Criminal record and employability in Ghana: A vignette experimental study

Using an experimental vignette design, the study investigates the effects of criminal records on the hiring decisions of a convenience sample of 221 human resource (HR) managers in Ghana. The HR managers were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes depicting job seekers of different genders and criminal records: male with and without criminal record, female with and without criminal record. The evidence shows that a criminal record reduces employment opportunities for female offenders but not for their male counterparts. Additionally, HR managers are willing to offer interviews to job applicants, irrespective of their criminal records, if they expect other managers to hire ex-convicts. The implications of these findings are discussed

Determinants of satisfaction with police in a developing country: a randomised vignette study

This study examines the effects of three theoretical factors representing both process-based and outcome-based dimensions of police actions on attitudes towards police using an experimental vignette design. We constructed two vignettes depicting citizens’ plausible encounters with police in an urban setting in a developing country (i.e. Accra, Ghana) and varied the level of police procedural justice, measured by quality of treatment, lawfulness, measured by whether or not a bribe is present, and effectiveness, measured by whether or not the offender was caught. In line with previous research, we find that dimensions of police procedural justice, lawfulness, and effectiveness all increase citizens’ satisfaction. However, we find that in certain situations, unlawfulness and ineffectiveness can undermine any positive influence of procedural justice policing on satisfaction. These findings have implications for criminal justice institutions seeking to improve relations with citizens and boost satisfaction and ultimately legitimacy

Prison officer self-legitimacy and support for rehabilitation in Ghana

Legitimacy refers to the moral recognition of power, and prison legitimacy remains a principal issue for prison researchers and managers. However, the prison legitimacy literature tends to focus on the views held by individuals in custody. Research on prison officer Self-Legitimacy – that is, the powerholders’ belief that the authority vested in them is morally right – remains scanty. Drawing on data from a survey of 1,062 prison officers in Ghana, this study examined both the correlates of prison officer Self-Legitimacy and the links between Self-Legitimacy and Support for Rehabilitation of individuals in custody. The results of multivariate analyses showed that having good Relations with Colleagues and being treated fairly by supervisors enhance prison officers’ Self-Legitimacy. In turn, Self-Legitimacy was found to increase officers’ Support for Rehabilitation. Finally, perceived Fair Treatment by Supervisors and positive Relations with Individuals in Custody were associated with increased Support for Rehabilitation. The implications of these findings are discussed

Cynicism towards change and career stage: an exploration of work environment and organizational-based characteristics among prison officers

Prison officer cynicism towards change (CTC) has received limited attention in the penal literature. In the global south, there has been very limited research on CTC among prison officers. In addressing this research gap, we utilized data from prison officers based in low- and medium- security prisons in Ghana to assess the level of CTC and whether the levels of reported CTC differed across different career stages. We also examine the impact of individual, work-environment and organizational predictors on CTC across career stages. Our results reveal similar levels of moderate CTC among prison officers at all career stages. Organizational-based factors were stronger predictors of CTC than work-environment variables. Input into decision making was the only predictor of CTC across all career stages. We identify and examine a number of vital contributions to theory and practice

Strategies and Initiatives in Acculturation: Voices from Ghana

Culture shock and acculturation are salient aspects of any international study trip. Over the years, many institutions have devised several strategies to help international students transition to life in the host country. However, most of these strategies are insensitive to diverse cultural or country specifics. Drawing from Social Learning Theory, this paper provides narratives from four former students from the West African country of Ghana and how they navigated the process of acculturation in their respective host nations. The narratives discuss their feelings during the study abroad trip, some of the challenges they faced, and personal as well as institutional strategies that aided in ameliorating the experience of culture shock. A few recommendations for Student Affairs Practitioners are also provided

‘In this job, you cannot have time for family’: Work–family conflict among prison officers in Ghana

This paper documents the experience of work-family conflict (WFC) among prison officers in Ghana. Although the term WFC has been used in relation to prison officers in the UK (Crawley, 2002) and the US (Triplett et al., 1999), the context of WFC in Ghana is unusual. In this predominantly collectivist culture, family responsibilities include obligations to the extended family. WFC is mainly unidirectional, with interference running from work to the family. Officers are thus impaired in fulfilling their family responsibilities, which consequently impairs their daily work and mental well-being. The ‘crisis controlling’ or ‘paramilitary’ organisational structure of the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) makes it very difficult for the work domain of prison officers to accommodate family responsibilities. Female officers appear to bear a heavier WFC burden than male officers, mainly on account of their traditionally unpaid housekeeping role in addition to their paid employment in a masculine organisational culture. The findings are significant, as they show that the promulgation of family-friendly policies to alleviate WFC-associated stress lies in the hands of the GPS, since WFC emanates solely from the work domain

Satisfied and Committed Prison Officers? A Qualitative Exploration of Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment among Prison Officers in Ghana

This chapter aims to contribute to the limited literature on prison officer job satisfaction and organisational commitment in Sub-saharan Africa - predominantly collectivist societies. Drawing on interviews with 78 frontline prison officers in Ghana, this study documents the sources of job satisfaction and organisational commitment and their impact on prison officers. While intrinsic aspects of prison work involving opportunities for inmate rehabilitation, benefit-finding, recognition and praise for work conduced towards job satisfaction, extrinsic motivators such as salaries and environmental working conditions engendered job dissatisfaction. On organisational commitment, it emerged that all three dimensions of commitment – affective, normative and continuance were important components of organisational commitment. However, while affective commitment engendered high commitment, normative and continuance dimensions of prison work contributed to low organisational commitment

Prison officers should be treated fairly”. perceptions and experiences of fairness among prison officers in Ghana

Aristotle argued that we can learn about justice by examining its opposite: injustice. As he posited, “[o]ften one of a pair of contrary states is recognized from the other contrary” (1999: 67). In this chapter, I capture the perception and experiences of fairness among prison officers in Ghana. Officers experienced feelings of injustice mainly through management practices such as the allocation of promotions, educational and career development opportunities, transfers, participation in UN Peacekeeping missions, and punishment for wrongdoing. The data from semi-structured interviews further shows that while distributive and procedural injustice appears important to prison officers, distributive injustice is often the lens through which officers assessed procedural injustice. I argue further that prison officers are markedly similar to prisoners in their demand for voice, respect, and equality in the allocation of organisational incentives and disincentives