ABSTRACT

Correctional officers are tasked with and committed to preserving life, yet deaths do occur in custody. Moreover, it is said deaths that receive public attention and media coverage. In the current article, we examine the complexities around the preservation of life as experienced during correctional work. We focus on the discrepancies between public and media interpretations of correctional work and the occupational experiences of correctional officers, including the relationships that develop between staff and prisoners. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with 43 Canadian correctional officers with experience working in provincial or territorial prisons, we thematically analyze their narratives of responding to prisoner death by suicide, either attempted, completed, or both, as well as self-harming behaviours. Results highlight the discrepancies between the role and responsibilities of correctional officers versus how the public perceives their occupational work. We evidence that most staff do care about those in custody, thus balancing preservation of life, care, custody, and control, while keeping themselves, their colleagues, and the public safe creates a complex space for officers.

摘要

惩教人员肩负着挽救生命的任务，并致力于保护生命，但死亡确实在羁押中发生。而且，据说死亡引起了公众的关注和媒体的报道。在当前的文章中，我们研究了在矫正工作中所经历的围绕生命保存的复杂性。我们着眼于公共和媒体对惩教工作的解释与惩教人员的职业经验之间的差异，包括工作人员与囚犯之间发展的关系。通过对43位在省或地区监狱工作的经验的加拿大惩教人员的半结构式访谈，我们从主题上分析了他们通过自杀来应对囚犯死亡的叙述，无论自杀是企图自杀，是自杀还是自杀，或两者兼而有之，以及自我伤害行为。结果突显了惩教人员的角色和职责与公众对他们的职业工作的看法之间的差异。我们证明，大多数员工的确关心被拘留者，从而在保护生命，照顾，监护和控制权之间取得平衡，同时又使自己，同事和公共安全得到保护，为官员创造了一个复杂的空间。