Electronically Monitored punishment: international and critical perspectives. Edited by Mike Nellis, Kristel Beyens, and Dan Kaminski (eds) (2013), Oxon: Routledge. 279 pp. £90

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12090
• Published date: 01 July 2017
• Author: Oliver G. Kayas
• Date: 01 July 2017

192 New Technology, Work and Employment © 2017 Brian Towers (BRITOW) and

John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

New Technology, Work and Employment 32:2

ISSN 0268-1072

Book Review

Electronically Monitored punishment: international and critical perspectives

Mike Nellis, Kristel Beyens, and Dan Kaminski (eds) (2013), Oxon: Routledge. 279 pp.

£90

This edited book draws our attention to the electronic monitoring (EM) of of-

fenders through a comparison of its development in nine countries. It explores

the socio- technical conditions influencing the evolution of the various technologies

used to supervise offenders in the community and its effect on their behaviour.

It pays particular attention to the complex political machinations which surround

its application in the historical contexts of the nine countries. The book is framed

within the utopian and dystopian hopes underpinning the investment in EM

technologies, which remain both empirically and ethically undertheorised around

the world.

Part one of the book consists of nine chapters and is concerned with the in-

ternational experiences of EM to provide a deep understanding of penal cultures

and practices, together with the different approaches to punishment and control.

In Chapter 1, Lilly and Nellis argue that the champions of EM in the US have

created a discourse infused with ‘technological utopianism’ to denote an outlook

on social progress through technologies advocated as a solution to sociopolitical

problems. Despite these transformative claims, they demonstrate how EM is ac-

tually tempered by competing narratives that perceive it as an intermediate sanction

held back by a commitment to mass incarceration.

In Chapter 2, Wallace- Capretta and Roberts consider the origins and gradual

evolution of EM in Canada. They explore issues around EM programmes and

the experiences of offenders subjected to it. They show how the federal nature

of the country means that the application of EM technology varies significantly

in different provinces, requiring a national debate on its use.

Chapter 3 by Mair and Nellis examines how EM technologies in England, Wales

and Scotland have had little effect on enduring punitive traditions of prison use.

They argue that the use of EM technologies in parallel to governments’ deliberate

fragmentation of the Probation Service into third (and private) sector offender

management services is regressive modernisation.

The account by Smith and Gibbs, in Chapter 4, shows the eagerness of Australia

and New Zealand to adopt crime control technology. They explore the contro-

versies, advantages and disadvantages of EM and suggest that technologies are

embraced without evaluative research results, which leads to ethical issues about

its application.

Chapter 5 by Cho and Bae Kim considers the development of EM technologies

in South Korea. Their analysis indicates how first generation EM technology was

largely ignored for second generation technology, demonstrating a different pattern

of evolution compared to Western countries.

In Chapter 6, Wennerberg explores the Swedish model of EM which is a rel-

atively uncontroversial political issue. She examines the views of offenders who

are satisfied with their experience of being subjected to EM technology, as well

as the often unheard perspective of crime victims who tend to be positive about

intensive supervision with EM.

Chapter 7 by Lévy considers the evolution of EM in France to show how ‘tagging’

and ‘tracking’ became entrenched in society due to major pressures around prison