Jail Staff Willingness to Report Wrongful Behavior: A Descriptive Study

• In Event: Burnout, Turnover, Corruption, and Willingness to Report Wrong-doing Among Correctional Staff

Abstract

Researchers have shown increased interest in employee whistleblowing, largely as a result of highly publicized cases attracting national and international attention. Most published research comes from the fields of business, industry, human resources, health care, and education. The few whistleblowing studies conducted in criminal justice have focused primarily on the police. We located no published studies examining whistleblowing among prison or jail staff. Yet, the ensconced work environment renders the jail and prison context ripe for such inquiry. This study focuses on development, testing, validation, and initial results from the first administration of the Work Experiences Questionnaire (WEQ). The WEQ is designed to measure various correlates of correctional officers’ work environments, including officers’ willingness to report wrongful behavior for which they have direct evidence and which they perceive as harmful to the public, staff, inmates, or detainees. Type, frequency, and severity of wrongdoing behavior, how jail staff became aware of it, and whether or not they reported it and why, will be covered in a summary of the study’s preliminary results.

Authors

• James Wells, Eastern Kentucky University

• Kevin I. Minor, Eastern Kentucky University

• Eric Lambert, The University of Mississippi

• Ryan A. Phillips, Eastern Kentucky University

• Joseph Ellis, Eastern Kentucky University

• Kendahl Granger, Eastern Kentucky University

• Cameron Brown, Eastern Kentucky University

• Tyler Shuplinkov, Eastern Kentucky University

• Carlene Mallory, Eastern Kentucky University

• Jordan Henson, Eastern Kentucky University