Perceptions of Criminal Justice in Accra

• In Event: Police Work and Perceptions of Police/Criminal Justice System in Various Cultural Contexts

Abstract

“Prisons and prison guards in Africa remain understudied and ill understood and are most often represented in the literature as objects/subjects of critique or targets of reform”, as Jefferson (2007: 253) argues persuasively. This paper empirically examines the antecedents of prison officer job stress employing a mixed methods research strategy involving surveys, interviews and direct observation. Multiple regression analysis indicates that concerns over infectious diseases, dangerousness, work on family conflict, low job autonomy and prison officers’ perceptions of their own legitimacy (as power-holders) are significant predictors of job stress. Themes from interviews and observations of prison officers grounds this research in this post-colonial prison context. These findings have implications for the development of stress-reduction strategies and criminological research in the global-south.

Author

• Thomas Akoensi, University of Cambridge