‘They’re a very sick group of individuals’: correctional officers, emotions, and sex offenders

In this article, we analyze the politics of emotions within the occupational culture of correctional officers by focusing attention on how sex offenders are constituted as objects of fear and disgust. We draw on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 100 Canadian men and women with experience work...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: Spencer, Dale 1979- (Author) ; Ricciardelli, Rose 1979- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Sage 2017
In: Theoretical criminology
Year: 2017, Volume: 21, Issue: 3, Pages: 380-394
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:In this article, we analyze the politics of emotions within the occupational culture of correctional officers by focusing attention on how sex offenders are constituted as objects of fear and disgust. We draw on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 100 Canadian men and women with experience working as correctional officers in provincial prisons (e.g. New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island) to understand how sex offenders are viewed within their occupational culture. Utilizing an interpretive hermeneutic approach, this article analyzes Canadian correctional officers’ interpretations of sex offenders. We show the effects of sex offenders’ construction as objects of fear and disgust, in terms of their identities and positionality in the general prison population, and the level of protection and services they receive while in prison.
ISSN:1461-7439
Contains:Enthalten in: Theoretical criminology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/1362480616647590