Procedural justice in corrections

Abstract

This chapter examines how procedural justice might be utilised in interactions between prisoners and staff. It focuses on two issues that are critical to the prison environment—prisoner well-being and compliance-related behaviour. The chapter makes reference to a broad range of empirical studies that illustrate the links between perceived fairness of staff behaviour and improved prisoner perceptions of staff legitimacy, as well as the willingness of prisoners to comply with prison rules. The chapter recognises that discrepancies can arise when empirical studies use varied measurement approaches to assessing both procedural justice and legitimacy and points to the limitations of cross-sectional research designs that provide only a snapshot of interactions with prison authorities at a particular point in time. It also acknowledges that these kinds of studies do not separate the influence of procedural justice from the influence of social and cultural factors such as poverty, family, isolation, and other forms of social dysfunction.