Corrections_Today_March_April_2023_Vol.85_No.2

NEWS&VIEWS

NIJ UPDATE

The overlooked role of jails in the discussion of legitimacy Implications for trust and procedural justice By Eric Martin, Brett Chapman and Lauren Morgan

The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publica tion do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Introduction C orrectional facilities are responsible for maintaining a safe and orderly environ ment. Jails in particular face unique challenges in fulfilling that goal be cause their populations are fluid and conditions can be relatively chaotic.

enhances its legitimacy when com munity members view it as acting in a just manner toward others. That concept, known as procedural justice, focuses on how an indi vidual’s perceptions of legitimacy impact that individual’s behavior. 2 Research consistently shows that an institutionalized individual’s sense of the legitimacy of the institution and those who run it is a critical driver of cooperation with authority. 3 Le gitimacy and procedural justice are powerful facilitators of compliance. A need to focus the legitimacy lens on jails Studies of the prevalence and impact of legitimacy and procedural justice have been conducted through out the criminal justice system, but relatively few have focused on jails. 4 At least 4.9 million people are jailed each year, making jails a central piece of our criminal justice system. 5 Despite the looming presence of jails in U.S. society, few scholars have explored life inside them, and even fewer have explored the role of legitimacy in jail settings. 6 Our understanding of legitimacy in the criminal justice system comes

For jail staff, a critical tool for maintaining safety and order is the legitimacy of the jail and its staff in the eyes of its population. Legitima cy, in this context, is an incarcerated individual’s belief that officers are motivated to listen to and follow an agency’s directives out of both a sense of responsibility to that agency and its authority over the larger community. 1 A correctional facility, or any governmental agency for that matter,

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16 — March/April 2023 Corrections Today