Browsing by Author "Gacek, James"

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Open Access
Canadian Public Safety Personnel (PSP) and Occupational Stressors: How PSP Interpret Stressors on Duty
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020-07-01) Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Czarnuch, Stephen; Carleton, R. Nicholas; Gacek, James; Shewmake, James
Canadian public safety personnel (e.g., correctional workers, firefighters) experience potential stressors as a function of their occupation. Occupational stressors can include organizational (e.g., job context) and operational (e.g., job content) elements. Operational stressors (e.g., exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events) may be inevitable, but opportunities may exist to mitigate other occupational stressors for public safety personnel. Research exploring the diverse forms of stress among public safety personnel remains sparse. In our current qualitative study we provide insights into how public safety personnel interpret occupational stressors. We use a semi-grounded thematic approach to analyze what public safety personnel reported when asked to further comment on occupational stress or their work experiences in two open-ended comment fields of an online survey. We provide a more comprehensive understanding of how public safety personnel experience occupational stress and the stressors that are unique to their occupations. Beyond known operational stressors, our respondents (n = 1238; n = 828) reported substantial difficulties with organizational (interpersonal work relationship dynamics; workload distribution, resources, and administrative obligations) and operational (vigilance, work location, interacting with the public) stressors. Some operational stressors are inevitable, but other occupational stressors can be mitigated to better support our public safety personnel.
Open Access
CCWORK Protocol: The longitudinal study of Canadian Correctional Workers’ Wellbeing, Organizations, Roles and Knowledge
(BMJ Publishing Group, 2021-10-26) Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Andres, Elizabeth; Mitchell, Meghan, M.; Quirion, Bastien; Groll, Dianne; Adorjan, Michael; Siqueira Cassiano, Marcella; Shewmake, James; Herzog-Evans, Martine; Moran, Dominique; Spencer, Dale, C.; Genest, Christine; Czarnuch, Stephen; Gacek, James; Cramm, Heidi; Maier, Katharina; Phoenix, Jo; Weinrath, Michael; MacDermid, Joy; McKinnon, Margaret; Haynes, Stacy; Arnold, Helen; Turner, Jennifer; Eriksson, Anna; Heber, Alexandra; Anderson, Gregory; MacPhee, Renee; Carleton, R. Nicholas
Introduction Knowledge about the factors that contribute to the correctional officer’s (CO) mental health and well-being, or best practices for improving the mental health and well-being of COs, have been hampered by the dearth of rigorous longitudinal studies. In the current protocol, we share the approach used in the Canadian Correctional Workers’ Well-being, Organizations, Roles and Knowledge study (CCWORK), designed to investigate several determinants of health and well-being among COs working in Canada’s federal prison system.
Open Access
Celebration Of Authorship Program 2018-2019
(University of Regina Library, 2019) Arbuthnott, Shane; Archibald-Barber, Jesse Rae; Blake, Raymond; Bradley, Cara; Coupal, Michelle; Demers, Jason; Dubois, Brenda; Freddolini, Francesco; Gacek, James; Granovsky-Larsen, Simon; Gregory, david; Greifenhagen, Franz Volker; Hansen, Phillip; Hanson, Cindy; Harrison, Yvonne; Hébert, Cristyne; Melançon, Jérôme; Hillabold, Jean; Irwin, Kathleen; Levit, Tatiana; Montgomery, H. Monty; Nolan, Kathleen; Petry, Roger; Reul, Barbara; Stojanova, Christina; Whyte, John
Open Access
Celebration Of Authorship Program 2020-2021
(University of Regina Library, 2021) Afolabi, Taiwo; Bates-Hardy, Courtney; Battis, Jes; Bradley, Crista; Brigham, Mark; Carter, Claire; Clausson, Nils; Cote, L. Lynn; Cote, Margaret R.; Coupal, Chelsea; French, Lindsey; Gacek, James; Hanson, Cindy; Hu, Shuchen; Juschka, Darlene; Khan, Tanisha; Macdonald, Iain; Marsh, Charity; Melançon, Jérôme; Morgan, R. Grace; Okimasis, Jean L.; Piercey, Robert; Plummer, David William; Powell, Mary; Purdham, Medrie; Ratt, Solomon; Trussler, Michael; Wolvengrey, Arok
The past year has disrupted many things in both our academic and personal lives, but something that has not changed is the commitment of the University of Regina community to advancing research and sharing knowledge and stories with a world-wide audience. The Dr. John Archer Library and Archives is again proud to unveil our new Celebration of Authorship booklet, highlighting books and other creative works published in-print or electronically over the past year by faculty, staff, students, retirees, and alumni of the University of Regina and its federated colleges.
