Delinquency professionals: the influence, extension and adoption of the culture of control

Abstract

This thesis examines delinquency professionals’ perceptions and explanations of young male lower working class assaultive violence. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with the delinquency professionals. These were then analyzed within the theoretical frameworks of Royce (2009), Garland (2001), Messerschmidt (1993, 2000) and Cohen (1985). The analysis of the data found the delinquency professionals’ perceptions and explanations of young male lower working class assaultive violence to be individualistic and pathological. Specifically, the delinquency professionals maintain that young male lower working class assaultive violence may be attributed to a “culture of the poor” which requires young men to enact violent masculinities, consists of poor family structure and provides a social learning environment conducive to delinquency. These perspectives ignore the macro structural disparities faced by young lower class males (Royce 2009; Messerschmidt 2000). Rather, they align with the neo-liberal and neo-conservative ideologies present in many post modern Western industrialized nations (Garland 2001). Through ideological semblance it becomes clear that delinquency professionals are influenced by the culture of control, serve as an extension to the culture of control and adopt the individualistic pathological ideology of the culture of control. With the proliferation and expansion of this “professional class” it is important to have a better understanding of how delinquency professionals perceive young male lower working class assaultive violence and their role in the social control system.