Professional Roles of Lithuanian Probation and Prison Officers in the Context of Shifting Correctional Policy and Practice

• In Event: Changes in Prison Officers’ Professional Roles within the Shifting Lithuanian Custodial Sentencing Policy and Practice

Abstract

This paper examines the professional roles and role conflicts experienced by probation and prison
officers in Lithuania. Research literature demonstrates that correctional officers are consistently tasked with balancing and reconciling their exercise of power, control, and supervision to assist and rehabilitate offenders (Bruhn et al., 2010; Liebling, 2011). The balancing of contrasting rehabilitative and controlling roles presents a challenge for Lithuanian probation and prison officers due to ongoing reforms, necessitating their adaptation to evolving objectives, ideologies, and regulations in their daily duties. Drawing on data from two qualitative studies conducted in 2018 and 2024, this paper compares the experiences of roles and role conflicts of probation and prison officers in adapting to reforms and reorganisations in their interactions with clients and management.

Author

• Simonas Nikartas, Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences