Prison Officer Self-Legitimacy and Support for Rehabilitation in Ghana

Abstract

Legitimacy refers to the moral recognition of power, and prison legitimacy remains a principal issue for prison researchers and managers. However, the prison legitimacy literature tends to focus on the views held by individuals in custody. Research on prison officer Self-Legitimacythat is, the powerholders' belief that the authority vested in them is morally rightremains scanty. Drawing on data from a survey of 1,062 prison officers in Ghana, this study examined both the correlates of prison officer Self-Legitimacy and the links between Self-Legitimacy and Support for Rehabilitation of individuals in custody. The results of multivariate analyses showed that having good Relations with Colleagues and being treated fairly by supervisors enhance prison officers' Self-Legitimacy. In turn, Self-Legitimacy was found to increase officers' Support for Rehabilitation. Finally, perceived Fair Treatment by Supervisors and positive Relations with Individuals in Custody were associated with increased Support for Rehabilitation.The implications of these findings are discussed.

Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Prisons: A Review of Extant Empirical Literature

“…Akoensi (2016), using data from 78 semi-structured interviews and observation of prison officers in ghana, identified that officer self-legitimacy was shaped by their legal status and uniforms, while perceived audience legitimacy derived from self-discipline, close relationships, professional competence, respect for those in custody as humans, and making a difference in their lives. A later study (Akoensi & Tankebe, 2020), drawing on data from a survey of 1,062 prison officers also in ghana, found that good relations with colleagues and being treated fairly by supervisors enhanced prison officers' self-legitimacy.…”

“…The dual model of legitimacy in prisons (Hacin & Fields, 2016) proposes that an understanding of legitimacy in prisons requires analysis of perceptions of officer legitimacy by persons who are incarcerated and the self-legitimacy of prison officers. Although Hacin et al (2019) warn that self-legitimacy is unstable by nature and can vary over time and between different groups of prison staff, positive perceptions of self-legitimacy have been found to correlate with reduced willingness of prison officers to use force, in addition to officer support for rehabilitation (Akoensi & Tankebe, 2020). Three studies (Hacin et al, 2019;Meško et al, 2017;Meško & Hacin, 2020), reporting on survey data collected from prison officers across Slovenia, identified that age, the quality of relations with colleagues, distributive justice, supervisors' procedural justice, and perceived audience legitimacy (that is, officers' sense of their moral standing among those incarcerated) were each significantly predictive of the perceived self-legitimacy of prison officers.…”

The Legitimation Strategies of “Progressive” Prosecutors

“…judges and state legislatures) have greater authority to effect change. That is, while prosecutors recognize and justify their power by emphasizing their superior and virtuous goal to “do justice,” they also shift blame and responsibility for disparate outcomes in the criminal justice system to other actors and “society at large.” We argue that such claims add to our understanding of self-legitimation discourses of legal authorities by revealing some of the ways in which “power holders seek to convince themselves that the authority vested in them is morally appropriate” (Akoensi and Tankebe, 2019: 23).…”

Cynicism Toward Change and Career Stage: An Exploration of Work Environment and Organizational Based Characteristics Among Prison Officers in Ghana

“…First, we contribute to the literature on change in public organizations and the discourse on prison reforms by examining the role played by prisonbased characteristics in influencing cynicism to change (Carnall, 2007;Kuipers et al, 2014;Slade, 2016). Given that prison legitimacy is partly predicated on power bestowed on prison officers and how this power is subsequently utilized in enhancing prisoners wellbeing and rehabilitation (Akoensi & Tankebe, 2020), we assess a model which sheds light on how personal factors impact on cynicism to change, which can undermine the productivity and the legitimacy of prison officers. In addition, despite studies on change management and change in organizations (see Hon et al, 2014;Wanous et al, 2000), we lack a solid understanding of how individual characteristics of prison officers and organization-based characteristics influence cynicism to change.…”