Open Access
Celebration Of Authorship Program 2021-2022
(University of Regina Library, 2022) Abbott, Sarah; Afolabi, Taiwo; Ashton, Emily; Bliss, Stacey; Bonner, William; Bradley, Crista; Brigham, Mark; Campbell, Ian; Campbell, Lori; Carter, Heather; Chadwick, Sydney; Chiefcalf, April; Clarke, Paul; Cliveti, Monica; Clune, Laurie; Demers, Jason; Donovan, Darcy; Eisler, Dale; Eaton, Emily; Elliott, Patricia; Enoch, Simon; French, Lindsey; Gacek, James; Gardiner, Christopher Campbell; Berard-Gardiner, Shannon; Gebhard, Amanda; Grahame, Ann; Han, Yu (Jade); Hanson, Cindy; Hart, Mel; Hu, Shuchen; Hurlbert, Margot; Isiaka, Abiodun; Jaffe, Joann; King, Alex; Koops, Sheena; Kossick, Don; Long, Timothy; Maeers, Esther; Mair, Leslea; Mathes, Carmen Faye; Munro, Emelia; Naytowhow, Joseph; Phillips, Kaetlyn; Polster, Claire; Quark, Amy; Ramsay, Christine; Ricketts, Kathryn; Rasmussen, Ken; Reul, Barbara; Rennie, Morina; Rolli (Charles Anderson); Ruddy, Evie Johnny; Russell, Gale; Sardarli, Arzu; Saul, Gerald; Sawatzky, Katie Doke; Sellers, Cora; Snider, Amy; Stadnichuk, Cheryl; Stevens, Andrew; Stratton, Florence; Swan, Ida; Tomesh, Trevor; Trussler, Michael; Vélez, Maria; Wilson, Ken
For the first time in three years, we are thrilled to be again gathering in person to celebrate the published scholarly and creative work of our University of Regina community. Archer Library is proud to unveil the 2021-22 University of Regina Celebration of Authorship Program booklet. This downloadable publication highlights University of Regina authors/creators of books, edited proceedings, sound recordings, musical scores and film or video recordings published over the last year in any format (print or electronic). We encourage you to take a moment to view the program booklet and extend your congratulations to all of the University of Regina students, faculty, staff, and alumni who are being celebrated this year.
Open Access
An Examination of the ‘Firearms’ Recovered by the Municipal Police Services of the Canadian Prairie Provinces
(Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina, 2020-10) Jackson, Christopher James; Ruddell, Rick; Jones, Nicholas; Gacek, James; Mauser, Gary
This study examines the items labeled as ‘firearms’ recovered by the Edmonton, Regina, and Saskatoon Police Services (the EPS, RPS and SPS, respectively) between 2010 and 2018; summary data was also provided by the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS). The analyses revealed that these police services all experienced annual increases in the recoveries of items they labeled as firearms. A key finding was that up to one-third of the items labeled as firearms recovered by these agencies were non-firearms such as air guns, firearm components, as well as other miscellaneous items such as bear spray or ammunition. Between 2010 and 2018, the annual recovery of these non-firearms grew at a faster rate than the number of legally defined firearms that were recovered. Rifles and shotguns were the most commonly recovered firearms and handguns accounted for less than one-quarter of all these firearms. There was, however, variation in the types of firearms recovered between the four sites and the recovery rates also varied by police service. Despite those differences, the Edmonton, Regina, and Saskatoon Police Services all experienced a significant increase in the recoveries of sawed-off firearms over time while fully-automatic, and homemade firearms were rarely encountered, although more of these homemade firearms were recovered after 2017. In spite of those changes, the lethality of these firearms remained relatively stable over time, although including non-powder firearms such as pellet guns in that analysis influenced those outcomes. These findings are framed for their implications for: (a) theoretical development; (b) police policy and practice; and (c) for future research aimed to reduce firearm-related violence.
