Young Offenders and Open Custody

Tove Pettersson is Head of Department and Professor at the Department of Criminology, Stockholm University, Sweden

"Theoretically grounded and based on extensive original research, this exploration of the experiences of young people in custody in Sweden is a useful addition to the literature on child imprisonment. Its focus on ‘open custody’ as a potential mechanism for reducing reoffending will be of considerable interest to academics, practitioners and policy makers in a wide range of jurisdictions."Dr Tim Bateman, Reader in Youth Justice, University of Bedfordshire, UK"Tove Pettersson’s carefully constructed mixed-method study of youth custody in Sweden presents a rare comparative analysis of the experiences and long-term effects of time spent in open and closed custodial institutions. Her insightful and theoretically-informed inquiry identifies the relevance of young people’s contact with their families and the community outside the institution for their successful re-integration following release. Her research adds valuable nuance to our understanding of the impact of youth custody for it illustrates the importance of paying attention to the conditions of confinement. Anyone with an interest in state responses to serious offending by young people will find this book well worth the read."Dr Caroline Lanskey, Lecturer in Applied Criminology, University of Cambridge, UK

• 1. Introduction2. Total institutions, discipline and power3. Studying open custody, re-offending and institutional everyday life4. Youth and staff narratives about youth custody sentences5. Youth and staff narratives about the time subsequent to youth custody6. Re-offending and custodial openness7. The significance of custodial openness