Very little has been written about prison staff. They have been discussed only in relation to achieving reformative and rehabilitative goals, and are frequently criticized for opposing these goals. It is natural that interest should be concentrated on the prisoner community, but the prison staff must also be examined if prisons are to be fully understood. This book sets out to demonstrate that the central figure in any prison system is the basic grade uniformed officer and that the collective views of officers have a direct and supreme impact on the working of the system. Dr Thomas discusses the role of the prison officer in the English prison system, a highly centralized organization, between the years 1850 to 1970. The definition of new organizational tasks during this time brought considerable problems of adjustment for staff which were never properly examined or understood, and which led to major crises. This story of the English prison service and the role of the officer in its evolution, is relevant to prison systems in all advanced societies and raises many controversial issues of importance to policy-makers in prison services.