Correctional services are viewed as a high-risk profession, given the exposure to violence and other stressors that characterises the work. These factors contribute to occupational stress and the possible development of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among correctional officers. There is an abundance of intemational literature on the development of PTSD in various populations, but almost no literature that examines the prevalence of PTSD amongst correctional officers in other countries as well as in South Africa. This study is aimed at exploring occupational stress, PTSD and coping strategies in South African correctional officers, using demographic data, the Impact of Events Scale-Revised, the Occupational Stress Indicator and the Coping Resources Inventory. Results, as measured by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), revealed that correctional officers who worked directly with prisoners, and were therefore exposed to violence, experienced PTSD symptoms. Coping style findings (Coping Resources Inventory) showed that unmarried officers tended to use avoidance coping strategies to deal with occupational stress, whereas married officers tended to use approach coping strategies. It seems that marriage is a protective factor or buffer against stress. Surprisingly, results of the Occupational Stress Inventory did not reveal high levels of stress overall amongst correctional officers. Higher occupational stress was found amongst officers who had been in the correctional services for more than six years. The implications of the above findings indicate that correctional officers, who suffer from PTSD and occupational stress, must be identified and treated. The study further hopes that the findings and associated recommendations made can inform prevention and intervention programmes in the correctional services. Prevention and intervention programmes should impact at the level of the individual and the organisation through programmes such as stress management, stress inoculation and critical incident stress debriefing as well as, structural administrative and environmental change programmes within the correctional services. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

Crime in the developing South African context presents a major sociopolitical challenge that goes beyond offender rehabilitation. Correctional services based rehabilitation programmes however represent an important component of a multi-dimensional strategy for impacting on crime and recidivism. Reports of the Correctional Service Department highlight the lack of resources and specialised personnel needed for rehabilitation programme delivery. The rehabilitation needs of the growing offender population are not being met and the need for personnel to facilitate the process is critical. The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and perceptions of correctional officers towards their role in contributing to the offender rehabilitation process. The aims and objectives were to assess the self reported abilities, potential and willingness of these correctional officers towards contributing to the offender rehabilitation process. In part, this study hopes that the Department of Correctional Services might take note of the attitude and perceptions of these correctional officers concerning their role in rehabilitating offenders in order to construct an appropriate role for them in the rehabilitation process. The sample consisted of 117 correctional officers, 81 males and 36 females, of different age, sex, race, ranks, level of education and length of service. A questionnaire was designed, made up of rating scales to measure knowledge of rehabilitation models and services, attitudes and perceptions towards contributing to offender rehabilitation process and perceptions of personal and prison environment conditions. Even though the results show that correctional officers have a limited understanding and knowledge of the principles of the Programme-Developed Model of offender rehabilitation, they perceived offender rehabilitation within the framework of this model as a growth and development programme that will benefit offenders to cope with their life stresses. It is difficult however to tease out whether they have changed from a conceptually punitive to a rehabilitative way of conceptualising, relating to and treating the offenders. More research in this topic might clarify the attitude and perception of correctional officers towards offender rehabilitation because this will in part lay the basis for the success of the rehabilitation process. Better-educated correctional officers perceive themselves as motivated, skillful and willing to be trained further in order to partake in offender rehabilitation processes. Correctional officers perceived social work and education and training rehabilitation services as more useful and would like to do further training in these services in order to contribute towards facilitating offender rehabilitation programmes. Important differences in respect of gender, level of education and length of service were found which qualify this general finding. Stress, burnout and environmental conditions were found to impact negatively on correctional service officers' willingness and capacity to contribute to the rehabilitation process. Female correctional officers appear to experience prison conditions more negatively compared to males. These findings are discussed in terms of developing recommendations for the effective and rational use of correctional service officers as skilled members of a rehabilitation orientated team of professionals. / Thesis (M.A.)- University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

