Abstract
AbstractDuring the 19th Century, hundreds of thousands of people were caught up in what Foucault famously referred to as the ‘great confinement’, or ‘great incarceration’, spanning reformatories, prisons, asylums, and more. Levels of institutional incarceration increased dramatically across many parts of Europe and the wider world through the expansion of provision for those defined as socially marginal, deviant, or destitute. While this trend has been the focus of many historical studies, much less attention has been paid to the dynamics of ‘the great decarceration’ that followed for much of the early‐ to mid‐20th Century. This article opens with an overview of these early decarceration trends in the English adult and youth justice systems and suggests why these came to an end from the 1940s onwards. It then explores parallels with marked decarceration trends today, notably in youth justice, and suggests how these might be expedited, extended, and protected.
Highlights
During the 19th Century, hundreds of thousands of people were caught up in what Foucault famously referred to as the ‘great confinement’, or ‘great incarceration’, spanning reformatories, prisons, asylums, and more
The rise of these and other institutions was shaped by the ‘great confinement’ or ‘great incarceration’, a bureaucratic spatial practice that spread in different forms across Europe, European empires, and North America (Foucault 1977)
What tools are available to us to help us to reimagine the young offender as a subject of late-modern governance today? How can we combine a political economy of reintegrative punishment with a political economy of rights-based care? Current child rights frameworks demand that we offer children the right to protection, provision, and participation (CYC-Online 2000)
Summary
During the 19th Century, hundreds of thousands of people were caught up in what Foucault famously referred to as the ‘great confinement’, or ‘great incarceration’, spanning reformatories, prisons, asylums, and more. As noted in our recent study of the longer-term impacts of historical juvenile incarceration (Godfrey et al 2017), industrial and reformatory schools constituted the key custodial components of the emergent youth justice system [and] incorporated, from the outset, what later generations of criminologists would refer to as a ‘justice model’ (the punishment of deeds) with a ‘welfare model’ (the meeting of needs).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
