This article examines the factors which affect the relationship between prison officers and prisoners in Italy, especially the tension between treatment/rehabilitation and control. Using the mathematical concept of the quadrant, we describe how an individual prison officer can find their position in the system which they can use to understand their unconscious predispositions towards the two polarities of control or rehabilitation. The quadrant also offers predictive dimensions for prison officers in how likely they are to respond well to different prison cultures and to individual prisoners when asked to cope with the daily challenges of their jobs.