Coercive Confinement in the Republic of Ireland: The Waning of a Culture of Control

Abstract

In Ireland until recently, a range of institutions other than prisons was utilized to confine those deemed to be deviant. It seems clear that rather than becoming more punitive (if this is estimated by the number of individuals coercively confined) the country has become considerably less so over the past 50 years. In 1951, despite high emigration providing a safety valve, more than 1 percent of the population was behind closed doors in prisons, borstal, reformatory and industrial schools, psychiatric institutions (as involuntary patients) and homes for unmarried mothers. This was eight times higher than in 2002.

Keywords: Imprisonment, Ireland, coercive confinement, decarceration, social control