Preventable Tragedies: Understanding Root Causes and Exploring Solutions
Recently, another entirely preventable tragedy made the news. A group of Correctional Officers beat a restrained incarcerated person, Robert L. Brooks, to death. The assault was recorded on body-worn cameras apparently in standby mode. This raises a crucial question: Why would these Correctional Officers risk their careers and, possibly, their freedom?
This incident is far from isolated. Across the nation, we hear stories of seasoned, experienced corrections professionals engaging in serious criminal activities—whether it’s coercing incarcerated individuals into sexual acts, smuggling contraband, or, in the most extreme cases, inflicting bodily harm or even death. It’s easy to assume that these employees entered the profession with malicious intent, but that’s rarely the case. Most correctional staff don’t begin their careers with the intention of violating policies or causing harm to those in their care. Instead, we must ask: What happens over time that drives some corrections professionals to act in ways that betray their original, prosocial values? And, more importantly, what can be done to prevent this from happening?
Not Just One Thing: The Intersection of Risk Factors
Correctional Officers, by the very nature of their work, operate under conditions that can gradually erode their physical, psychological, moral, and spiritual resilience. Over time, these challenges may undermine their capacity for self-regulation and weaken their ethical foundations. Simply implementing additional oversight measures, such as properly activated body-worn cameras, is unlikely to be sufficient to fully prevent excessive uses of force or other misconduct.
It is important to acknowledge that the vast majority of corrections professionals endure these demanding conditions for long periods without compromising their integrity or engaging in misconduct. So, what distinguishes those who uphold their ethical standards from those who cross the line into criminal behavior?
I propose that multiple risk factors must converge for a corrections professional to transition from ethical conduct to policy violations or criminal activity. The following section outlines some of these risk factors, emphasizing that it is often the combination of several elements—rather than any single factor—that contributes to ethical erosion.
- Underlying Factors: Systemic Issues Contributing to Correctional Officer Misconduct
Before examining the working conditions of Correctional Officers, it is important to consider several underlying factors that can contribute to staff misconduct and criminality. These broader systemic issues often extend beyond the immediate work environment and are deeply rooted in the recruitment, training, and leadership structures within correctional agencies.
- Selection and Retention of Unsuitable Employees: The Cost of Poor Staffing Decisions
One of the key factors contributing to issues within correctional settings is the improper selection and retention of employees. The hiring process is vital in ensuring that Correctional Officers possess the necessary qualities for the role, such as courage, empathy, patience, and a strong ethical foundation. Regrettably, some individuals are hired who may hold harmful views, such as racism, or seek power over others, engaging in behaviors like bullying. These attitudes can be particularly detrimental in correctional environments, where balancing authority with support is essential. Officers who see their position as an opportunity to dominate, intimidate, or degrade incarcerated individuals are more likely to commit misconduct or criminal actions, as they fail to recognize the critical role of rehabilitation and the need to maintain a respectful, humane atmosphere.
In contrast, Correctional Officers who can effectively combine their authoritative attributes with a genuine desire to help and de-escalate tense situations contribute significantly to a safer, healthier environment for both staff and incarcerated individuals.
Similarly, agencies may fail to dismiss employees who demonstrate problematic behaviors, such as a “mean streak” or a lack of ethics, which promote harm by disregarding the rights and dignity of others.
- Inadequate Training: A Threat to Safety and Success
Another key issue is insufficient or inadequate training. Many Correctional Officers are not provided with the proper training to effectively manage the psychological challenges of working with incarcerated individuals. While physical restraint techniques are commonly emphasized, skills like emotional self-regulation, conflict resolution, and de-escalation strategies tend to be minimized or overlooked entirely. Without proper training in these critical areas, Correctional Officers may resort to unnecessary aggression or excessive force when faced with challenging situations. Training in emotional intelligence (EQ) and understanding the root causes of conflict would better equip Correctional Officers to manage difficult interactions without prematurely resorting to physical force or engaging in excessive uses of force. Additionally, in-service training and refresher classes are essential to ensure that Correctional Officers continue to develop and refine these vital skills throughout their careers.
- Toxic Leadership: The Impact on Staff and Facility Culture
Unethical leadership—whether formal or informal—can have profound, negative impacts on the conduct of Correctional Officers. Leaders who fail to model ethical behavior, maintain integrity, or hold themselves accountable for their own actions set a poor example for the staff they interact with or supervise. In these toxic workplace environments, misconduct will go unchecked and inevitably increase among Correctional Officers. Leaders who prioritize a culture of respect, accountability, and transparency, on the other hand, will foster a workplace environment in which Correctional Officers are more likely to adhere to professional standards and engage in positive, prosocial interactions with incarcerated individuals. When leaders neglect their responsibilities to promote ethical behavior and create a healthy work culture, these failures will contribute to a workplace environment in which Correctional Officers are much more likely to commit acts of abuse or unnecessary violence.
