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

Abstract

Significant in the management of a safe and secure custodial environment is the compliance of incarcerated persons with the prison rules and the directives of prison officers. In recent years, there has been increased research focus on the role of normative compliance in the prison environment, which is postulated to derive from the perceptions of legitimacy and procedural justice of those who are incarcerated. This article presents the findings of a scoping review of the empirical literature as it relates to procedural justice and legitimacy in prison settings. This literature is charted and then analyzed across two primary themes, namely “Shaping Perceptions of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy” and “Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Compliance.” The presence of normative compliance in prisons and the contribution of procedurally just treatment to perceptions of legitimacy held by persons who are incarcerated are discussed.

Self-Legitimacy of Prison Workers and Treatment of Correctional Clients: A Study in Slovenian Prisons

“…Accepting prison workers as legitimate power-holders by correctional clients requires appropriate relations based on fairness and trust (the level of trust can vary significantly, influencing instrumental and normative compliance of correctional clients; Hacin & Meško, 2020). Ryan and Bergin (2021) pointed out that consistent, fair, and respectful treatment of correctional clients has a positive effect on their perception of prison workers and the prison regime as legitimate. All relations are based on dialogues, and the self-legitimacy of prison workers presents the foundation of dialogues between them and correctional clients.…”

Factors shaping inmate trust in correctional officers in Taiwan: Do procedural justice and distributive justice really matter?

“…Historically, the research literature on the relationship between correctional officers and inmates highlights the potential for conflict, mutual opposition, and distrust (Crouch & Marquart, 1989;Ryan & Bergin, 2022). For example, Sykes and Messinger (1960) argued that primary norms within these inmate codes are the elements of mistrust of correctional officers and disparagement of the things for which they stand.…”

“…The concept of procedural justice (respectful treatment) has been applied to both law enforcement police/citizen interactions and examining correctional staff-inmate relations in the correctional context in multiple nations in the West (e.g. see Ryan & Bergin, 2022). Sadly, the use of this important aspect of authority/citizen interaction has been much neglected in Asian societies.…”

Police, courts, and corrections: Experiences of procedural injustice among Black adults

“…Perceptions of court procedural justice are associated with cooperating with court actors and perceiving the legal system as legitimate (Tyler & Jackson, 2014). Finally, favorable perceptions of procedural justice and legitimacy within corrections are linked to safety (Ryan & Bergin, 2021). Conversely, a lack of procedural justice and legitimacy is associated with nonviolent infractions and reconvictions (Beijersbergen et al, 2016; Steiner & Wooldredge, 2018).…”

“…Overall, the research literature has focused on perceptions of procedural justice or injustice related to specific agencies—the police (e.g., Elliott et al, 2012); the courts (e.g., Gottfredson et al, 2007); prisons (e.g., Ryan & Bergin, 2021)—but has not comprehensively examined people's experiences across multiple points of contact. Such an examination can also inform how procedural injustice permeates the system as a form of social control.…”