Locked up and safe – But for how long? Exploring how legitimising narratives shape decisions to sustain placement in secure institutions

ABSTRACT

This article draws on findings from a qualitative study in Denmark on decision-making related to secure placement of young people. The article identifies a repertoire of narratives that legitimise the decision and contribute to sustain the placement in secure accommodation. Secure placement is imbued with a range of dilemmas serving a purpose to protect and provide care for young people assessed to be at risk to themselves or others. However, confinement can also have detrimental effects on young people’s mental health, access to education and relational continuity. Secure placement is temporary and, according to UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, should not be sustained any longer than necessary. Thus, scholarly attention is needed to understand the logics that legitimise keeping young people locked up. The article draws on the theorisation of sense-making and committed interpretation developed by Karl Weick (2001), and contributes to the growing literature on decision-making in child welfare, adding insights on the logics that sustain and even replicate decisions to confine young people. Acknowledging the dynamics and effects of certain legitimising narratives is an important step in reducing the length of stay in confinement.

ABSTRAKT

Artiklen trækker på en kvalitativ undersøgelse af beslutningsprocesser ved sikret anbringelse i Danmark. I artiklen identificeres en række fortællinger, der legitimerer beslutningen og bidrager til at opretholde anbringelse på sikret institution. Sikret anbringelse er forbundet med et dilemma, idet anbringelsen dels har til formål at beskytte og drage omsorg for unge i udsatte positioner dels indebærer frihedsberøvelse, hvilket kan have alvorlige konsekvenser for børn og unges mentale trivsel, adgang til uddannelse og relationel kontinuitet. Sikret anbringelse er midlertidig og i henhold til FN’s Børnekonvention bør anbringelsen være så kortvarig som muligt. Derfor er det afgørende at forstå de logikker, der legitimerer frihedsberøvelse af børn. Artiklen trækker på Weick (2001) teoretisering af meningsskabelse og forpligtende fortolkninger, og bidrager til et voksende forskningsfelt om beslutningsprocesser i på børneområdet ved at tilføje indsigt i de rationaler, der opretholder og reproducerer beslutninger om at frihedsberøve unge. Ved at anerkende de dynamikker og effekter, som de legitimerende fortællinger har, kommer vi et skridt videre i forhold til at reducere varigheden af sikret anbringelse.

KEYWORDS:

• Child welfare
• secure institution
• decision-making
• youth justice
• risk

NØGLEORD:

• Udsatte børn og familier
• beslutningsprocesser
• risikoadfærd
• unge
• sikret institution

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In these cases, the Chair of the Board will issue a care order, which needs to be approved by the board within seven days.

Additional information

Funding

The study was conducted with Rikke Cecilie Refslund Bjerregaard funded by the Danish National Board of Social Services.

Notes on contributors

Ann-Karina Henriksen

Ann Karina Henriksen is a senior lecturer at Copenhagen University College, where she teaches social work and conducts qualitative research related to youth at risk, out-of-home placement, gender and crime. She has a Master degree in social anthropology and a Ph.D. in social science and has published particularly within the field of feminist criminology related to young women's violent conflicts and the field of youth studies particularly young people's experiences of confinement in secure institutions.