Authority – ‘a bond between two people who are unequal (Sennett 1980)

When used by the competent toward some higher ideal it is more acceptable

In prisons – what is the ‘higher ideal’? Security, rehabilitation, public protection? Depends!

•Authority – ‘continually sought, interrupted, disrupted and sought again’ (Sennett 1980)

•Legitimacy – power used rightfully, but again always in flux

Acceptability of legitimate use of authority requires appropriate attitudes and conduct on part of power-holder (Liebling 2011)

How do prison officers build these relationships?

Relationships depend on ‘Dynamic authority’ framework 5 important distinctions

1. Law in practice vs. law in the books

Use of ‘discretion’

Handling situations, not always enforcing the law

Liebling & Price research on prison officers in action

2 competing models

Model A – rule following, compliance model

Model B – negotiation model

Gap between ‘rules’ and ‘practice’.

‘Dynamic authority’ (Liebling 2011)

2. Good vs. right relationships

‘Good’ problematic term, can depend so much on context (wing, regime, prison, prisoner)

“‘Right’ relationships sat somewhere between formality and informality, closeness and distance, policing by consent and imposing order” (Liebling 2011 491)

Know when and how much to use authority

3. Good vs. bad confidence

Bad – indifference to the effects of their power on prisoners

Good – comfortable, assured and flexible in their use of power

‘Dynamic authority’ (Liebling 2011)

4. Tragedy vs. cynicism

Attitudes toward the human condition and the use of coercion

Tragic – see the world as complex and difficult

Cynic – see the world as simplistic – people good or bad

Muir’s (1977) study of policemen

Enforcer, Reciprocator, Avoider and Professional

Can this be applied to prison officers ?

‘Dynamic authority’ (Liebling 2011)

5. ‘Reassurance’ safety vs. ‘relational’ safety (as described by prisoners in UK)

Adapted from Liebling 2011 494

Reassurance [Cynical] Recreational [Tragic] Disregard for safety

Suspicious of prisoners

Approachability; accessibility; (some) trust

Avoidance / indifference

Vigilant

Interactive observation Non-observation

Resort to force

Intervenes verbally in disputes Non-active

Reactive

Proactive Unclear boundaries

Disciplinarian

Informal resolution of conflicts Resignation

Resist change Less resistant to change

‘Professionalisation’ scale; Overall mean score: male 3.31/5; female 3.42/ 5 Safety‘This is a well controlled prison’: 61% agree/strongly agree‘The prison I work in is well organised’: 58% agree/strongly agree

Motivation‘I don’t feel motivated to do more than minimum required: 25% agree / strongly agree‘Staff morale is good in this prison’: 49% agree / strongly agree

Respect / Trust‘I am trusted by prisoners in this prison’: 57% agree / strongly agree‘Best way to deal with prisoners is to be firm & distant’: 54% disagree / strongly disagree‘I try to build trust with prisoners’: 85% agree / strongly agree‘You get to like most prisoners in here over time’: 43% disagree / strongly disagree

Initiative‘I am given opportunities to use my initiative in my job’: 66% agree / strongly agree

Share & Timmons Research (2011)

Can we define professional practice in prison officer work ?

Competency based – situational awareness; flexibility & open to change; teamwork; assertive & controlled; people orientation & caring; developing others; information handling; conscientiousness.

Reflective Practitioners

Self-aware, emotionally intelligent

‘Dynamic authority’ - discretion, right relationships, attitude to safety, world view and confidence.

Pro-social in outlook

Motivated

Comfortable

Final thoughts……

Must benchmark custodial care practice in Ireland against UK and European jurisdictions

We need a complete survey of all serving prison officers in Republic of Ireland

We also need the views of prisoners

Only then, will we get a more precise analysis of professional practice in Irish prison work