ABSTRACT
Interactions with inmates may be interpreted by officers primarily as infor mal person-to-person interactions rather than as formal officer-inmate confronta tions. When the officer is challenged by an inmate, he may step out of his role as officer and interpret the inmate’s behavior as a personal challenge. Here the officer acknowledges his acceptance of the inmate’s demand to be “treated like a man.” Officers generally feel that they are personally treating inmates like “men” when they inform them that they are breaking a rule, or when they request that the inmate perform his assigned duties. As “men,” officers feel that they them selves would react positively to such moves and that “men” in general should willingly do what they are told if they are approached in the proper way. This “individualistic” approach to officer-inmate interactions is underscored by the nearly total absence of officer statements attributing inmate actions to a dislike or
a disrespect of officers in general. Officers recognize that certain inmates react to certain officers in negative ways, and they attribute the inmates’ negative reaction to the fatal flaw in an officer’s “tough guy” approach, the officer’s individual style.
