Prison reform with or without correctional officers: The importance of prison staff in bringing about change in penitentiary institutions

This text forms part of a round table discussion with James B. Jacobs, author of the classic study on the sociology of prisons Stateville: The Penitentiary in Mass Society, and examines the validity of his work 40 years later. The commentary addresses the importance of prison officer morale in the functioning of penitentiary institutions. Firstly, the thesis Jacob presents in Stateville on this issue is reproduced. It is then argued that his reasoning is also relevant to the Spanish penitentiary context. To conclude, the implications for the design and implementation of new penitentiary policies are discussed.