The self-legitimacy of prison staff in Slovenia

Abstract

This paper focuses on the self-legitimacy of prison staff in Slovenia. The primary aim of this study is to identify possible differences between those factors that influence the self-legitimacy of prison officers in different periods, which would confirm the applicability of some of the theoretical assumptions on the unstable nature of self-legitimacy. Possible differences between groups of prison workers will be explored. The results show that perceptions of supervisors' procedural justice, relations with colleagues, audience legitimacy and age are the best predictors of self-legitimacy. These findings highlight the unstable nature of self-legitimacy and, moreover, the perceptions of self-legitimacy vary over time and in different groups of prison workers. The implications of these findings will be discussed.

Prison Officer Self-Legitimacy and Support for Rehabilitation in Ghana

“…How far the influence of the correlates of Self-Legitimacy and Support for Rehabilitation might change or remain stable over time was not addressed. Yet, as Hacin, Fields and Meško (2018) have recently shown, such changes are possible. Thus there is an urgent need for longitudinal studies of officers' Self-Legitimacy in order to address the potential importance of stability or change in Self-Legitimacy and its correlates.…”

“…Given Barbalet's (2001) argument about the importance of relationships in fostering confidence, it is hypothesized that the quality of interpersonal relations among colleagues will influence officers' confidence in their Self-Legitimacy. Among Slovenian police officers, Hacin, Fields, and Meško (2018) found that perceived positive relations with colleagues enhanced officer Self-Legitimacy. Meško and his colleagues had previously reported similar findings (Meško et al, 2017).…”

“…Analyzing data from Slovenia, Meško et al (2017) reported that Fair Treatment by Supervisors was related to Self-Legitimacy only indirectly. In a follow-up study, Hacin et al (2018) found that Fair Treatment by Supervisors was directly associated with increased Self-Legitimacy (Hacin et al, 2018). On this basis, we test the following hypothesis:…”

“…Self-Legitimacy is self-referentialand entails what Archer (2003), in a different context, refers to as "inner conversation"when power-holders seek to convince themselves that the authority vested in them is morally appropriate. With limited exceptions (Akoensi, 2016;Hacin, Fields, & Meško, 2018;Meško, Hacin, Tankebe, & Fields, 2017), the Self-Legitimacy of prison officers remains an unexplored topic, yet findings from quantitative studies of police officers show that Self-Legitimacy matters for police officers' commitment to the rights of suspects, to officers' support for the fair treatment of citizens, and to their attitudes to the use of force Jonathan-Zamir & Harpaz, 2018;Tankebe, 2019;Tankebe & Meško, 2015;. Given the influence of Self-SELF-LEGITIMACY AND SUPPORT FOR REHABILITATION 4 Legitimacy on the quality of officers' job performance in the police, one might look for a similar influence upon officers in prisons.…”

Reducing Discretion in the Administration of Prison Leave: In Search of Legitimacy

“…The 'power of the pen' (Crewe 2011a) in Spain, if my analysis is correct, does not lie within the uniformed officers but more in the hands of the treatment personnel. 19 This may help understand why, maybe paradoxically, uniformed officers are better evaluated in Spanish prisons than treatment personnel (similar to other countries, Hacin et al 2019). Probably because the stakes that depend on these latter personnel are much higher, as is the frustration that concurs when prison leave is denied on grounds of failed participation in cognitive behavioral programs.…”