Open Access
Examining the effects of legal articulation in memory accuracy
(Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina, 2022-12) Trott, Kelsey Colin; Bruer, Kaila; MacLennan, Richard; Phenix, Tom; Gacek, James
The present research investigated the effects of legal articulation on police cadet memory performance in applied contexts. Legal articulation is a memory retrieval framework used by police officers to recall their actions for legal procedures and courtroom testimony. This research compared the level of detail (quantity) and accuracy (quality) of police cadet’s memories for a low-stress crime event under two different memory retrieval frameworks: legal articulation and serial recall. The findings can be used to guide police training programs to use procedures that support reliable memory recalls. No significant differences were found after the initial retrieval; however, significant differences were found in both quantity and quality of recall after a one-day delay. When serial recall was used initially to recall the event, the final retrieval was significantly more detailed and accurate than participants that initially recalled the event using legal articulation. These findings can be used to assist police agencies in their formal applied training programs for police officers.
Open Access
Exploring Gender-Based Violence in Canadian Prisons: A Scoping Review
(2023-06-13) Gacek, James; Lemoine, Jocelyne; Phillips, Breeann; Langlois, Julianne; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Spencer, Dale C.
Background In Canada, prison policies, programs, and practices have been shaped by the historical influences of sex-segregated prisons (i.e., not gender segregated; see Ricciardelli and Bartlett, 2022). Nevertheless, sex segregation has not “stopped” gender-based violence from occurring in prisons. There continues to be risk and security concerns for gender-based violence, including but not limited to 2SLGBTQIA+ people who experience such violence from other prisoners and other correctional staff. As such, our purpose was to review the literature on gender-based violence in Canadian prisons, with an eye to policy, to offer suggested considerations for pathways forward. Objectives We sought to map the existing literature on gender-based violence in Canadian prisons. Our guiding research question is: What is the existing literature on prison policies, programs, and practices that have contributed (and continue to contribute) to the historical and contemporary exclusion, marginalization, and gender-based violence of people of diverse gender identifications? Results Forty-seven articles (n = 47) met the criteria for inclusion in the review. Most articles included in the review originate from the USA (n=34). The remaining articles originate from Canada (n=6), Australia (n=3), the United Kingdom (n=3), and Israel (n=1). Key messages Violence against female and gender diverse persons in prison contexts remain an ongoing issue. Historically, prison policies denied transgender (herein ‘trans’) people who are incarcerated access to proper healthcare and overlooked gender identity. Today, gender identity and lived experience are important factors to consider in the placement of trans people who are incarcerated. Rehabilitative programming and services for female and gender diverse people in prison contexts should remain accessible. Methodology The Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) methodological framework for scoping reviews is used to identify, describe, and summarize the literature. Several databases were searched for relevant literature including Policy Commons Open Access; Canadian Electronic Library from Canada Commons; HeinOnline Government, Politics & Law in Canada; PsycINFO; Criminal Justice Abstracts; Sociological Abstracts, JSTOR, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, and the Government of Canada website. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist (Tricco et al., 2018) for complete and transparent reporting on the conduct of the literature review.
Open Access
Understanding Needs, Breaking Down Barriers: Examining Mental Health Challenges and Well-Being of Correctional Staff in Ontario, Canada
(Frontiers Media, 2020-07-10) Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Carleton, R. Nicholas; Gacek, James; Groll, Dianne, L.
Mental health challenges appear to be extremely prolific and challenging for correctional service employees, affecting persons working in community, institutional, and administrative correctional services. Focusing specifically on correctional workers employed by the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General, we shed light on their interpretations of the complexities of their occupational work and of how their work affects staff. Using a qualitative thematic approach to data analyses, we show that participants (n = 67) encounter barriers to treatment seeking, which they describe as tremendous, starting with benefits, wages, and shift work. We let the voices of staff elucidate what is needed to create a healthier correctional workforce. Recommendations include more training opportunities and programs; quarterly, semiannual, or annual appointments with a mental health professional who can assess changes in the mental health status of employees; offsite assessments to ensure confidentiality; and team building opportunities to reduce interpersonal conflict at work and increase moral by improving the work environment.