Radicalization Behind Prison Walls: Perspectives of Correctional Officers

• In Event: Terrorism and Radicalization: Recruits in Different Contexts

Abstract

Do prisons create terrorists? This simple question has disturbing roots, as the Paris gunmen in both the Charlie Hebdo and November 2015 attacks met each other in French jails. While some researchers have looked at radicalization behind prison walls from an inmate perspective, we know relatively little about the organizational side of prisons. This study will examine preliminary data collected among correctional officers in Alberta, Canada on how they define and experience radicalization in the correctional facility that they work in. It will further provide insights into how the prison as an institution responds to radicalization and which types of radicalization (e.g., right wing, prislam, environmental terrorism etc.) prison guards find particularly challenging to deal with.

Authors

• Will Schultz, University of Alberta

• Sandra Bucerius, University of Alberta