Lecture 9: Revisiting Garland Flashcards
(10 cards)
What are the core claims of Garland’s Culture of Control framework
Major transformation of crime control by late 20th century
High crime/insecurity as ‘normal social fact’
Collapse of penal-welfarism (focus on causes & rehabilitation)
Policy predicament: crime can’t be eliminated but remains politically important
Emergence of Adaptive and Punitive control strategies
Cross-national convergence in penal approaches due to structural shifts
What does it mean to say crime has become a ‘normal social fact’?
Crime and insecurity are seen as everyday, expected elements of society, especially in late modern contexts
What undermines the idea of a declining crime impact?
Persistent feelings of insecurity
Reassurance gap (decline in crime ≠ decline in fear)
Rise of new threats (e.g. terrorism, environment, health)
Media focus on street crime
Growth in attention to hidden crimes (cyber, sexual abuse, hate crimes)
Did penal-welfarism completely collapse?
No. Elements remain, such as:
Social crime prevention
Rehabilitative services (e.g. Reducing Reoffending)
Early intervention strategies
Pro-rehabilitation political rhetoric
What is Garland’s ‘policy predicament’?
Crime control is expected but hard to deliver. However, since 2001, crime hasn’t dominated elections, reducing this predicament’s urgency.
How has the political focus on crime changed since 2001?
Crime has not been a lead election issue since 1997
Other concerns (economy, health, immigration, Brexit) dominate
Expressive crime politics has cooled, though resurged post-2019
What characterises punitive crime control today?
Legal expansion
Growth of prison population
Political ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric
Resurgence in crime/punishment debate post-2019
BUT offset by austerity-era cuts to police/prison funding
What are features of adaptive (instrumental) crime control?
Managerialism: New Public Management & KPIs
Austerity: ‘doing more with less’
Commercialisation: privatisation/marketisation
Responsibilisation: engaging non-state actors
Multi-agency and partnership working
Has there been global convergence in penal policy?
Not fully. Differences remain:
Scandinavia: moderate penal systems
USA: high incarceration, death penalty, democratic control over justice
UK: somewhere between
Political/legal institutions shape local responses
Why might Garland’s Culture of Control not apply universally?
Diverse national legal, political, and institutional contexts challenge the idea of a singular global penal culture.
