A preliminary investigation of the effect of correctional officers bases of power on their fear and risk of victimization

Despite research on disorder in prison, knowledge is limited regarding keeping order within the correctional environment. A sector of this research delves into how the uses of correctional officer power influence inmate compliance and support the goals of the institution, but no research has examined how officers rely on different power bases because of their own fear and risk of victimization; the current study preliminarily explores this issue. This study used the results of a self-administered survey of 1231 officers in adult prisons in a Mid-Atlantic state. Of the various bases of power, expert power and legitimate power were negatively related to fear, and expert power and referent power were negatively related to risk of victimization. Conversely, reward power was positively related to risk of victimization. The study concluded that officers who rely on more internal bases of power are less fearful and believe themselves to be at lower risk of victimization compared to officers who rely on more external bases of power.