Repository logo
 

The floating signifier of "safety": correctional officer perspectives on COVID-19 restrictuions, legitimacy and prison order

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorSchultz, William
dc.contributor.authorRicciardelli, Rosemary
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-26T22:12:08Z
dc.date.available2024-02-26T22:12:08Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractThe COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect prisons internationally. Existing research focuses on infections data, meaning we do not fully understand how COVID-19 shapes front-line prison dynamics. We draw on qualitative interviews with 21 Canadian federal correctional officers, exploring how the pandemic impacted prison management. Officers suggested inconsistent messaging around COVID-19 protocols reduced institutional and officers’ self-legitimacy, fracturing trust relationships with incarcerated people. Furthermore, officers suggest that personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gowns and face shields took on multiple meanings. We use Lévi-Strauss’ floating signifier concept to analyze how individual definitions of “safety” informed day-to-day prison routines. We conclude by arguing that legitimacy deficits and contested definitions of “safety” will continue to create uncertainty, impacting prison operations going forward.
dc.identifier.citationSchultz, W. J. & Ricciardelli, R. (2022). The floating signifier of "safety": Correctional officer perspectives on COVID-19 restrictuions, legitimacy and prison order. The British Journal of Criminology, 63(5), 1237-1254. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azac088
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azac088
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/3435
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved
dc.subjectCOVID-19
dc.subjectprisons
dc.subjectcorrectional officers
dc.subjectlegitimacy
dc.subjectdecision-making
dc.titleThe floating signifier of "safety": correctional officer perspectives on COVID-19 restrictuions, legitimacy and prison orderen
dc.typeArticle Post-Print
local.embargo.enddateNovember 12, 2024

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Schultz-floating-signifier-safety.pdf
Size:
374.83 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Department of Sociology