Abstract

Youth justice has a responsibility to provide care for young people, whilst exerting forms of control over their criminal behaviours. This dichotomy creates tensions within practice, which are representative of longstanding social and philosophical issues. Utilising Foucault’s theory of social control, youth justice practices are considered. Aspects of controlling practice such as the use of custody, use of restraint and force within custodial settings, responsibilisation, the punitive turn, and labelling of young people are discussed. The need for criminal justice to exert some control is recognised, but it needs to be considered if the actions of youth justice systems justify the control exerted over children, and if this is done to prevent further reoffending, or simply to exert power. Not all aspects of youth justice practice exert control though, and practice does show significant care towards young people. The welfare support offered to young people is representative of this care, and the commitment of youth justice workers to deliver this care in limited circumstances is admirable. Public health approaches to youth justice recognise the need for balance between care and control, and raises questions of if it is the place of youth justice services to offer welfare support. New approaches to practice such as positive youth justice and liaison and diversion services show some developments in balancing the social requirements of both care and control.