RT Article
T1 Punitive reform and the cultural life of punishment: Moving from the ASBO to its successors
JF Punishment & society
VO 22
IS 1
SP 90
OP 107
A1 Brown, Kevin J. 1978-
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1761699466
AB This paper explores the process of punitive reform through a cultural theory lens. The existing literature focuses on high-end punishments of historical pedigree e.g. imprisonment or the death penalty. This paper instead takes as its focus low-end, contemporary punishments. In doing so, it provides original insights into the utility a cultural methodology can bring to understanding punitive reform in the digital age. It tests the applicability of Philip Smith's theory of the cultural life of punishment to case studies of the Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) and its replacements in England and Wales, the Criminal Behaviour Order and the Injunction. The ASBO was a punitive zeitgeist of its time becoming rooted in popular culture. However, it was ultimately abolished after attracting a predominantly negative cultural narrative. Thus far, after attracting some controversy at the legislative stage, the Criminal Behaviour Order and Injunction have received minimal scrutiny, despite being more problematic than their predecessor. This paper argues that the lower cultural impacts of the new punishments are responsible for the lack of scrutiny.
K1 ASBO
K1 Anti-social behaviour
K1 criminal behaviour order
K1 culture of punishment
K1 public imagination
K1 punitive zeitgeist
DO 10.1177/1462474519831347