What is it about?
Even though prison officers often have a military background, we know very little about how their previous military service influences them in how they do their job. The psychological effects of military deployments (e.g., Afghanistan, Iraq, Northern Ireland) on ex-military prison staff in particular remains entirely absent. This study fills that gap. It identifies a) resilience, b) numbness, and c) a lack of empathy as the main outcomes of how military deployments shape prison staff's actions and attitudes. Participants insisted that their military deployments made them more resilient, especially in moments of crisis. However, while the exposure to violence in theatres of war might have toughened them up, it also desensitised them and made them emotionally distant, aggravated by a view of prisoners as the enemy. Experiences of combat also made them less empathetic with prisoners, especially those who self-harm,
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Why is it important?
In exploring how previous military service, and especially deployments, influence prison staff's behaviour and attitudes, this study enhances our understanding of how external background characteristics shape prison staff's approach to their work, their behaviour, and their relationships to their colleagues and prisoners. It emphasises the significance of prison staff's previous work histories and how experiences and values from previous work cultures and identities shape the way prison staff think about and act in their work.
Perspectives
This paper is part of my PhD project, which builds on the work of Moran and Turner who were, to my knowledge, the first scholars to pay attention to the "prison-military complex". Veterans might seem like ideal recruits for the prison service, given their focus on discipline and order, their resilience, assertiveness, and ability to use weapons. However, I believe that we also need to ask questions about the realistic consequences of how such experiences might affect the philosophy, regime and culture of prisons. How does it affect the dynamics of a prison if we recruit prison officers who see the landings as a battle field and prisoners as the enemy? I hope that this paper meets the interest of all those interested in prisons and prison reform.
Laura Haas
University of Oxford
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Fighting an inner battle: The effects of deployment experiences on ex-military prison staff in England and Wales., Psychology Public Policy and Law, April 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/law0000464.
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