Being Correctional Officer: Unattended Expectations and Coping Strategies

The chapter analyzes the configuration of correctional officers’ identity as professionals, with a focus on the reasons for choosing this career path. Whether correctional officers enter the job for job stability or because they genuinely believe in its mission, they find themselves in an environment they are ill-prepared for, one where they must cope with daily emergencies and adapt to profound complexity. Contrary to the conventional perception that the public sector offers job security, career growth potential, and retirement/health benefits, all contributing to a better quality of life and work-life balance, working in the prison system jeopardizes these goals. The chapter presents the coping strategies employed by correctional officers to survive in a hostile environment, with a focus on the unique aspects of their context and their connection to the local community and social life. After introducing the dual nature of the use of discretion by correctional officers, seen both as a coping strategy to overcome perceived difficulties in achieving planned results and as a hindrance to their personal authoritativeness, the chapter illustrates how correctional officers’ exercise of authority shapes the quality of prison life. Finally, the chapter argues for the cultural and normative dimension of prison beliefs and values, which are shaped by correctional officers’ in-group narratives regarding the stereotypical image of a “respectful and deserving prisoner” specific to their local prison. Simultaneously, these beliefs have their roots in a shared universe of information about the differences between each prison.