Rosemary Ricciardelli

Strategic masculinities: Vulnerabilities, risk and the production of prison masculinities

Expressions of masculinity in prison are most often characterized as being structured in response to an environment that encourages displays of stoicism, bravery, physical prowess and violence/aggression. However, we found that the antagonistic, precarious and risk-prone environment of the prison shapes prisoners’ behaviours and the constitution of ‘normative’ and hegemonic masculinities in more nuanced ways than prior research suggests. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 56 male parolees, we explored how these men perceived and responded to risk while incarcerated, as well as how prison masculinities are linked with experiences and management of risk to their personal (legal, physical and emotional) safety. In this article, we focus on how prisoners mobilized and negotiated their masculine subjectivities to handle the uncertainty of imprisonment and the various risks they encountered in prison. We argue that penal risks and prison masculinities are mutually constitutive; risk is linked to perceptions of physical and emotional vulnerability, which shape prisoners’ masculine embodiment. Simultaneously, prisoners try to respond to uncertainty and perceived risk in ways that present their masculinity as empowered rather than submissive. Our findings advance the conceptualization of prison and hegemonic masculinities, penal environments and risk/uncertainty.

Coping Strategies Investigating How Male Prisoners Manage the Threat of Victimization in Federal Prisons

Researchers have established that prisons are violent spaces where prisoners use aggressive or passive strategies to manage the threat of victimization. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews, this study explores the coping strategies of 56 former Canadian federal prisoners. Most respondents used passive, aggressive, or passive/aggressive coping strategies. Differences emerged among respondents who used individual strategies (self-dependence) or alliance strategies (dependence on affiliates) to cope with prison living. Only alliance strategies appeared simultaneously passive and aggressive. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Constructing and Performing Sexualities in the Penitentiaries Attitudes and Behaviors Among Male Prisoners

Prison sex research has primarily focused on overt sexual behaviors, while prisoner attitudes regarding sexuality have received considerably less attention. Moreover, little is known about the implications of such attitudes for prisoner behaviors. Applying a social constructionist framework, the present study explores how sexuality is negotiated and performed during incarceration, and situates these behaviors within the context of dominant attitudes in all-male prison environments. To this end, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with male parolees from Canadian federal penitentiaries. The results suggest that heteronormativity and homophobia are pervasive in prisoner cultures and are reflected in how sexuality is discursively constructed and acted out by incarcerated men. Implications of the current findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Producing Social (Dis)Order in Prison The Effects of Administrative Controls on Prisoner-on-Prisoner Violence

Institutional security level is one of the most consistent predictors of aggregate-levels of violence in prisons. Informed by administrative control theory, this study explores the impact of two types of social order administrative controls on prisoner-on-prisoner violence. Grounded theory was used to analyze in-depth semi-structured interviews with former Canadian male prisoners. From the participants’ perspectives, the reliance on formal, coercive mechanisms in higher security prisons decreased feelings of safety and led to increased violence, while the informal, remunerative mechanisms used in lower security prisons deterred aggression and encouraged desirable behaviors. Implications for prison management and administrative decisions are discussed.

Parolee Perceptions of Case Management Practices during Reintegration

ABSTRACT Researchers argue that the therapeutic alliance is a crucial ingredient for successful releasee treatment outcomes, and more recently in effective correctional treatment. Within the context of the criminal justice system, I illustrate the value of the therapeutic alliance in effective case management and in supporting desistance from crime for reintegrating parolees. The study involved in-depth, semistructured interviews with 56 high-risk/high-need federal male parolees and three parolee case studies. Releasees reported an appreciation for their relationship with their caseworker(s), which they described as supportive and without judgment. I argue this relationship reflects the social dimensions of responsivity and embodies the valued treatment components, optimized through a therapeutic alliance, that foster pathways to releasee reintegration. I conclude by discussing the role of therapeutic alliances in processes of and implications for effective correctional treatment.

“Playing the system”: Structural factors potentiating mental health stigma, challenging awareness, and creating barriers to care for Canadian public safety personnel

There are growing concerns about the impact of public safety work on the mental health of public safety personnel; as such, we explored systemic and individual factors that might dissuade public safety personnel from seeking care. Public safety personnel barriers to care-seeking include the stigma associated with mental disorders and frequent reports of insufficient access to care. To better understand barriers to care-seeking, we thematically analyzed the optional open-ended final comments provided by over 828 Canadian public safety personnel as part of a larger online survey designed to assess the prevalence of mental disorders among public safety personnel. Our results indicated that systematic processes may have (1) shaped public safety personnel decisions for care-seeking, (2) influenced how care-seekers were viewed by their colleagues, and (3) encouraged under-awareness of personal mental health needs. We described how public safety personnel who do seek care may be viewed by others; in particular, we identified widespread participant suspicion that coworkers who took the time to address their mental health needs were “abusing the system.” We explored what constitutes “abusing the system” and how organizational structures—systematic processes within different public safety organizations—might facilitate such notions of abuse. We found that understaffing may increase scrutiny of injured public safety personnel by those left to manage the additional burden; in addition, cynicism and unacknowledged structural stigma may emerge, preventing the other public safety personnel from identifying their mental health needs and seeking help. Finally, we discuss how system-level stigma can be potentiated by fiscal constraints when public safety personnel take any leave of absence, inadvertently contributing to an organizational culture wherein help-seeking for employment-related mental health concerns becomes unacceptable. Implications for public safety personnel training and future research needs are discussed.

Why corrections? Motivations for becoming a Canadian provincial or territorial correctional officer

Purpose The growing prison population and challenges related to recruiting and retaining suitable correctional officers (COs) in Canada provided the impetus for the current study. Recruitment efforts in provinces and territories often rely on a variety of diverse testing, ranging from physical fitness to in-person interviews. However, despite such efforts, turn-over rates remain high and insight into what motivates people to seek a career in correctional work continues to require elucidation. By investigating the career development of COs, the purpose of this paper is to understand why certain men seek employment in this field. Design/methodology/approach Data are derived from in-depth semi-structured interviews with male officers (n=41) who have employment experience in provincial correctional facilities. Findings Respondents discussed their initial motivations for entering the field and their career ambitions. Some entered corrections because they lacked alternative options for employment, others as a stepping stone for a different justice-oriented occupation such as policing or parole. Many were motivated by the income and benefits or had a specific vocational self-identity toward correctional work. However, nearly all respondents indicated that, over time, they no longer felt their rate of pay justly reflected the demands of the occupation, thus factors motivating field entry fail to materialize in ways that sustain long-term employee retention. Practical implications CO recruitment should target individuals with interest in the field of justice more broadly. Occupational demands of the CO occupation need to be addressed to reduce turnover. Recruitment should focus not only on new graduates but also be directed toward more mature individuals. The impact of resource intensive interview processes for candidates on turnover rates needs to be evaluated. Originality/value The authors’ focus on COs with employment experience in provincial and territorial correctional facilities, rather than federal, is justified by the lack of research on and the high rate of CO turnover in such facilities. After exploring the qualitative responses of officers, clear themes emerged that align well with natural socio-ecological systems: the self, family and community, and wider society.