“Hesitation Gets You Killed:” Perceived Vulnerability as an Axiomatic Feature of Correctional Officer Working Personalities

Abstract

Research on correctional officers (COs) has expanded over the past two decades, giving us a broad picture of the mental health, culture, and discretionary practices of a traditionally overlooked branch of law enforcement. However, gaps in this portrait remain. Drawing on 131 semi-structured qualitative interviews with Canadian COs, I demonstrate how COs’ perceptions of vulnerability powerfully shape officer actions and working personalities. To explain this, I introduce the concept of the vulnerability axiom, a cultural heuristic that frames how officers perceive their position within prisons. COs describe themselves as vulnerable to threats posed by incarcerated people, managers, and other officers, and act in specific ways to mediate these threats. The vulnerability axiom shapes how COs perceive their position within the prison, impacting relationships with managers and incarcerated people and shaping officer control behaviors. I conclude by discussing how the vulnerability axiom may help to reframe future CO research.

Keywords:

• Correctional officers
• perceived risk
• prison work
• violence
• officer subcultures

Acknowledgments

My sincere thanks to Sandra Bucerius, Kevin Haggerty, Justin Tetrault, Nicholas Goldrosen, and others at the University of Alberta’s Centre for Criminological Research for their help on this article. Likewise, I want to thank all of my participants for sharing their stories with me.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 All names are randomly generated pseudonyms, but roughly reflect the individual demographics of officers.

2 University of Alberta Research Ethics Board approvals Pro00061614 and Pro00062785.

3 Homemade prison knives.

4 Kevlar-lined leather gloves.

5 My thanks to an anonymous reviewer for this insightful point.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Killam Trusts, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCIG 435-2017-1051).