Promoting Wellness and Resiliency in Correctional Officers

Correctional officers face considerable stress, risk, and danger that lead to poor physical and mental health outcomes. In fact, their life expectancy is 15 years shorter than the national average. Public perception and media portrayals of correctional officers tend to reinforce stereotypes of brutish, improper, and uncontrolled behavior. Yet the reality is that correctional officers are operating a default public and mental health system for a sizeable portion of our society, a responsibility that exposes them to considerable risk. These negative effects have been compounded by an international staffing crisis that has made our jails and prisons far less safe for working officers. To address this situation, this book features an examination of a combined 11,313 correctional officers and 42 of their family members in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It explores proactive strategies that can reduce rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in correctional officers, which currently surpasses those found in returning military veterans who experienced combat. It then delves into the dynamics of correctional officer suicide, featuring the perspectives of their families. This book highlights innovative approaches that can build on existing strengths including the role of international exchange programs. It presents universal themes that impact the safety, wellbeing, and resiliency of correctional officers, along with positive outcomes related to evidence-based programs that maximize health in the correctional workplace. This book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students of criminology, mental health, public policy, social work, and sociology.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Criminal Justice Studies.

Hayden P. Smith is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. His principal focus of study is the intersection of the criminal justice and public health systems. This includes self-injurious and suicide behaviors in incarcerated populations, the physical and mental health needs of incarcerated populations, best practices for inmate reentry and reintegration, jail diversion, and supporting safety, wellbeing, and resiliency in correctional staff. Dr. Smith has expertise in program evaluation and policy analysis, and he has worked with numerous correctional and health systems. Dr. Smith’s previous publications have appeared in Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, and Criminal Justice & Behavior.