Prison Personnel
Introduction to Prison Personnel
Like other institutions, prisons contain a leadership and authority structure responsible for governing and operating the prison. At the top of this hierarchy is the warden, also known as the superintendent or chief administrator. Deputy wardens typically assist in administrative duties. Correctional officers manage and control the inmates.
Stress is pervasive among prison personnel. Stress is a nonspecific physical and emotional response to perceived threats to one’s well-being. For correctional officers, stress stems from several sources, including job dissatisfaction, officer-inmate interactions, paperwork and performance pressures, low self-esteem and public image, and job risks and liabilities. In the United States, violence by inmates against staff is relatively high. For example, in 1997 officials recorded more than 14,000 assaults by inmates in U.S. prisons. In Canada, one assault by an inmate on a staff member was reported in 1997.
Stress may cause burnout, a syndrome of emotional exhaustion and detachment from one’s work. Stress and burnout are especially likely to occur during the first year of a correctional officer’s job. Symptoms of burnout may include poorer job performance. Burnout among officers may also result in increased turnover of personnel. Annual turnover rates of prison personnel in the United States range as high as 38 percent, with an average across all prison systems of 14 percent. Canadian correctional officer turnover rates average less than 10 percent annually.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Prison Personnel in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
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