Framing Power in Prison

: An analysis of prison officers and r/ontheblock

Abstract

Prison plays a central role in the state’s power over its citizens, and although prison officers
are the front-line administrators of this power, their perspectives have been relatively
understudied. The prison officer role necessitates a focus on order and compliance in a
potentially chaotic and dangerous environment and studies have shown that, although they
do wield an enormous amount of instrumental power over inmates, much of the time their
authority stems from ‘soft-power’; managing relationships, reasoning, listening, being
assertive where needed and not resorting to the instrumental means available to them. Using
data obtained from the subreddit ‘r/ontheblock’, a chat group for front-line prison officers,
this study focuses on the range of different ways authority may be perceived in this role.

Grounded in a discourse matrix previously adapted and applied at a higher organisational
level, this thesis maps out the different ways authority is generally understood at the coalface
of the prison and examines the psychological strategies employed as well as the emotions and
identity perceptions that may influence the adoption of certain narrative styles.
The aim here is to explore the ways in which formal and informal institutional pressures may
be experienced by officers. The findings suggest that framing power in terms of relationships
and soft-power aligns more readily with the rehabilitative aims of prison. It is further
identified that there are numerous institutional pressures that create tension away from
framing power in these terms. This study is offered as a contribution to broaden our
understanding of the human dimension of prison officer work and as a background for
consideration in the area of prison reform.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Charles Darwin University (CDU)
Supervisor	Mark Brady (Supervisor) & Alan Berman (Supervisor)