Taken together, these factors—poor employee selection and retention, inadequate training, and toxic leadership—create a perfect storm for staff misconduct and criminal activities within correctional facilities. These underlying failures, regardless of other conditions or challenges, significantly contribute to Correctional Officers committing criminal atrocities against incarcerated individuals. Therefore, addressing these root causes is essential to improve the overall operations of correctional facilities and to ensure that Correctional Officers perform their duties in a manner that is humane, ethical, and just.
- Inside the System: The Harsh Realities of Correctional Officers’ Working Conditions
Having considered these external, systemic factors, let us now examine the working conditions of Correctional Officers. Typically, Correctional Officers work in environments where they are vastly outnumbered by incarcerated individuals. However, even under the best circumstances, at some level, they are often fearing for their safety. The environments where they work tend to be harsh, both physically and psychologically. They endure verbal abuse, threats, and even potentially life-threatening exposure to bodily fluids—all while being responsible for the safety of incarcerated individuals and coworkers. While enduring taunts and threats, Correctional Officers must remain professional and neutral, exercising vast amounts of self-control and refraining from retaliation. These high-pressure environments, compounded by severe understaffing and overwhelming workloads, leave many Correctional Officers perpetually on edge and in a continuous state of hypervigilance.
- Chronic Sleep Deprivation: The Toll on Health and Performance
Due to persistent understaffing, Correctional Officers may be required to work double—maybe even triple!—shifts at least once a week, and in some cases, as many as three or four times per week. These extended hours often leave them with only three to four hours of sleep in a 24-hour period—sometimes for years on end.
Extensive research has consistently shown that chronic sleep deprivation not only undermines physical health but also significantly impairs cognitive functioning, decision-making, and emotional regulation. It heightens vulnerability to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts.
While the staffing crisis facing correctional agencies nationwide is well understood, it is equally important to recognize the toll that prolonged sleep deprivation takes on Correctional Officers. Depriving them of adequate rest compromises both their physical and mental well-being, neglecting their fundamental biological needs. Over time, this can contribute to a sense of dehumanization, as they may feel disregarded, undervalued, and pushed beyond their limits.
- Corrections Fatigue: The Breakdown of Resilience
At Desert Waters, we use the umbrella term Corrections Fatigue to describe what happens to Correctional Officers and other correctional professionals due to prolonged exposure to work-related stressors without positive resolution. Corrections Fatigue leads to cumulative negative changes in staff’s health, functioning, and personality—their sense of identity, worldview, spirituality, emotions, and behaviors. Without proper intervention, Corrections Fatigue can spread among staff, infecting the overall work culture and perpetuating a toxic cycle of elevated stress and interpersonal violence.
Corrections Fatigue exists on a spectrum. On one end are mild symptoms, such as occasional difficulty falling asleep or feeling more irritable than usual. On the opposite end, there are extreme symptoms, like suicidal ideation or even homicidal thoughts. In between, staff may experience debilitating anxiety, panic, depression, PTSD, hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.
3. The “Us Against Them” Mentality: A Dangerous Divide
In the dangerous environment of corrections, an “us against them” mentality often takes root. Correctional Officers , constantly exposed to hostility and abuse, begin to see incarcerated individuals as adversaries—even as less than human—rather than people under their care. This is a defense mechanism driven by the survival instinct, the drive to protect oneself, and it erodes empathy, justifies excessive force, and reinforces a culture of dehumanization. Left unchecked, it fosters an environment where misconduct becomes normalized, spiraling into a culture of violence, and, ultimately, the kinds of senseless tragedies we too often see in the news. Correctional Officers may end up acting in ways they never imagined, often crossing lines that once seemed unthinkable.
- Pack Mentality: The Normalization of Dehumanization and Abuse
Given that Corrections Fatigue infiltrates entire workforce cultures, it’s also essential to consider the impact of “pack mentality” on behavior. This is sometimes referred to also as mob mentality.
- The Influence of Group Behavior: Impact of Group Dynamics on Workplace Culture
In toxic workplace environments, Correctional Officers may begin to tolerate, accept, or even participate in criminal behaviors that are condoned, or engaged in, by colleagues—especially those they respect or view as leaders. This dynamic fosters an unethical culture where cruelty, neglect, and criminal misconduct become normalized and even institutionalized as “the way we do things here.” Individuals may feel pressured to conform in order to belong or to protect themselves. As stated earlier, given the severe understaffing in correctional facilities and the staff-to-incarcerated-person ratios under even the best circumstances, it’s not a stretch to infer that such behaviors may stem from Correctional Officers’ fear for their lives. It’s also not a stretch to speculate that these behaviors may additionally stem from toxic cultures that promote retaliation against Correctional Officers who try to abstain from, prevent, or report excessive uses of force against incarcerated individuals.
