The self-legitimacy of prison staff in Slovenia
| Author | Rok Hacin,Gorazd Meško,Chuck Fields |
| Published date | 01 January 2019 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1477370818764831 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370818764831
European Journal of Criminology
2019, Vol. 16(1) 41 –59
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370818764831
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The self-legitimacy of prison
staff in Slovenia
Rok Hacin
University of Maribor, Slovenia
Chuck Fields
Eastern Kentucky University, USA
Gorazd Meško
University of Maribor, Slovenia
Abstract
This paper focuses on the self-legitimacy of prison staff in Slovenia. The primary aim of this
study is to identify possible differences between those factors that influence the self-legitimacy
of prison officers in different periods, which would confirm the applicability of some of the
theoretical assumptions on the unstable nature of self-legitimacy. Possible differences between
groups of prison workers will be explored. The results show that perceptions of supervisors’
procedural justice, relations with colleagues, audience legitimacy and age are the best predictors
of self-legitimacy. These findings highlight the unstable nature of self-legitimacy and, moreover,
the perceptions of self-legitimacy vary over time and in different groups of prison workers. The
implications of these findings will be discussed.
Keywords
Prison staff, procedural justice, self-legitimacy, Slovenia
Introduction
The presence of a so-called ‘problem of order’ in modern prisons derives from the lack
(deficit) of legitimacy (Bosworth, 1996). Because prison represents a form of total
institution where a special kind of society is formed, building and maintaining legitimacy
Corresponding author:
Gorazd Meško, University of Maribor, Kotnikova 8, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Email: gorazd.mesko@fvv.uni-mb.si
764831EUC0010.1177/1477370818764831European Journal of CriminologyHacin et al.
research-article2018
Article
42 European Journal of Criminology 16(1)
in such a structurally and bureaucratically closed environment is a demanding process.
Prison workers1 create bonds between prisoners and the organization (prison) and repre-
sent an important element of legitimacy (Steiner and Wooldredge, 2015). The dialogical
aspect of legitimacy is demonstrated by an ongoing exchange between power-holders
(prison workers) and their audience (prisoners). Prison workers engage in interactions
with prisoners to project and seek confirmation of a certain self-identity of an eligible
power-holder. They strive to establish their own legitimacy by promoting the image of a
trustworthy identity who has the right to command in order to achieve prisoners’ compli-
ance with their decisions at the normative level (Bottoms and Tankebe, 2013). Normative
motives for compliance derive from the internalization of attitudes that are consistent
with an individual’s general system of values and beliefs. Consequently, prison workers
actively enter into relationships with prisoners, which presents the opportunity for them
to exhibit their attitudes and trustworthy behaviour. The results of such interactions are
seen in prisoners’ confirmation of prison workers’ right to rule (Crawley, 2004).
The dynamic nature of legitimacy in prison is constantly changing owing to the insta-
bility of external and internal factors (McNeill and Robinson, 2012). Prison worker’s
perceptions of self-legitimacy are perceived as a direct result of: (1) the quality of rela-
tions with colleagues, (2) supervisors’ procedural justice, and (3) audience legitimacy.
Self-legitimacy affects the performance of prison workers and their willingness to estab-
lish the legitimacy of their position in relation to prisoners (Meško et al., 2017). Prison
workers’ positive perceptions of self-legitimacy affect the efficiency and professionalism
of their performance of duties that have a positive impact on everyday life and the imple-
mentation of tasks in prison, their relations with prisoners, their treatment of prisoners
and the maintenance of order. This study focuses on researching the self-legitimacy of
prison workers in Slovenian prisons. First, we compared factors that influence the self-
legitimacy of prison officers and other prison workers in the prisons in Celje, Ljubljana
and Maribor over two different time periods. We did this in order to identify possible
differences and to confirm the applicability of some of the theoretical assumptions on the
unstable nature of legitimacy within the prison environment. Secondly, we examined
factors that influence the self-legitimacy of prison officers and other prison workers in
prisons in Celje, Ljubljana and Maribor, in comparison with the entire prison system in
Slovenia, in order to demonstrate the importance of the characteristics of an individual
prison on prison workers’ perceptions of self-legitimacy. Thirdly, we compared the fac-
tors that influence the self-legitimacy of prison officers and specialized workers in order
to determine possible differences in perceptions of self-legitimacy between the groups.
In the following sections, the self-legitimacy of prison staff and factors contributing to
perceptions of self-legitimacy are described. In addition, the results of the study on the
self-legitimacy of prison staff in Slovenian prisons are presented and discussed in the
final section.
The self-legitimacy of the prison staff
Every power structure seeks recognition of its legitimacy with those individuals (gov-
erned) over whom it exercises power (Bourdieu, 1996). Establishing the legitimacy of
prison staff in relation to prisoners is possible when prison workers believe in the
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