© British Association of Social Workers
A Revisionist History of Intermediate Treatment
After graduating in Law, John Pratt worked as a probation officer before undertaking postgraduate and postdoctoral research at Keele and Sheffield Universities. He has undertaken research on intermediate treatment as a senior research associate on the DHSS Intermediate Treatment Evaluation Project at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, and is now employed as a Lecturer in Social Policy and Social Research, Massey University, New Zealand.
Correspondence to John Pratt, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zeland.
Summary
This paper examines and challenges the view that intermediate treatment for young offenders in England and Wales has always been intended as an alternative to custody provision. It argues that its origin and subsequent development have to be understood within what was the prevailing welfare discourse at the time of the 1969 Children and Young Persons Act. It traces some of the processes involved in the change that has since taken place, characterized by a move from ‘welfare’ to ‘justice’ talk, and suggests that it was only then that the conceptual space for intermediate treatment to operate as an alternative to custody was established. Finally, it examines some of the critical issues raised by these changes in policy and discourse.