Perceived Correctional Officers' Power Sources and Compliance among Correctional Facility Inmates in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The continued crisis in correctional facilities which has led to jail breaks and avoidable deaths has been a serious problem for correctional officers and governments. Understanding the application of power sources which could have been used in gaining compliance in these facilities have been ignored by researchers in Nigeria and Africa in general. Therefore, the present study was out to investigate the influence of perceived power sources and compliance among correctional facilities inmates. 150 inmates selected from two correctional facilities in Ilesa and Ile-Ife, Osun State were used in the study.  A questionnaire measuring their demographic data and perceived power sources and compliance was used for data collection. The results of the study indicated that correctional officers’ power sources (expert, rewards, legitimate, coercive, and referent) significantly jointly influenced inmates compliance to rules and assigned duties (F (5,149), = 12.026, P < .05). Also no significant difference existed between male and female inmates’ compliance based on perceived correctional officers power sources (t= (148); = -.483, P>.05). While years of incarceration of inmates significantly influenced inmates level of compliance based on perceived correctional officer’s power sources (F (4, 149) = 1.183, P<.05). The study recommended that, the managements of correctional facilities should train their officers to acquire skills that would enable them handle inmates, promote and  assigned officers legally to positions of authority and also make available certain rewards into the officers in order to provide same to inmates who comply to rules, assigned duties and responsibilities.

Keywords: Power Sources, Compliance, Perception, Correctional, Duties, Responsibilities, Inmates