Transforming prison culture is not only a matter of protecting inmates’ rights, but also of safeguarding the psychological and professional wellbeing of prison officers. This is the finding of a study published in the Journal of Criminal Psychology, conducted by a research team from the Department of Psychology at the University of Milano-Bicocca, in collaboration with the Training Directorate of the Department of Penitentiary Administration of the Italian Ministry of Justice.
The study, authored by Marco Marinucci, Iolanda Tortù, Teresa Traversa, Luca Pancani and Paolo Riva, involved 1,080 officers from the Italian Penitentiary Police. The results showed that promoting social norms focused on support and the rehabilitation of inmates leads to increased job satisfaction and reduced risk of burnout among correctional staff.
“Officers working in prisons oriented towards dignity and inmate rehabilitation report lower levels of emotional exhaustion,” explains Marco Marinucci, first author and research fellow at Milano-Bicocca. “This suggests that promoting a correctional culture based on support and social reintegration not only protects inmates’ rights but is also crucial for safeguarding officers’ mental health and preventing abuse.”
The study, which combines correlational and experimental methods, highlights the significant impact of organisational climate on both the quality of work and officers’ psychological wellbeing. A rehabilitative prison culture—fostering a calm, empathetic environment—encourages more supportive and less punitive attitudes and behaviours, helping to reduce hostility between officers and inmates, and enhancing officers’ positive engagement in their roles.
However, the study also notes a potential downside: excessive emotional closeness with inmates, if not managed with proper training, can increase emotional stress among correctional officers. For this reason, the researchers recommend complementing cultural shifts with targeted training programs that help officers manage empathy professionally and prevent burnout.
“Now more than ever, we need to rethink how we train and support prison staff,” Marinucci concludes. “Building a supportive and rehabilitative environment is not only an ethical obligation, but also a practical strategy to improve working conditions, reduce psychological risk, and create safer, fairer prisons.” Supported by the Ministry of Justice, the study also offers practical guidelines for implementing cultural change in correctional institutions—benefiting both staff and inmates.