Stress among correctional officers is widespread, according to research studies and anecdotal evidence. The threat of inmate violence against correctional officers, actual violence committed by inmates, inmate demands and manipulation and problems with co-workers are conditions that officers have reported in recent years that can cause stress. These factors, combined with understaffing, extensive overtime, rotating shift work, low pay, poor public image, and other sources of stress, can impair officers' health, cause them to bum out or retire prematurely, and impair their family life. Despite these weaknesses and malfunctioning in correctional settings, many officers are still committed in their work, until they reach their set pension dates. Such officers show intense focus and high levels of enthusiasm. With the upcoming positive paradigm in Occupational Health Psychology, "positive" trends such as work engagement, organisational commitment and individual commitment are also common among correctional officers. The first step in the enhancement of total spectrum of work-related well-being, from unwell-being (burnout) to well-being (work engagement) is the successful diagnosis of stress, burnout and work engagement. However, it is important to use reliable and valid instruments to measure these constructs. The objective of this study in the Department of Correctional Services was to standardise an Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET), an adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI - GS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for correctional officers in South Africa, in order to determine their levels of occupational stress, burnout, work engagement, organisational commitment and ill health (based on their biographical characteristics), and to test a structural model of work wellness. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with stratified random samples (N = 897) taken of correctional officers in the 48 prisons in South Africa. An Organisational Stress Screening Tool, the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Job - Demands Resources Questionnaire, the Health and Organisational Commitment subscales of the ASSET, and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Cronbach alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analyses, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), T-tests and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test a structural model of work related well-being. Significant differences in stress levels based on biographical characteristics revealed a statistically significant difference regarding how correctional officers of different age groups experience stress as a result of job overload and commitment from the organisation towards its own employees. A practically significant difference between correctional officers aged 20- 30 and 50-60 years of age, concerning the experience of stress as a result of job control, was also found. Another statistically significant difference was found concerning how correctional officers with different years of experience in the current job experienced stress as a result of job overload and work relationships. Work relationships contributed to a statistically significant difference between correctional officers with different years of experience in the current prison. Statistically significant differences also existed with regard to the experience of stress between correctional officers with different ranks as a result of job overload and work/life balance. Lastly, no statistically significant gender differences were found among male and female correctional officers in South Africa. This finding on gender, is in contrast with most of the empirical research on gender differences, which suggests that women appear to experience higher levels of stress in comparison to males. Exploratory factor analyses with target rotations resulted in a three-factor model of burnout consisting of Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Efficacy. The scales showed acceptable internal consistencies and construct equivalence for two language groups (Afrikaans/English and African). Regarding the differences in the burnout levels between language groups, a significant effect of language on the combined dependent variable Burnout was revealed. Analysis of each individual dependent variable showed that there were no significant differences between the levels of Exhaustion and Cynicism in the two language groups. The two groups differed in terms of the level of Professional Efficacy, where the English/Afrikaans group showed higher levels of Professional Efficacy. No significant effect of qualification and rank on the combined dependent variable Burnout was found. However, the language groups (English/Afrikaans) and (Africans) differed in terms of the level of Exhaustion where the Africans showed higher levels of Exhaustion. Furthermore, there was a significant effect of job on the combined dependent variable