ABSTRACT

At this point it is worth reflecting on the exact nature of these ‘rational logics’. On the one hand, there is the clearly punitive form (that is, prohibitive legislation, the move towards harsher punishment regimes for young offenders, banning orders and other reactionary measures); on the other hand, there are those measures based around an actuarial and calculative approach to the control and management of social problems – this latter approach being all about the creation of routines, conformity and acceptable social habits/behaviour. While traditionally these two forms of social control have been seen to have clear conceptual differences (eg, Foucault 1977 on the juridico-discursive versus disciplinary), in recent times the distinction between them has become noticeably blurred. In practice, a hybrid form of criminalisation/social control has emerged. For example, curfew orders, while seemingly punitive in essence, at the same time represent a move towards the conditioning and ‘routinisation’ of individual action.