Youth Justice Reforms in Norway: Professional Support for the Panopticon Society?

Abstract

In 2014, Norway implemented a reform called ‘Youth supervision’ and ‘Youth sentencing’, inspired by restorative justice principles. This article presents the main content of this reform and considers experiences until today. The discussion looks at some challenges related to the reform: Will reduced imprisonment be the result? Do we see the contours of a panopticon society through this reform? Can young offenders be ‘trapped in help’, without necessary legal protection? Is there a danger of professional invasion, where diagnostic perspectives will dominate? These questions are discussed against international experiences on restorative justice reforms.