This book explores the dual nature of legitimacy in prison. It examines the inter-connectivity between audience perception of legitimacy (the prisoners' perception) and the power-holders' perception of legitimacy (the prison staff perception). It defines legitimacy in this scenario as the ability of prison workers to implement their authority in an honest, lawful, and just manner, while prisoners acknowledge their status as eligible power-holders who deserve to be obeyed and comply with their decisions.

Using mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative research, data were collected in all Slovenian prisons as well as a correctional home. The volume discusses the various factors influencing prisoner's perspective of legitimacy, and recommends avenues for further research.

This work will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with an interest in prison and incarceration, or with an interest in Eastern Europe. It will alsobe of interest to those studying legitimacy within the criminal justice system more generally, and related fields such as sociology, law enforcement, and organizational psychology.

Utilizing an indepth and longitudinal study of legitimacy in Slovenian prisons, Hacin and Meko shed light on legitimacy's dual nature with an exquisite research design that removes any ambiguity about its essential nature in achieving prison order and correctional environments more conducive to rehabilitation. [] Overall, the book is an excellent contribution to penological theory, research, and practice. A monograph and case study of a post-modern and post-socialist prison system, it offers a lens for reexamining the mass incarceration models of western prisons for crosscultural comparisons of prison legitimacy.

-Rosemary L. Gido, Professor Emerita, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA

This book studies legitimacy in prisoners and among prison staff through the lens of procedural justice theory, focusing on the context of Slovenia. The book is a mustread for scholars who are theoretically and methodologically interested in testing and applying procedural justice theory. Rarely, both prison staff and prisoners are studied in the same inquiry. This is the added value. The results have value for prison policy. This book will be of interest to scholars in criminology and criminal justice, as well as political science and public policy. - Lieven Pauwels, Professor, Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University, Belgium **

The now global epistemic community for the study of criminal justice and criminology requires that scholars everywhere be in frequent communication, and that they engage in the testing of concepts that are of potential universal application in democratic countries seeking to build just and efficacious public institutions. The time is here for comparative criminal justice research of high quality to be undertaken, and this book represents exemplary scholarship in this regard.

For those scholars from around the world interested in determining the potential and limitations of the theory of procedural justice as applied in the corrections setting, this book represents a must read for you. It presents findings from a comprehensive, mixedmethods study of how the core concepts of the theory of procedural justice can be insightfully explored within correctional institutions. The study done in the progressive, highly regarded setting of the Slovenian prison system carried out with inmates, prison staff (corrections officers and rehabilitation services personnel) and administrators serves as an excellent template for replication in other countries. The interpretation of findings made by two scholars of remarkable experience and profound knowledge add greatlyto the value of this book. For scholars doing worthwhile research into the challenges of building and maintaining just and capable criminal justice systems in democratic countries, this book will inform and inspire you.

- Nicholas Lovrich, Research Professor Emeritus, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Washington State University, Pullman, USA

Explores the prison system in Slovenia Offers a definition of legitimacy and identifies factors that influence it A comprehensive study of legitimacy in prison on a national level, using mixed methods

Autorentext

Rok Hacin, Ph.D., is an associate professor of criminology at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, Slovenia. In 2018, he finished his doctoral dissertation entitled "Comparison of Self-legitimacy of the Prison Staff and Prisoner's Perceptions of Prison Staff Legitimacy". His bibliography comprises more than 240 works, including 40 scientific articles, 3 scientific monographs, and 12 chapters in scientific monographs. Works in the field of legitimacy/self-legitimacy have been published in prestigious international scientific journals (Criminal Justice and Behavior, Policing, European Journal of Criminology, The Prison Journal, European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology) and the scientific monograph "The Dual Nature of Legitimacy in the Prison Environment: An Inquiry in Slovenian Prisons" (Springer Briefs in Criminology). In 2022-2023, he led a project entitled "Research in the field of professional competencies of prison workers and relations in prisons" financed by the Slovenian Prison Administration. In 2020, he received the ESC Young Criminologist Award for his article "Prisoners' Perceptions of Legitimacy of Prison Staff in Slovenia". Gorazd Meko, Ph.D., is a professor of criminology at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, Slovenia. His bibliography comprises more than 1,930 works, including 214 scientific articles, 17 scientific monographs, and 87 chapters in scientific monographs. Works in the field of legitimacy/self-legitimacy have been published in prestigious international scientific journals (European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, Psychology, Crime & Law, Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Policing, European Journal of Criminology, The Prison Journal, European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology). He is a co-author of the scientific monograph "The Dual Nature of Legitimacy in the Prison Environment: An Inquiry in Slovenian Prisons" (Springer Briefs in Criminology), and editor of the book "Trust and Legitimacy in Criminal Justice: European Perspectives" (Springer). He led numerous projects including "Legitimacy and Legality of Policing, Criminal Justice and Execution of Penal Sanctions" (2013-2016) financed by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency and "Presentation of the Results of the Research on the Professional Competencies and Self-Legitimacy of the Prison Staff and the Implementation of Focused Group Interviews in Prison Institutions" (2023) financed by the Slovenian Prison Administration. He is a recipient of the Freda Adler Distinguished Scholar Award (2022) and the Gerhard O.W. Mueller Award (2024).

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Punishment and Legitimacy.- 3. Prison Actors.- 4. The Dual Model of Legitimacy in the Prison Environment.- 5. The Slovenian Prison System.- 6. Methodology.- 7.- Qualitative Study of Legitimacy in Slovenian Prisons.- 8. Quantitative Study of Legitimacy in Slovenian Prisons.- 9. Discussion and Conclusion.