Examining Culture and Climate in a System-Wide Prison Reform Effort

• In Event: Correctional Staff, Culture, and Organizational Climate

Abstract

In the last five years, the Maine Department of Corrections has undertaken a major shift in correctional philosophy. Moving away from the usual “care, custody, control” ethos more typical of United States prison practice, Maine has adopted a rehabilitation-focused, restorative justice frame, embracing a new organizational identity and operating philosophy. With rare access to hard-to-reach populations, our mixed-methods study will assess how corrections staff and residents in select facilities experience and view culture, relational dynamics, and safety within Maine’s prisons. Brennan has administered two surveys, one for residents and one for staff. We are also conducting meetings with DOC leadership, staff, current residents, and formerly incarcerated advocates (who lived in the same facilities) to review findings and recommendations. As of February 2025, we have conducted surveys with over 100 corrections staff in all Maine prison facilities and over 200 residents in a maximum-security prison, Maine State Prison. Researchers will also conduct resident surveys at the state’s flagship site, Maine Correctional Center, in March 2025. These survey results will provide a descriptive baseline to understand prison reform efforts from Maine DOC in its two largest prison facilities that house the majority (70 percent) of approximately 1,908 incarcerated residents in the state.

Authors

• Josephine Hahn, Brennan Center for Justice

• Jinmook Kang, Brennan Center for Justice