288 1 1 Corrections and Prison Practices—Civic Foremics
through the incident to explore their thoughts and feelings with one another re-
garding the incident. The group processing of such a fact-finding-thinking—feeling
model, combined with relaxation training as well as individual counseling aimed
at reducing flashbacks of the incident, can help prevent the development of PTSL)
or assist in reducing the intensity of the experience (McWhirter & Linzer, 1994).
According to "Battle Staff Burnout" (1997), critical incident stress debriefing with
correctional staff should be done within 1 or 2 days after the event and should in-
clude all personnel. The article also recommended creating a policy for debriefing
that includes the following points: clear definitions of debriefing, an outline of what
critical incidents would require debriefing, rules of confidentiality, and an outline
of responsibilities.
Other recommendations for preventing long-term consequences of traumatic
stress were outlined by Bergmann and Queen (1987). Departments should orga-
nize their response before a traumatic incident occurs. Psychological responses of
survivors should be included in the policies and procedures for handling prison
disturbances. Departments should make sure that posttrauma services are only pro-
vided by qualified and trained staff. Finally, creative ways must be found to finance
posttrauma services.
Another important policy matter that needs to be addressed is correctional
officer suicide. Training programs need to be implemented to handle all officers'
confrontations with death. There should be institutional training for suicide pre-
vention focused on guards and inmates. The gains from such training initiatives
could extend beyond suicide prevention (Kamerman, 1995).
A final policy consideration for correctional officer stress is funding. As men-
tioned previously, with overcrowded prisons and the building of new facilities,
correctional staff have not been able to keep up with the growth. Instead of tun-
neling more funds into building prisons, attention needs to be placed on providing
services for correctional officers, including adequate numbers of staff. The problem
of crime is not going to disappear with the addition of new prisons, but the prob-
lem of stress-related disease and disability could be greatly reduced if correctional
officers were to receive the appropriate mental health services.
Suggestions for Future ResearchThe major area in which research is lacking concerns the benefits of stress-reduction
programs tor correctional officers. Although exercise was found to decrease stress
and provide additional advantages, a more rigorous empirical study needs to be
conducted. This could take a holistic approach examining ways to create healthy
workplaces in terms of overall organizational structure, as well as expanding personal
coping mechanisms such as the exercise programs (Kiely & Hodgson, 1990). Also,
a more systematic study of critical-incident stress-debriefing programs, including
follow-up investigations (McWhirter & Linzer, 1994) and their direct applications