We Can Do It? The Impact of Female Prison Guards on Prison Violence

• In Event: The Role of Gender in Correctional Settings

Abstract

Explanations of prison violence are currently expanding, with some scholars suggesting that staff culture may be a crucial factor in predicting violence. Changes in staff composition can affect staff culture, thereby potentially affecting prison violence, which highlights the importance of evaluating trends in staff diversity. One example of changing culture relates to gender, as correctional facilities have reported increasing percentages of female correctional staff over time (Stephan, 1997; 2003). Gender may be of particular importance, as literature contends that women may have a higher proclivity for diffusing violence through the use of interpersonal skills. Therefore, as the percentage of female correctional officers has increased over time, it is possible that their heightened presence is having an aggregate effect on rates of prison violence. The current research focuses on fluctuations in the percentage of female correctional officers since 1990, in association with changes in prison violence. By using four waves of data from the Census of State and Federal Correctional Systems, this research proposes that as employment of female correctional officers has increased, rates of prison violence have significantly declined.

Author

• Monica Elizabeth Summers, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale