Abstract

Many years ago a researcher once observed that, “any organization or social structure which consists of one group of people kept inside who do not want to be there and the other group who are there to make sure they stay in will be an organization under stress”. Many offenders serving increasingly longer sentences do not fear punishment or respect the authority of correctional officers. The available empirical and anecdotal evidence convincingly documents that stress and burnout among prison officers is widespread and, in many cases, severe. In many prisons and jails, there are too few officers available to man the prison system because of unattractive salaries, high turnover, and excessive use of sick time and disability leave. A study conducted by the National Criminal Justice Corrections Programs group revealed that stress and burnout contributes to physical and psychological changes in our body and minds that impact high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and suicides. This article reviews the literature on stress and burnout among prison wardens in Nigeria as it relates to working in adult federal prisons and addresses the causes of stress and burnout among prison wardens, possible solutions to the problem of stress and burnout, as well as its impact on the criminal justice system.