Foucault, Surveillance and Penal Policy

The main issue pursued in this chapter is that an accelerating interest in imprisonment of older people and ageing populations is central to understanding penal social policy as a modern phenomenon. This chapter provides a philosophical critique and analysis of the development and consolidation of prison officer power in the United Kingdom. It fundamentally questions the philosophical assumption that the role of the prison officer has evolved benevolently and independently, uncontested in their work and unbiased in their penal policy and practices.