Hester Paanakker

Table 4.2. Views on street-level craftsmanship compared Views on street-level craftsmanship compared (N=55) According to policy advisors (N=6), street-level craftsmanship is about: According to managing directors (N=8), street-level craftsmanship is about: Humanity 83% (5) Security 50% (3) Reintegration 33% (2) Task effectiveness 33% (2) Humanity 88% (7) Task effectiveness 88% (7) Security 75% (6) Reintegration 38% (3) According to middle managers (N=9) , street-level craftsmanship is about: According to prison officers (N=32) , street-level craftsmanship is about: Humanity 89% (8) Task effectiveness 67% (6) Security 67% (6) Reintegration 11% (1) Humanity 84% (27) Task effectiveness 72% (23) Security 31% (10) Reintegration 16% (5) Per group, the table displays the percentages and number of respondents of the group emphasizing (sub) variations of this value (in terms of the skills, knowledge and practices that relate to it) as a key component of street-level craftsmanship Third, “task effectiveness” was added as a complementary value category to capture the skills, knowledge and practices describing the extent to which street-level professionals can perform their daily administrative and organizational tasks. While task effectiveness is not a policy value that institutional documents center on, evidenced by the absence of anything of a similar notion in prison policy documents in document analysis, it emerges as a clear value in street-level practice. Altogether, craftsmanship aspects related to task effectiveness were emphasized by 69% of respondents (38 out of 55). It represents the second most important value of the penal craft – though not for policy advisors who highlight it much less. Interpretations differ slightly from (a) “ensuring daily peace and quiet at detainee units” (a well-structured day without unnecessary unrest, distraction or time constraints, including the absence of safety incidents and clashes between or with detainees), to (b) “getting one’s daily chores and tasks done” (crossing the daily activities of detainee care off their list), and (c) “doing one’s tasks well” (prison officers acting in line with the overall prison objectives of the penal mission). However, they do show a pattern of consistent variations within the different groups. Managing directors 107 Comparing Perceptions of the Frontline Craft