Burnout. Significant differences existed between language groups as a result of the levels of Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Efficacy. Finally, compared to the normative sample, 32,4% of correctional officers experience high levels of Exhaustion, while 38,6% experience high Cynicism and 32,1% show low Professional Efficacy. Exploratory factor analyses with target rotations resulted in a one-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour/Dedication. The scales showed acceptable construct and internal equivalence for two language groups (Afrikaans and English). Although no practically significant differences between language groups of correctional officers in South Africa were found, it did reveal statistically significant higher levels of work engagement for Africans as compared to the Afrikaans/English language group. Furthermore, regarding differences in engagement levels based on qualifications and ranks, the findings revealed a statistically significant difference based on qualifications, and not on rank. No significant gender differences were found. With regard to aspects that enervated work-related well-being, the model showed that job demands (overload) and lack of job resources had an impact on burnout. Burnout, furthermore, mediated the relationship between job demands and ill health among correctional officers. The structural model revealed that work-related well-being mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. Correctional officers were likely to be victims of burnout and consequently ill health when an increase in job demands is not matched with an increase in job resources. The availability of job resources lead to work-related wellbeing, which will turn into organisational commitment. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Disertaciniame darbe siekiama, remiantis bausmių vykdymo teisės ir kitų mokslų pasiekimais, lyginamuoju metodu išanalizuoti nuteistųjų teises Lietuvos ir Prancūzijos pataisos įstaigose bei jų realizaciją, įvertinti, ar nuteistųjų teisių reglamentacija ir įgyvendinimas abiejose valstybėse atitinka tarptautinių normų reikalavimus žmogaus teisių srityje, taip pat nustatyti teisinio reguliavimo ir praktinio teisės normų realizavimo trūkumus ir pateikti išvadas ir pasiūlymus dėl nuteistųjų teisių pataisos įstaigose reglamentavimo ir realizavimo tobulinimo. / In the dissertation work one aims to analyze via comparative method the rights of convicts in Lithuanian and French correctional institutions according to the achievements of sentence law and other sciences, their realization, to evaluate whether the rights regulation of convicts and implementation in both states meet the requirements of international norms in human right sphere, and also to determine the drawbacks of legal regulation and practical law norm realization and to present conclusions and suggestions for improvement of regulation and realization of convict rights in correctional institutions. / Le but de cette recherche – par une méthode comparative se référant aux réalisations du droit de l’exécution des peines et d’autres sciences – est d'analyser les droits et les obligations des condamnés dans les établissements pénitentiaires en Lituanie et en France et leur réalisation, juger si la réglementation et la réalisation des droits et des obligations des condamnés dans les deux États dans le domaine des droits de l’homme correspond aux exigences des normes internationales, également, déterminer les défauts de la régulation juridique et de la réalisation pratique des normes juridiques et présenter des conclusions et des propositions relatifs à la réglementation des droits et des obligations dans les établissements pénitentiaires et le perfectionnement de leur réalisation.

Bakalauro darbe analizuojamos nuteistųjų dalyvavimo socioedukacinėje veikloje galimybės. Vienas iš svarbiausių būdų, siekiant apsaugoti nuteistąjį nuo socialinės atskirties, – humaniškas poţiūris į nusikaltėlį, maksimalios pataisos įstaigos pastangos vykdant socioedukacines programas. Šiaulių tardymo izoliatoriaus ūkio aptarnavimo būryje buvo atliktas kokybinis tyrimas. Jo respondentai – 8 nuteistieji, kurių amţius nuo 20 iki 36 metų. Kokybiniu tyrimu, naudojant pusiau struktūruotą interviu, siekta plačiau ištirti nuteistųjų galimybes dalyvauti tokiose socioedukacinės veiklos srityse: švietimo(si), darbinės veiklos, kultūrinės (meninės, sportinės, religinės). Taip pat siekta suţinoti, kaip nuteistieji vertina organizuojamą socioedukacinę veiklą bei galimybes joje dalyvauti. Tyrimu nustatyta, jog pataisos įstaigoje vykdoma socioedukacinė veikla nepakankamai produktyvi ir sisteminga. Nors nuteistieji gali dalyvauti švietimo(si), darbinėje ir laisvalaikio kultūrinėje veikloje, tačiau galimybės ribotos bei nepakankamai tenkinami nuteistųjų poreikiai: šviečiamosios paskaitos monotoniškos, šviečiamoji literatūra pasenusi, nevedamos profesinio rengimo paskaitos, darbo įrankiai seni, nėra galimybių naudotis naujomis technologijomis, neskatinama kūrybinė bei religinė veikla. Įţvelgiamos ir teigiami vykdomos socioedukacinės veiklos aspektai: vedamos bendrojo lavinimo pamokos, suteikiama galimybė uţsiimti darbine veikla, taip pat sportuoti. Nepaisant trūkumų, galima teigti, jog... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / There are analysed abilities of participation of convicts in socioeducational activities in my bachelor work. One of the important ways, where is sought to protect a convict that he or she would not stay in a social disjuncture, is a human attitude towards a convict, maximum endeavour of correctional institutions doing socioeducational programmes. I have done a qualitative research. It was done in Economy Service Team of Šiauliai Remand Prison. There were eight of 20 – 36 years old respondents in this research. The purpose of this research was to explore more about convicts’ abilities to take part in the socioeducational activities such as education, work, cultural activities (art, sport, religion) departments. Furthermore, there was important to know how convicts evaluate organized sovioleducational activities and their ability to take part in them. There was used a demi-structural interview for this research. The research shows that socioeducational activities in the correctional institution are not enough efficient and systematic. Although convicts may participate in all education and working, cultural and leisure activities but abilities of participation is restricted and requirements of the convicts are not supplied: educational lectures are monotonous, educational literature is outdated, vocational training courses are not available, tools are outdated, it is not possible to use new technologies, encourage creativity and religious activities. There are and the strongest... [to full text]

<p>The research comprises an exploratory study of the challenges that offenders face upon release and which contribute to recidivism in the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). The West Coast Medium &lsquo / A&rsquo / Correctional Centre in the Western Cape has been selected as the case study area. Although offenders attend various rehabilitation programmes inside the prison, it has become apparent that upon their release this rehabilitation is not sustained. The qualitative methodology used for this research included semi-structured interviews in order to gather information on the challenges that contribute to recidivism. Offenders, parolees, family members, the Head of Social Reintegration, a social worker, a representative of NICRO, the Chairperson of the Atlantis Community Police Forum, and a spokesperson for SAPS Atlantis were interviewed in order to gather the relevant information. The general findings of the research demonstrate that the adverse socio-economic conditions confronting the offenders after their release from prison are the main barriers to their successful rehabilitation and reintegration into society. The problem is further compounded by the high incidence of criminal activities within the community environment, the influence of gangsterism, peer pressure and substance abuse. Together, these conditions lead to the re-committing of crime, the re-incarceration of former offenders and, ultimately, to a pattern of recidivism.</p>

<p>The history of prison reform after 1994 was shaped by the relationship between governance and human rights standards / the requirements for both are set out in the Constitution and elaborated on in the Correctional Services Act. Good governance and human rights converge in five dimensions of a constitutional democracy: legitimacy, transparency, accountability, the rule&nbsp / of law / and resource utilisation. The new constitutional order established a set of governance and rights requirements for the prison system demanding fundamental reform. It de-legitimised the existing prison system and thus placed it in a crisis. This required its reinvention to establish a system compatible with constitutional demands. The thesis investigates whether&nbsp / constitutionalism provided the necessary transformative basis for prison reform in South Africa after 1994. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) senior management failed to&nbsp / anticipate this in the period 1990 to 1994. In the five years after 1994 senior management equally failed to initiate a fundamental reform process. This lack of vision, as well as a number of external factors relating to the state of the public service in the period 1994 to 2000, gave rise to a second crisis: the collapse of order and discipline in the DCS. By the late 1990s the state had lost control of the DCS and its internal workings can be described as a mess &ndash / a highly interactive set of problems in causal relationships. In many regards the problems beleaguering the prison system were created in the period 1994 &ndash / 1999. The leadership at the time did not recognize that the prison system was in crisis or that the crisis presented an opportunity for&nbsp / fundamental reform. The new democratic order demanded constitutional and political imagination, but this failed to materialise. Consequently, the role and function of imprisonment within the&nbsp / criminal justice system has remained fundamentally unchanged and there has not been a critical re-examination of its purpose, save that the criminal justice system has become more punitive. Several investigations (1998-2006) into the DCS found widespread corruption and rights violations. Organised labour understood transformation primarily as the racial transformation of the staff corps and embarked on an organised campaign to seize control of management and key positions. This introduced a culture