Negotiating conditional release

Abstract

In what follows, I draw on selected narratives of young men in secure care in order to build a picture of the subjective experience(s) of conditional release and (reasons for) reincarceration. From these narratives, I then move to explore three issues bearing upon the nature of conditional release, and, more specifically, which contribute to the extremely high rates of return to custody. These themes have to do with: first, the preponderance of a deficit model of juvenile behaviour; second, the steadfast belief in the ontology of the modern subject; and, third, evidence which shows juveniles' increasing willingness to turn down the opportunity to commence conditional release. Overall, my aim is to contribute to those studies that have helped to problematize and partially reconstruct the body of the young custodial subject.