“They are People Like You and Me”: Student Perceptions of Inmates

• In Event: Challenging Perceptions: Rethinking Detainees, Former Prisoners, Human Rights and Dispute Resolution

Abstract

It is not uncommon to hear an “us versus them” dichotomy when criminal offenders are discussed among the public. This attitude is also prevalent among criminal justice students, who often hold negative views of offenders and inmates. Despite an abundance of television and “infotainment” shows introducing prisons to the public, the correctional facility and those confined within remain largely unknown and thus subject to negative stereotypes and generalizations. Tours of correctional facilities are often used in criminal justice curricula to introduce students to the reality of corrections so they have a more realistic idea of what to expect when they work in the field. In this research, we examine 80 essays written by undergraduate students about their experience touring a jail or prison to explore their perceptions of inmates prior to and after the tour. Many students held stereotypical views of inmates before visiting, believing inmates were “bad people,” but for some students these views were challenged by their experiences on the tour. We discuss the implications of our findings for the undergraduate criminal justice student population, who represent future criminal justice professionals.

Authors

• Melissa J Stacer, University of Southern Indiana

• Lydia M Moll, University of Southern Indiana

• Monica Solinas-Saunders, Indiana University Northwest