NCJ Number
168613
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 23 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1996) Pages: 185-195
Date Published
1996
Length
11 pages
Annotation
To compare American and Canadian correctional officers on a range of demographic and professional variables, questionnaires were sent to 1,550 officers in the United States and Canada.
Abstract
The American officers (n=684) were employed in four State prisons located in one midwestern State. All of these officers were engaged in direct inmate supervision. The survey procedure resulted in 229 usable questionnaires being returned, a response rate of 33.5 percent. The Canadian correctional officers (n=866) later received a nearly identical questionnaire. These officers were employed in direct supervision duties at five Federal correctional institutions located in the western prairie region of Canada. The questionnaire solicited two types of data: descriptive demographic information and attitudinal data that pertained to attitudes toward both their specific job and working in corrections in general. Findings show that similarities between the American and Canadian correctional officers were related to their attitudes toward correctional work. They were similar in job satisfaction, custody orientation, the acceptance of women as correctional officers, and quality of working relationships with other officers. Differences were related either to administrative practices in each country or to socioeconomic factors. Canadian officers had longer tenure in their jobs, held higher rank, were better educated, worked in medium security, and had a higher percentage of minorities. American officers had higher levels of stress, worked in maximum security, and were comprised of a greater percentage of females. 2 tables and 18 references