ABSTRACT
What sort of occupational culture exists among prison officers? Do they have a common way of thinking, based on identifiable aspects of their work? Is there a particular ‘way’ of working common to prison officers – and if so, what effects does this have on their approach to their work? Are different cultures found in different circumstances (including internal differentiation within establishments)? The concept of culture is useful to the extent that it helps us to analyse the impact of attempts to change or reform the prison (see Chan 1997) and to account for some aspects of prison officer behaviour. Reference is often made in official documents to organisational culture, ‘institutionalised racism’ and to a range of prison staff attitudes which are sometimes seen as impediments to modernisation and reform and which, at their worst, are linked to excessive use of force and other types of brutality and to corruption and other misconduct. What is the evidence for the existence of such cultures? Are they all necessarily negative? (We argue that they are not). Why do they arise and what are the implications of their existence for those working in and managing establishments? A professional, accountable and open Prison Service has a duty to be honest and self-critical about this complex aspect of its operation.
