Jailcraft: Exploring informal knowledge and practices of corrections staff in custodial spaces

Abstract

Custodial officers have one of the most complex, high-risk jobs within our society. The job is formally guided and bound by organisational policy, national law and international law. However, in Aotearoa, New Zealand, the role of a custodial officer is held by a range of people to support the diverse prison population in an array of contexts, which requires nuance as not one model will be optimal for all needs. The present research aims to identify and understand the informal knowledge and informal practices held by custodial officers. Seven custodial officers employed by Ara Poutama Aotearoa from across Aotearoa, New Zealand, were interviewed for this research. These interviews were analysed using constructivist grounded theory. The theory states that a custodial staff’s experiences of recruitment and initial training will shape the attitudes they adopt and the subsequent practices they engage in. The data shows that two operational attitudes on the floor will contribute to the formal and informal behaviour of custodial officers and that tension arises out of these differences that contribute to rates of staff turnover.