- Historical and Research Parallels: Examples from the Past
This phenomenon is not unique to correctional settings. Historical examples, particularly during times of war, illustrate how individuals—who may not have initially harbored a cruel outlook on humanity or malicious intent—became complicit in or condoned, horrific acts. This often occurred due to a shared sense of loyalty, fear of exclusion from the group, or a desire to conform. In such circumstances, the collective mentality bolstered the acceptance of criminal actions, leading individuals to abdicate personal responsibility, suppress their moral judgment, and surrender both to the demands of the group.
Similarly, experimental studies on obedience have shown that large percentages of people may inflict harm on others when instructed to do so by someone in a position of authority, such as a psychologist conducting an experiment.
- The Calculated Descent into Abuse: The Dangerous Progression
When dehumanization of incarcerated individuals becomes entrenched in the workplace culture, staff’s normalization of abuse may no longer manifest in isolated incidents of brutality in the heat of the moment. Instead, such acts may become intentional and premeditated, carried out “in cold blood.” These behaviors may be engaged in proactively, as a prevention effort whereby Correctional Officers violently convey a threatening message to incarcerated individuals: “We run this joint. You’d better fear us.”
Addressing the Root Causes: A Call for Systemic Reform
These heartrending realities highlight the need for system-wide reforms to address the root causes of Corrections Fatigue, so that a healthier, more supportive workplace environment can be fostered—one where professionalism, accountability and compassion, rather than conformity to toxic, even criminal behaviors, are prioritized.
The harsh truth is that everyone has a breaking point. When subjected to enough stress and enough danger over an extended period without effective relief, people experience a breakdown in their cognitive, emotional, moral, and behavioral controls. Simply monitoring Correctional Officers with body-worn cameras will not fully resolve the issue.
The solution is not to merely police Correctional Officers through technology. We must acknowledge, and respond to, the overwhelmingly toxic environment they work in and its impact on their well-being. Yes, individuals must be held accountable for their heinous, criminal actions. However, we must also understand the context in which those actions occur. We cannot continue to demand that severely understaffed and chronically sleep-deprived employees work without relief in environments that erode their physical, psychological, and spiritual health, and be surprised when these conditions contribute to catastrophic events.
- Beyond Oversight: The Need for Support Systems
Correctional professionals, particularly Correctional Officers who bear much of the burden of correctional work, need more than just oversight—they require robust support systems, improved working conditions, and regular opportunities for rest and recovery to mitigate the physical and psychological tolls of this career. It is essential that we provide these professionals with the time and resources necessary to (a) get enough physical rest, and (b) process the emotional strain their work inevitably creates. Ideally, the latter should be a regular practice, occurring as a monthly check-in, rather than something addressed only in moments of crisis. They need to have time to “cool down,” inspect themselves for signs of Corrections Fatigue, and repair any damage before it becomes unmanageable.
In short, Correctional Officers need ongoing support that prioritizes their well-being to prevent the devastating consequences of unchecked Corrections Fatigue.
- Strengthening the Corrections Workforce:Rigorous Employee Selection, Training, and Retention
At the outset, it is crucial that new employees are selected based on their ability to balance the dual roles of rule-enforcer and mentor/helper. This requires a thorough recruitment process that evaluates emotional intelligence (EQ) and interpersonal skills, both of which are essential for the demanding nature of the role. Additionally, new hires should undergo both initial and ongoing in-service training focused on self-regulation and effective interpersonal communication to navigate the complexities of their work.
Furthermore, when evidence shows that, despite efforts at remediation, employees continue to violate policies and pose a liability to the agency—endangering both those it serves and employs—it is essential that the agency take decisive action. This includes being prepared to sever ties with employees who can no longer be trusted to uphold the agency’s values or ensure the safety of others.
- Building a Healthier Workplace:Ethical Leadership and Organizational Integrity
Additionally, we must foster leadership, formal and informal and at all levels of the agency, that is rooted in integrity, self-accountability, and transparency. Leaders who exemplify these qualities create a culture in which these values are upheld and where Correctional Officers feel supported, rather than isolated, in their demanding roles. Ultimately, by focusing on the well-being of correctional professionals and equipping them with the tools to succeed, we can create safer, more humane environments for both staff and incarcerated individuals.
Breaking the Cycle of Abuse: Promoting A Culture of True Safety
If we fail to implement policies and practices that support Correctional Officers in these essential areas, we will continue to demand what may be impossible—sustained professional and humane performance within systems that actively erode their humanity. Under such conditions, the likelihood of some Correctional Officers disregarding the humanity of those in their care increases. Without critical interventions, the cycle of abuse—directed both at incarcerated individuals and fellow staff who do not conform to this toxic culture—will persist, perpetuating tragedies like the ones described above. It is crucial that we recognize the need for systemic correctional reforms to break this cycle and create an environment where both Correctional Officers and incarcerated individuals can thrive with dignity and respect.
