R. Cornelli et al. (2026), The influence of delegitimization on prison officers’ readiness to use force
March 23rd, 2026
The article “The influence of delegitimization on prison officers’ readiness to use force”, by Roberto Cornelli, Chiara Chisari, Fabio Ferretti, and Oriana Binik, examines the factors shaping prison officers’ readiness to use force.
Drawing on an empirical study conducted in Lombardy with 814 officers, the article explores how a range of organizational, professional, and emotional dimensions influence officers’ readiness to use force. It shows that perceptions of limited support from the institution and from supervisors have the strongest overall impact, both directly and indirectly. More broadly, the article suggests that readiness to use force can be understood as the outcome of problematic relationships that officers experience, both with the administration and their superiors, and with prisoners.
The analysis contributes to a relatively underexplored area of research in the Italian context, where scholarly attention has focused primarily on prisoners rather than on the role and lived experience of prison staff.
The article is published in Punishment & Society (2026) and is available here.