Neo-Liberal Governmentality and Babies in Prison

Abstract

The number of babies in prison could be significantly reduced if the international human rights framework was monitored and implemented. There is a need to engage with sociological analysis to link this macro-level with micro-levelled policy and practice. This article has adapted Foucault’s concept of governmentality to analyse the neo-liberal rationalities of a Ministry of Justice review from England and Wales. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to critical contributions from a range of sources that are trying to protect the public (including babies in prison. In re-thinking imprisonment in the interests of babies, this article argues that the ‘art of government’ has meant that it is taken-for-granted that there is a need for mother and baby units. This article suggests an alternative economic framework is needed as a way forward for activists and criminologists who are actively engaging with the topic of babies in prison.