David Garland

Published in 2001, 'The Culture of Control' analyzes how crime control and criminal justice policies shifted dramatically in the United States and the United Kingdom during the late 20th century. Garland argues that society moved from a rehabilitative approach to a much more punitive, control-oriented system.

In his work, Garland describes 'penal welfarism' as a mid-20th-century approach to criminal justice that combined the punishment of offenders with a strong emphasis on their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. He argues that this framework has largely been dismantled by modern, tough-on-crime political rhetoric.

David Garland is a prominent British sociologist and scholar of law and criminology who has spent much of his career teaching at New York University. He is widely considered one of the leading academic figures in the sociology of punishment.

Prior to 'The Culture of Control,' Garland wrote 'Punishment and Modern Society' in 1990, which is considered a classic in penology. The book provides a sweeping analysis of penal practices through the lenses of major social theorists like Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Michel Foucault.