Not Wired Up? The Neuroscientific Turn in Youth to Adult (Y2A) Transitions Policy

Abstract

This article critically examines the role and influence of neuroscientific knowledge in problematising youth-to-adult (Y2A) offender transitions. Drawing upon empirical data from a policy Delphi panel (n = 33) in Wales (UK), it is argued that a ‘neuro-deficits’ model based around ‘maturity’ has permeated the understandings of policy-makers and practitioners working with youth offenders. In internalising such neuroscientific knowledge, the policy environment has in turn become problematised for inadequately catering towards such developmental deficits. While this ‘neuroscientific turn’ in Y2A transitions may serve to further legitimate a set of managerialist and risk-oriented practices, it also provides opportunities for broader meaningful reform.