Perceptions of self-legitimacy and audience legitimacy among prison officers in Ghana

Abstract

Criminological research on legitimacy has focused almost exclusively on citizens' normative assessment of legal authorities. However, this line of research neglects power-holders' own assessment of their legitimacy or self-confidence in their moral validity of their claims to power. This paper examines the conditions on which prison officers as power-holders base their legitimacy claims. Data from semi-structured interviews and observation of prison officers in Ghana shows that prison officers in Ghana exude high power-holder legitimacy underpinned by favourable assessment of their "self-" and "perceived audience" legitimacy in the eyes of prisoners. While officers' self-legitimacy was underpinned in their legal status (e.g., legality) and the uniforms (e.g., state insignia), perceived legitimacy was anchored in officers' maintenance of authority via selfdiscipline, good and close officer-prisoner relationships, respect for prisoners as humans, and professional competence or making a difference in the lives of prisoners. ARTICLE HISTORY

Prison Officer Self-Legitimacy and Support for Rehabilitation in Ghana

“…At least since Sparks, Bottoms, and Hay’s (1996) book Prisons and the problem of order , it has been a topic of sustained interest among researchers interested in understanding social order within prisons. Until now, however, work on Self-Legitimacy within criminology had been confined almost exclusively to police studies, with the exceptions of Meško’s work in Slovenia (Hacin et al, 2018; Meško et al, 2017) and Akoensi’s (2016) research in Ghana. The present study addresses this gap in our knowledge by using survey data obtained from prison officers in Ghana.…”

“…In a qualitative study in Ghana, Akoensi (2016) identified relationships between staff and individuals in custody as an important aspect of officers’ Self-Legitimacy. Hacin et al’s (2018) analysis of survey data from Slovenian prison officers found that the more officers believed those in custody held favorable views about them, the more confident of their own legitimacy the officers became (Hacin et al, 2018).…”

“…However, where they are not bound by professional standards of ethical behavior, staff relationships with individuals in custody can lead to staff conditioning and corruption, inconsistency in rule enforcement, and favoritism (Liebling, Arnold, & Straub, 2011). In a qualitative study in Ghana, Akoensi (2016) identified relationships between staff and individuals in custody as an important aspect of officers' Self-Legitimacy. Hacin et al's (2018) analysis of survey data from Slovenian prison officers found that the more officers believed those in custody held favorable views about them, the more confident of their own legitimacy the officers became (Hacin et al, 2018).…”

“…Self-Legitimacy is self-referentialand entails what Archer (2003), in a different context, refers to as "inner conversation"when power-holders seek to convince themselves that the authority vested in them is morally appropriate. With limited exceptions (Akoensi, 2016;Hacin, Fields, & Meško, 2018;Meško, Hacin, Tankebe, & Fields, 2017), the Self-Legitimacy of prison officers remains an unexplored topic, yet findings from quantitative studies of police officers show that Self-Legitimacy matters for police officers' commitment to the rights of suspects, to officers' support for the fair treatment of citizens, and to their attitudes to the use of force Jonathan-Zamir & Harpaz, 2018;Tankebe, 2019;Tankebe & Meško, 2015;. Given the influence of Self-SELF-LEGITIMACY AND SUPPORT FOR REHABILITATION 4 Legitimacy on the quality of officers' job performance in the police, one might look for a similar influence upon officers in prisons.…”

A qualitative study of the selflegitimacy of prison workers in Slovenian prisons

“…Традиционные модели самолегитимности предполагают, что она зависит от процедурной справедливости, отношений с коллегами, заключенными и законопослушности аудитории [8]. Из-за ограниченного числа исследований самолегитимности в тюремной среде незападных демократических обществ [2] неясно, применимы ли установленные модели ко всем тюремным системам.…”