How Many Prison Officers Are Ex-Military Personnel? Estimating the Proportion of Armed Forces Leavers Within the Prison Workforce of England and Wales
Abstract: The prior employment history of prison officers has been overlooked within academic literatures and, in contrast with the prior military service of Veterans in Custody, the significance of their military experience has been almost completely disregarded. Since military service is known to be predictive of subsequent professional performance, this oversight, due in part to the lack of data, is potentially very significant in understanding the contribution made by ex-military personnel as prison staff. This article presents novel empirical evidence from an online survey of UK prison officers suggesting that at least a quarter have military experience – a proportion which has fallen over time but still far exceeds the proportion of Veterans in the prisoner population. Based on these novel data, the article suggests future avenues of research to address the many unanswered questions about whether and how military experience influences prison work.
Abstract: U.S. Air Force remotely piloted aircraft (USAF RPA) personnel face diverse stressors negatively affecting psychological health and military readiness. Prior research in diverse populations supports predictable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on occupational stressors, burnout, and more distal outcomes. Extending earlier studies linking broad variables (e.g., COVID-19 threat → work stress → burnout), the current study tests and refines an expanded mediation model based on multiple distinct pandemic concerns, occupational stressors, and burnout facets as antecedents of psychological distress mid-pandemic in RPA personnel (N = 496). Differential representation of demands, resources, and rewards evident across distinct occupational stressors in light of job demands/resources theory guided specification of mediated pathways. SEM analysis yielded moderate fit. Following removal of non-significant paths and addition of two interpretable direct paths, fit was improved, yielding seven dominant pandemic concern → occupational stressor → burnout → psychological distress pathways. In support of domain specification, five 'hub' variables (pandemic-driven change, personal stressors, workload, leader communication, and exhaustion) emerged as key intervention targets in mitigating distress in the USAF RPA community and similar populations during future pandemic-related crises.