Self-legitimacy of prison workers: A comparative study in Slovenian prisons

Abstract

Building legitimacy in a coercive prison environment presents a significant challenge for prison workers. Drawing on data from a survey of 465 Slovenian prison workers collected in 2016 and 2022, this study aims to test the stability of prison workers’ sense of self-legitimacy, as prior research strongly suggests that the nature of such legitimacy is fundamentally unstable. Multivariate analyses showed that relationships with prisoners and the internalisation of subcultural norms influenced the self-legitimacy of prison workers in both periods studied. Relationships with colleagues, satisfaction with pay, and with workplace conditions also influenced prison workers’ self-legitimacy in 2016, and education and years of service proved salient in 2022. Results indicate that traditional ‘core variables’ (relationships with colleagues, supervisors’ procedural justice, and audience legitimacy) used to explore legitimacy in criminal justice have limited influence on prison workers’ self-legitimacy. Significant differences were also found in prison workers’ perceptions of self-legitimacy, audience legitimacy, and prison staff subculture in different time periods. Overall, the findings reported here suggest that the self-legitimacy of prison workers is relatively unstable over time. The implications of these findings for both theory and practice are explored.