Learning the Ropes: The Protective Role of Mentoring in Correctional Police Officers’ Socialization Process

Abstract

Formal mentoring is an individualized and contextualized socialization tactic to enhance newcomers' learning-acknowledged as essential in the early career stage-that can be of particular value when entering a fairly unpredictable and stressful workplace. This research aims to understand the moderating role of formal mentoring in the relationship between organizational socialization and 2 adjustment indicators, a positive 1 (commitment) and a negative 1 (turnover intention). A questionnaire was administered to 117 correctional police officer newcomers, as prisons are especially critical work contexts for newcomers. The results show a direct effect from both socialization and mentoring on commitment and turnover, and an interaction between socialization and mentoring on turnover, although not on commitment. When the socialization process progresses steadily, both socialization and mentoring contribute to good adjustment, but when traditional tactics go wrong, a different learning source (formal mentoring) exerts a protective function, limiting newcomers' intention to quit. These findings give support to the usefulness of mentoring in a law enforcement context and provide some insight into defining formal mentoring programs.

Managing Knowledge in Organizations: A Nonaka’s SECI Model Operationalization

“…They allow the sharing of tacit knowledge by observation, modeling, and assimilation of the implicit and unconscious skills embedded in professional practice. Mentoring is a typical organizational socialization tactic to implement employees' learning, practical abilities, and personal growth in role transitions, enhancing a deep understanding of professional skills, organizational politics and values, as well as leads to several behavioral, attitudinal, and relational outcomes (Becerra-Fernandez and Sabherwal, 2001;Eby et al, 2008;Farnese et al, 2016a). Example item is: More experienced colleagues provide less experienced colleagues with constructive feedback about their work.…”

Can Rehabilitation Work in Military Prison? A Theoretical Framework Based on the Israeli Case

“…In such cases, soldiers who regard prison as a legitimate means to achieve their aims will not balk at returning to prison despite the price they must pay in being deprived of their freedom. Those results can be examined from a learning point of view as demonstrated in research regarding correctional police officers' socialization processes (Farnese et al, 2016). Shoan (2015) studied the attitudes of 200 soldiers doing prison sentences for going AWOL.…”

Anticipating prison face work: Dramaturgical risks anticipated by correctional officer recruits

“…In Canada over the last few years there has also been a gravitation to policies encouraging COs to develop positive relations with prisoners, and away from use of force responses when possible (Correctional Service Canada, 2017). In some respects CO recruits may not be able to anticipate the exigencies and circumstances their new position entails, regardless of training and procedures which provides resources to do so (Farnese et al., 2016). Policy implications here include ensuring CORs are exposed to, either in training or touring, prison work and living, and that training includes the essence of face work – beyond preparing CORs to remain stoic to also how de‐escalation is central to prison rehabilitation and the value of communication skills.…”