Responsivity in Practice

Abstract

Researchers of responsivity call for a renewed focus on the role of staff–prisoner relationships in facilitating rehabilitative aims in correctional facilities. Although area experts suggest communication styles are crucial indicators of the success or failure of therapeutic efforts, how correctional officers (COs) communicate with prisoners to form trusting, caring relationships within correctional facilities lacks scholarly inquiry. In response, we investigate how COs working with adult male prisoners value and use their communication skills to discern which techniques are consistent with the responsivity principle. Male and female COs ( N = 42) employed in remand or correctional centers across Canada participated in semistructured in-depth interviews. Analyses of interview transcripts reveal officers self-report valuing and using prosocial communication techniques when working with male prisoners in a “relational but secure” approach. Findings suggest this approach provides the trust and respect needed for responsivity efforts to be effective. The facets of a “relational but secure” communicative approach, the vehicles by which such an approach is produced by COs, and the obstacles preventing its successful implementation are discussed.