Social Distance Between Prisoners and Prison Staff

• Published date: 01 December 2019
• Date: 01 December 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0032885519877382
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885519877382

The Prison Journal

2019, Vol. 99(6) 706 –724

© 2019 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/0032885519877382

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Article

Social Distance

Between Prisoners

and Prison Staff

Gorazd Meško1 and Rok Hacin1

Abstract

This article focuses on social distance and explores possible differences

between factors that influence social distance in a variety of prison

environments. Results from multiple regression analyses show that the

perception of procedural justice and legitimacy of prison staff, the presence

of violent subculture, and age are the best predictors of social distance.

These findings highlight the unstable nature of social distance. Moreover,

the presence of social distance varies over time and across different prison

settings. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords

legitimacy, prison, procedural justice, Slovenia, social distance

Introduction

Traditional approaches to maintaining order in prisons were based on control

strategies (rewards and sanctions; Colvin, 1992; DiIulio, 1987; Kantrowitz,

1996). Such “carrot and stick” approaches eventually lead to prisoners’ dis-

approval, as the ratio between rewards and sanctions is disproportionate

(Reisig & Meško, 2009). Order maintenance based on coercion in prison

leads to hostility between prisoners and the prison staff and deepens the

1University of Maribor, Slovenia

Corresponding Author:

Gorazd Meško, Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, Kotnikova 8,

1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Email: gorazd.mesko@fvv.uni-mb.si

877382TPJXXX10.1177/0032885519877382The Prison JournalMeško and Hacin

research-article2019

Meško and Hacin 707

social distance between them. The establishment of legitimacy in prison,

which prison staff develop through respectful and dignified relations with

inmates based on justice, represents an alternative to traditional control strat-

egies. Bottoms (1999) observed that prison workers present a mediation fac-

tor to prisoners, which influences good or bad behavior, that is, respect and

compliance with the prison rules and authority.

Relations between inmates and correctional staff advanced significantly

since the 1980s when McDermott and King (1988) described them as the

culture of contempt and interpersonal hostility. Research of recent decades

has documented a “reconstruction of penal power” based on the concept of

“soft power” (Crewe, 2011a, 2011b). Soft power is a fundamental component

of a broader form of “neo-paternalism.” It is the sphere of power in which the

use of coercion or direct commands or “hard power” is unnecessary (Crewe,

2009; Nye, 2004). Genders and Player (1995) wrote that relations between

prisoners and the prison staff are based on (a) individualism, (b) permissive-

ness, and (c) trust. In the forced environment of a total institution such as

prison, relationships are shaped with great effort—the ability of one actor to

influence the behavior of other actors. Liebling (2004) found that distrust and

social distance between incarcerated persons and correctional staff can be

reduced only by the use of mutual coercion. Pilling (1992) wrote that an

orderly and safe environment is dependent on open and relaxed relations and

mutual respect between inmates and the prison staff.

The importance of interactions between inmates and prison officers is

reflected in instrumental motives (obtaining benefits and avoiding sanctions)

and normative motives (good relations influencing prison life; Costa, 2016;

Jacobs, 1977; Liebling & Price, 2001; Scraton, Sim, & Skidmore, 1991).

Weinrath (2016) pointed to the social distance between correctional officers

and inmates, which is always present, due to (a) the reluctance of prison staff

to establish “too” friendly relations with prisoners, and (b) the maintenance

of positioned “appropriate” boundaries between prison actors as dictated by

official rules and subcultures.

The social distance between prisoners and prison staff is perceived as a

direct result of (poor) relations between them—similar to other relationships

in the prison environment, this social distance is unstable and can be easily

disrupted. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, the factors that influ-

ence social distance in Slovenia’s Dob prison are compared in two different

time periods to identify possible differences and confirm the instability of

social distance in prison that can be influenced by [in]appropriate measures.

Second, factors that influence social distance in Dob prison are contrasted

with Slovenia’s entire prison system, as Dob prison is the largest and most

secure prison in Slovenia. In the following sections, social distance and