Introduction to the special edition on correctional officer wellness and resiliency

Abstract

During 2021 the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) approached me to conduct a webinar on the topic of ‘Promoting Wellness and Resiliency in Correctional Staff’. My approach when conducting and presenting research on the health of correctional staff centers on maximizing partnerships between academics and practitioners, with the goal of providing conceptual frameworks that can drive real-world programs and policies (Smith, 2021; Smith, Power, Usher, Sitren, & Slade, 2019; Smith & Ferdik, 2016). As such, it was an easy decision to build on an existing partnership between me (an academic) and a very experienced and knowledgeable practitioner: Ms. Karin Ho (Division Director, Victim Services & CISM Program: Critical Incident Stress Management, South Carolina Department of Corrections). This webinar was initiated and developed by Mr. Scott Richards, Correctional Program Specialist, Prisons Division, and his team at the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). As the webinar date approached the National Institute of Corrections contacted the presenters to inform us that the audience response was unprecedented, and they could not add more participants due to a bandwidth limitations. The webinar was a success, and the day of live broadcast there were over 1,200 participants, from all US states and ranging from academics to practitioners from institutional and community corrections of all ranks and working in diverse settings. Participants continue to view the recorded video posted at the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and email the team with follow-up questions, comments, and seeking more information (Smith & Ho, 2021). The webinar can be found here: https://nicic.gov/promotingwellness-and-resiliency-correctional-staff The experience was very gratifying but also sobering. These practitioners working in our jails, prisons, probation, parole, juvenile detention, and other community settings expressed a strong need for any guidance or information on how to support the wellness and resiliency of correctional staff. While I was honored to provide conceptual and research-based suggestions and Ms. Karin Ho detailed real-world programs for staff wellness, it was clear that we were communicating with an audience who were seeking practical solutions while struggling to work in the midst of a staffing-health crisis. The NIC webinar was the impetus for this special edition on correctional officer wellness and resiliency. The conversation about the health and wellbeing of correctional officers is reflective of recent social changes. While antiquated textbooks focus on the punitive ‘get tough on crime’ incarceration policies that led to overcrowded jails and prisons, a more contemporary perspective recognizes that this narrative is no longer accurate. Two factors in particular, incarceration rates and unemployment, have created a new reality for the criminal justice system. With regard to the former, the United States has experienced declining incarceration rates for decades, from 980 per 100,000 adult U.S. residents held in CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDIES 2021, VOL. 34, NO. 4, 353–360 https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2021.1996548