CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS IMPRISONED IN THEIR NETWORKS?

In this paper, we investigate the components of prison officers’ personal networks and inquire whether the larger restriction on the custodial environment may be seen as an effect of their work in prisons. In order to do so, we used in-depth interviews (conducted between 2015 and 2017) with agents and captives from the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region (RMBH), and sociometric questionnaires applied to these same subjects. From this data, we compared the correctional officers’ personal networks with those of the incarcerated, and used their speeches on interactions patterns, both inside and outside of the prison, to understand the accepted configurations. Thereby, we found out that prison staff often have a network more restricted than the inmates themselves, which is described by the interviewees as an imprisonment process derived from custodial work.