of lawlessness, enabling widespread corruption. w leadership by 2001 and facing pressure from the national government, the DCS responded to the situation by focusing on corruption and on regaining control of the Department. A number of&nbsp / gains have been made since then, especially after 2004. Regaining control of the Department focused on addressing systemic weaknesses, enforcing the disciplinary code and defining a&nbsp / new employer-employee relationship. This has been a slow process with notable setbacks, but it continues to form part of the Department&rsquo / s strategic direction. It is concluded that the DCS&nbsp / has engaged with and developed a deeper understanding of its constitutional obligations insofar as they pertain to governance requirements in the Constitution. However, compliance with&nbsp / human rights standards had not received the same attention and areas of substantial non-compliance remain in violation of the Constitution and subordinate legislation. Overcrowding,&nbsp / violations of personal safety, poor services and/or lack of access to services persist. Despite the detailed rights standards set out in the Correctional Services Act, there is little to indicate that&nbsp / legislative compliance is an overt focus for the DCS. While meeting the minimum standards of humane detention, as required by the Constitution, should have been the strategic focus of the&nbsp / DCS in relation to the prison population, the 2004 White&nbsp / Paper defines &ldquo / offender rehabilitation&rdquo / as the core business of the DCS. In many regards the DCS has assigned more prominence&nbsp / and weight to the White Paper than to its obligations under the Correctional Services Act. In an attempt to legitimise the prison system, the DCS defined for itself a goal that is required neither&nbsp / by the Constitution nor the Correctional&nbsp / Services Act. Compliance with the minimum standards of humane detention must be regarded as a prerequisite for successful interventions to reduce&nbsp / future criminality. After&nbsp / seven years, delivery results on the rehabilitation objective have been minimal and not objectively measurable. The noble and over-ambitious focus on rehabilitation at&nbsp / policy level distracted the DCS from its primary constitutional obligation, namely to ensure safe and humane custody under conditions of human dignity Throughout the period (1994 to 2012)&nbsp / the DCS has been suspicious if not dismissive of advice, guidance and at times orders (including court orders) offered or given by external&nbsp / stakeholders. Its relationship with civil society&nbsp / &nbsp / &nbsp / &nbsp / organisations remain strained and there is no formal structure for interaction. Since 2004 Parliament has reasserted its authority over the DCS, not hesitating to criticise poor decisions and&nbsp / sub-standard performance. Civil society organisations have increasingly used Parliament as a platform for raising concerns about prison reform. Litigation by civil society and prisoners has&nbsp / also been used on a growing scale&nbsp / to ensure legislative compliance. It is concluded that prison reform efforts needs to refocus on he rights requirements set out in the Correctional Services&nbsp / Act and approach this task in an inclusive, transparent and accountable manner.&nbsp / &nbsp / </p>

Prisons are for many an unknown world, and few know about the prison culture which includes unwritten rules, power structures, interactions and relationships between inmates and correctional employees. While many think that Swedish prisons are too comfortable,inmates are facing extreme stress due to surveillance and detention, by depriving inmates their possibility to shape their own lives. When the inmates is deprived of control over their own life’s the penal system have great power to shape and to influence the inmates. The purpose of this paper is to investigate prisoners' experiences of treatment and exercise of power in prisons. Starting point is to examine what are the kinds of relationships between prison officers and inmates from a power perspective, if there is any difference between the closed and open prisons and how the inmates affected by the structures that exist. Based on my overall purpose, and with my informant´s stories which revealed a number of similar points, four main headings were developed; Mass media and society´s view, and unknown world, interaction between inmates and prison officers and consequences. Prison officers with the role as a contact persons as well and other staff which work close to the inmates play a significant role by supporting through motivational interviewing and can help the inmates to gain insight about their life situation and actions. My informant’s underlined that a good contact person can either help or discourage. Inmates who contributed with their experiences express that there is a big difference between open-and closed prisons. They express that prison officers at a maximum security prison is more authoritarian and abuse their power more than prison officers at the open prisons. Some of the inmates have experienced disparaging attitudes and violations. . Throughout our lives there is a constant search for identity and confirmation, the treatment from the staff is very important for how the inmates perceive their time in prison, but it is also important for how the inmates is formed as people and how their self-image and identity are affected. Many in our society have a static and preconceived image of prisons and the people behind the bars and these structures and power games have consequences, the inmates starts to accept their role in the society.