Citation

Peterson-Badali M, Koegl CJ. J. Crim. Justice 2002; 30(1): 41-49.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0047-2352(01)00121-0

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

To date, there has been virtually no empirical study on the role of correctional officers in inmate-on-inmate violence. One hundred juvenile offenders responded to a semistructured interview that explored their experience of secure custody and their involvement in peer violence in secure facilities across Ontario, Canada. Results indicate that correctional staff allowed, and induced, juveniles to use force on other young offenders. Roughly half the respondents reported that during their last stay in secure custody, correctional staff deliberately turned a blind eye to impending peer violence. A third reported that they had directly experienced or witnessed guards offering incentives to young offenders to intimidate or assault other inmates. Findings support Bottoms' [Bottoms, A. E. (1999). Interpersonal violence and social order in prisons. In M. Tonry & J. Petersilia (Eds.), Prisons, crime and justice, vol. 26 (pp. 205-281). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.] assertion that inmate violence needs to be considered in the context of the social interactions between guards and inmates, and suggest that interventions designed to reduce inmate violence must address the behavior of correctional staff toward inmates.