Four different goals of corrections are commonly espoused: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. Each of these goals has received varied levels of public and professional support over time. In an effort to assess the level of professional support for these goals, a survey was administered to staff in three prisons, two jails, and a jail academy in a rural mountain state. The results indicate that jail and prison staff are more likely than not to perceive the primary goal of corrections as incapacitation. Respondents generally ranked incapacitation first, followed by deterrence, rehabilitation, and retribution. Age, years of service, military background, and facility type (prison or jail) were significant predictors of staff orientation toward rehabilitation. For jail staff, only gender was related to a rehabilitation orientation. For prison staff, only age and years of service were related to a rehabilitation orientation. The authors conclude that role perceptions are colored by a variety of factors, including age, gender, years of service, facility type, and prior military service.

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Determining what the appropriate behavior is in any given circumstance is not always clear in corrections work, given the nature of the tasks, the composition of the clientele, and the structure of the organization. In an effort to determine what correctional staff regarded as ethical behavior, the authors developed and administered a questionnaire to correctional staff in several prisons and jails in a western state. In this article, the authors report their findings from the effort to quantify the degree to which staff agree and disagree in their perceptions of ethical choices. They found that jail and prison staffs are more likely than not to perceive their work from an ethical perspective. The findings also indicate that although both types of facilities were in the top range of possible responses on the ethics summary variable, the jail staff were more likely to score higher. Finally, age increased the likelihood that a respondent had a higher ethical rating in jails, and being female increased such a score in prisons.

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