An Exploratory Examination of a Prison Disciplinary Process: Assessing Staff and Prisoner’ Perceptions of Fairness

Authors

Ann Marie Rocheleau, Stonehill College, MA

Abstract

There has been scant research on how prison disciplinary processes work in comparison to the myriad of studies on individual, situational, and prison-level factors associated with prison misbehavior. This exploratory research delved into staff and prisoners’ perceptions of a prison system’s disciplinary process. Using in-depth interviews with 25 staff and 25 prisoners as well as direct observation of classification and disciplinary hearings, this research primarily focused on perceptions of fairness. It uncovered those features of the disciplinary process that prisoners and some staff assessed as problematic and unfair. These included: the nature, consistency, and investigation of disciplinary reports, the use of confidential informants, the staffing of disciplinary boards, the use of segregation time for non-serious offenses, and the long-term segregation of some offenders. Ideas for future research were explored and prison administrators were encouraged to focus on fairness as a key component to containing prison violence and serious misbehavior.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Rocheleau, Ann Marie (2014) "An Exploratory Examination of a Prison Disciplinary Process: Assessing Staff and Prisoner’ Perceptions of Fairness," Qualitative Criminology (QC): Vol. 2: No. 1, Article 5.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/qc/vol2/iss1/5