NCJ Number
229240
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 49 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2009 Pages: 810-831
Date Published
November 2009
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the language and use of anti-social behavior (ASB) policy.
Abstract
Findings note that the language of regulation has been appropriated and deployed to both disguise and legitimize ambitious, yet ambiguous attempts at State interventionism. This interventionism may have more to do with quests to demonstrate government's capacity to be seen to be doing something tangible about public anxieties than with meaningful behavioral change. Rather, regulatory ideas are being used to circumvent established criminal justice principles, notably those of due process, proportionality, and special protections traditionally afforded to young people. Consequently, novel technologies of control have resulted in more intensive and earlier interventions. The ASB agenda in Britain and the introduction of diverse new powers and regulatory tools represent a major challenge to the traditional conception of criminal justice. Tables and references