Professional boundary violations in prisons: a scoping review of the literature

Abstract

Purpose Professional boundary violations – intentional blurring, minimising or exploiting of institutions’ ethical and legal frameworks – have the potential to cause significant harm to prisoners, staff, prison systems and the public. There has been little empirical research on the nature, extent and impact of boundary violations in UK prisons. The purpose of this paper is to synthesise and critically review studies which have sought to explore, measure and predict boundary violative behaviour, with a view to direct future research and inform prison policies and practices. Design/methodology/approach Four internet-based bibliographic databases were used for this review. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Twenty studies published between 2001 and 2022 were included in this review. Findings There is a lack of comprehensive self-report measures around prison boundary violations. Staff and prisoner characteristics, as well as prison-specific conditions, are linked with boundary violations. Staff training, improved working conditions and amnesty programmes as well as bolstered surveillance and restricted cross-sex staff deployment were among recommendations to reduce boundary violations. “Insider” researchers offer insight and access opportunities, but they also pose ethical implications. Current studies have research design, participant sampling and measurement scale limitations which compromises the applicability of findings. Prisons need robust policies on defining, reporting, punishing and recovering from boundary violations. Collaboration between prison institutions and academics, using individuals with experience of both professions, is essential to understand, predict and reduce boundary violations. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first review of empirical studies on professional boundary violations in prison.

Job stress and burnout among prison staff: a systematic literature review

“…Regarding boundary violations, and its connection with stress and burnout, as explored in the current study, literature is scarce. This is expected considering that boundary violations are an emerging research topic with little published research and stress and burnout are among several factors that can potentially contribute to this behaviours (Kelly and Potter, 2023).…”

The Sociology of Contraband: Examining the Correlates of Illicit Drugs, Cellphones, and Weapons in U.S. Prisons

“…This has been noted as a particular concern when it comes to the relationships between incarcerated men and female prison staff. In fact, a recent review of the staff boundary violation literature found that a common policy recommendation is to restrict cross-sex staff employment in carceral facilities (Kelly & Potter, 2023).…”

“…This measure was included because of its implications for the management perspective. That is, some literature suggests that incarcerated people, particularly men, may attempt to establish inappropriate relationships with female employees to facilitate the introduction of contraband (Kelly & Potter, 2023; Worley & Worley, 2011). To the extent this occurs, it clearly undermines the efficacy of a prison's management structure.…”