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamas Komandinio darbo efektyvinimas: Šiaulių regiono pataisos inspekcijos atvejis. Darbe atlikta mokslinės literatūros analizė. Pirmame darbo skyriuje atlikta komandinio darbo sampratos, komandinio darbo efektyvinimo viešajame sektoriuje, viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus bendradarbiavimo, Naujojo viešojo valdymo ir Gero valdymo principų analizė. Darbe panaudotas kiekybinis tyrimas, buvo parengtos anoniminės anketos ir kokybinis tyrimas, buvo parengtas pusiau struktūruotas interviu. Tyrimu buvo nustatyta, kad komandos nariai bendradarbiauja vieni su kitais, dalinasi idėjomis, tačiau iškilus problemoms komandos nariai nesugeba vieningai jų išspręsti, todėl galima daryti prielaidą, kad komandos narių bendravimas daro įtaką problemų sprendimo efektyvumui ir santykiams komandoje. Daugiau nei trečdalis tyrime dalyvavusių respondentų teigė, kad komanda yra nelanksti ir komandos nariai dažnai konfliktuoja, todėl galima daryti prielaidą, kad stereotipiškas ir nelankstus komandos požiūris į aplinkybes skatina konfliktinių situacijų atsiradimą, kurias komandos nariams sunkiai pavyksta išspręsti, todėl prastėja darbo kokybė ir veiklos rezultatai. Vadovas teigė, kad nelankstumą lemią pačių žmonių nesugebėjimas lanksčiai mąstyti bei kritiškai vertinti savo sugebėjimus bei nuostatas, keliamo tikslo turinio paviršutiniškas supratimas. Darbo pabaigoje buvo pateiktos išvados ir praktinės rekomendacijos. / Bachelor's work deals with the teamwork promotion possibilities in Šiauliai region correction inspection. The aim of this research is to find out the factors which influence the teamwork efficiency rates. From the theoretical point of view, the paper surveys teamwork promotion in the public sector, application of teamwork, and the application of the new public administration and good governance principles in the public sector. In the paper was used a quantitative research, anonymous questionnaires and a qualitative research were prepared together with a semi-structured interview. The research has shown that the members of a team collaborate with each other, share their ideas, but if problems arise, they are not able to solve them unanimously; thus it can be assumed that communication between team members influences the efficiency of problem solving and the relations in a team. More than one third respondents claimed that the team is inflexible and the team members conflict frequently, and so it can be assumed that a stereotypical and inflexible team attitude towards circumstances prompts feuding situations, which team members find difficult to deal with and, consequently, the quality and the performance of work declines. The team leader admitted that inflexibility is also caused by people’s inability to think flexibly and critically evaluate their own capabilities and attitudes, and the superficial understanding of the objective content. At the end of the paper, there were... [to full text]

This is a study of treatment alliance between staff and juvenile delinquent boys in institutional treatment under the Swedish Board of Institutions (SiS). The aim of this study is twofold. First, the purpose is to explore alliance phenomena in correctional institutions for young delinquents in their qualitative, rather than quantitative, aspects. Second, the study aims to explore possible preconditions - obstacles and possibilities - for the development of a genuine treatment alliance between staff and youth. In a case-within-cases design, eight boys in two institutions were followed throughout their treatments. Through participant observations, interviews, and on the basis of their case files I collected data from both the youths and the staff at different points of time during the treatment. Information from the three data sources was used for the purpose of triangulation and mutual validation. The main findings indicate the existence of two kinds of alliance processes, one a genuine alliance and the other a sham alliance one. The genuine alliance appears to be a rare occurrence at these institutions. On the contrary, close examination reveals that a high level of institutional adjustment on the part of a boy in custody often reflects mere sham alliance. The sham alliance builds upon a strong tacit mutual agreement between the boy and the staff to establish a non-change relation. The stronger the staff-youth agreement about this kind of relation, the stronger the sham alliance. Sham alliance serves the common avoidance of conflicting emotions (at unconscious and conscious levels) and contributes to momentary symptomatic relief. Equally important, sham alliance generates an atmosphere of calm and peace on the ward. Among several factors, one of the most significant obstacles to the development of genuine alliance is the fact that the boy is admitted to the institution not on his own will but typically strongly against it. Factors that promote the development of a genuine alliance within a correctional institution are discussed finally.