Identifying as Correctional Officer: A Relational Factor

Abstract

This chapter argues that the process of correctional officers’ identification with their professional role relies on the crucial concept of juxtaposition, where the definition of self is affirmed through differentiation from the other. The chapter investigates how correctional officers’ identities are daily constructed and affirmed through their juxtaposition with inmates and the dominant gendered narratives. It also examines how stigma and preconceptions shape relationships within the penitentiary, and conversely, how these relational dynamics impact and solidify the roles within the prison system. Furthermore, since correctional officers conform to the image of the role that the penitentiary system consistently reproduces, and adhering to it implies a particular representation of inmates, the chapter explores whether this group of people is perceived as distant or part of the same world inhabited by correctional officers. The second part of the chapter shifts the focus from how correctional officers’ perceptions of prisoners impact the construction of their professional identity to their effects on their interactions with inmates. Finally, the chapter focuses on the relational aspect that influences correctional officers’ self-perception or, in other words, “the incredible power of deploying their authority through relational means.” Correctional officers derive satisfaction from being recognized as good professionals capable of earning respect and effectively managing the most challenging cases. Above all, they find contentment in being helpful and efficient. Within themselves and externally, their self-image remains secure. It may not be the role they initially expected, but they have discovered—and are happy to share—a different way to be socially acknowledged as exemplary officers.