DROP OUTS AND REJECTS - AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRISON GUARD'S REVOLVING DOOR

• NCJ Number: 50963
• Journal: Criminal Justice Review Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: (FALL 1977) Pages: 57-70
• Author(s): J B JACOBS; M P GREAR
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 14 pages
• Corporate Author: Georgia State University
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A SAMPLE SURVEY OF 55 FORMER PRISON GUARDS INDICATES THAT TURNOVER AMONG RANK AND FILE EMPLOYEES RESULTS FROM ORGANIZATIONAL AND CULTURAL CONFLICTS WITHIN THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION, WITH RACE RELATIONS AS A MAJOR INFLUENCE.

Abstract

INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH 27 WHITE, 24 BLACK, AND 4 LATINO GUARDS WHO TERMINATED EMPLOYMENT AT STATEVILLE CORRECTION CENTER, ILLINOIS' LARGEST MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON. NONE RECEIVED A MEDICAL DISCHARGE, AND 11 PERCENT, ALL WHITE, HAD RETIRED. OF THE REMAINDER, 16 PERCENT WERE LISTED IN PRISON RECORDS AS DISCHARGED, ALTHOUGH ACTUALLY 40 PERCENT WERE DISCHARGED OR ALLOWED TO RESIGN UNDER THREAT OF DISCHARGE. THE MAJORITY OF THESE DISCHARGES OCCURRED WITHIN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF EMPLOYMENT. OF THE GUARDS WHO TERMINATED THEIR TRAINING WITHIN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS, ABOUT 58 PERCENT REPORTED THEY HAD SERIOUSLY INTENDED TO MAKE A CAREER OF BEING A PRISON GUARD, AND SEVERAL BLACK RESPONDENTS VOLUNTEERED THAT THEY HAD TAKEN COLLEGE COURSES IN CORRECTIONS. THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS REPORTED CONCERNED RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUPERIOR OFFICERS (54 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL, 74 PERCENT OF THE MINORITIES). THIS CORRELATED WITH LOWER POSITIVE RATINGS OF SUPERIOR OFFICERS BY NONWHITES THAN BY WHITES. SEVERAL OF THE FORMER GUARDS HAD DEFINED THEIR ROLE AS HELPING INMATES AND PRESENTED THEMSELVES TO INMATES IN WAYS THAT DISTINGUISHED THEM FROM THE TRADITIONAL GUARD STEREOTYPE; THIS BROUGHT GUARDS INTO CONFLICT WITH THEIR SUPERIORS. TABLES PRESENT DATA ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE WHICH WAS ADMINISTERED ON ABSENTEEISM AND ON REASONS FOR RESIGNATION. ANALYSIS OF THESE DATA INDICATES THAT MINORITY GUARDS FIND THEMSELVES IN CONFLICT WITH SUPERIORS AND SUFFERING MORE DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS, WHILE WHITE RECRUITS HAVE TROUBLE RELATING TO MINORITY INMATES. THE PROBLEMS OF INTEGRATING THE GUARD STAFF ARE DISCUSSED. FOOTNOTES CONTAIN ADDITIONAL TABLES AND DATA. REFERENCES ARE APPENDED.