Investigating Threat Perception Among Correctional Officers in the Canadian Provincial Correctional System

Abstract

This paper presents findings regarding the perception and experience of threat among correctional officers in the Canadian provincial correctional system. Men employed in provincial remand centers or corrections institutions in diverse provinces across Canada, who interact daily with prisoners, voluntarily participated in detailed 60- to 180-minute in-depth interviews. Analysis of interview transcripts reveals that violence is prevalent and men either experience or anticipate experiencing physical or verbal victimization at work. Additionally, officers employ strategies, such as a confident and authoritative self-presentation, building positive relationships with colleagues, and respectful relationships with prisoners, to mitigate this threat. However, we found that threat to safety extended beyond simply those of physical or verbal victimization to include threat to men’s sense of self. Specifically, victimization and violence or their threat shape officer’s self-concept over time; the ways officers interact within their prison work environment creates a shift in their self that extends beyond the prison walls.