ABSTRACT
Why has the guard been ignored for so long? Hawkins says that it may be because criminologists have tended to rely on reports of inmates to discuss guards and Fogel suggests that it is because guards do not write books. I suspect, however, that it is because researchers have often felt the guard to be “unapproachable.” It may be that those of us interested in the community life of prisons can more easily identify with the prisoner. At times, I am sure, we all feel that our lives are “like living in prison.” We feel confined and controlled by bureaucratic rules and regulations. We face anonymity and alienation in our daily lives. Few of us, however, readily identify with the “controller.” We feel uncomfortable with power and have a difficult time understanding those we believe wield power. We generally do not speak the same language as the controller. This inability or lack of desire to understand the guard from the guard’s perspective may, in part, account for the lack of substantive knowledge about prison guards and their work.
