Mechanical Measures and Imaginary Care: Managerialism and the Construction of Risky Youth

• In Event: Contemporary and Critical Issues in a Constantly Changing Juvenile Justice System

Abstract

In 2003, in partial response to a decade of high incarceration rates and low levels of public support, Canada adopted the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). This legislation emphasizes the role of the community in crime control and is indicative of a wider shift toward the local governance of crime. The heightened role of community has meant an enhanced role of non-profit organizations in the youth criminal justice system. Building on theories of governmentality, this research focuses on the role the non-profit sector plays in the construction of youth subjectivities. I argue that managerial practices ossify the legitimacy of the non-profit sector in their work with ‘youth in conflict with the law’. While managerialism is a contested practice, this governance strategy disguises and contorts accountability and reintegration aspects of non-profit work. Utilizing Carlen’s (2007) imaginary penality concept, I draw attention to how artificially constructed managerial rationales organize front line youth work and becomes a focal point for the delivery of youth justice services. How state generated performance measures and situated work experience of front-line workers contribute and subvert the subjectivity of ‘risky youth’ are also examined.

Author

• Abigail Tsionne Salole, Griffith University