Prisoner behavior control generated a continuous individualizing knowledge

Evidence

But no doubt the most important thing was that this control and transformation of behaviour were accompanied – both as a condition and as a consequence – by the development of a knowledge of the individuals. When the new prisoner arrived, the Walnut Street administration received a report concerning his crime, the circumstances in which it was committed, a summary of the examinations of the defendant, notes on his behaviour before and after sentence: indispensable elements if one wished to ‘decide what steps will have to be taken to destroy his old habits’. And throughout his detention he would be observed; his conduct would be noted daily and the inspectors – twelve local worthies appointed in 1795 – who, two by two, visited the prison each week, would be kept informed of events, follow the conduct of each prisoner and decide which of them deserved a shortening of his term. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 202

Categorization

• XREF: The observation-and-record regime is precisely the panoptic surveillance cycle the reader is tracing toward Oceania’s telescreens. — connects to: One observation action suffices to make prisoners police their own behavior permanently — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 59; Partitioned cellular space lets authority track, assess, and control each individual continuously — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 221; All prison-model disputes shared the goal of coercive individualization — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 367 (+5 more)

Related

• All prison-model disputes shared the goal of coercive individualization (similarity 0.83)
• Police, prison, and delinquency form a self-reinforcing circuit producing delinquents (similarity 0.80)
• One observation action suffices to make prisoners police their own behavior permanently (similarity 0.80)
• Classifying the delinquent as a pathological subject is inseparable from politically isolating delinquency (similarity 0.80)
• The prison and the delinquent are mutually produced in a single technological ensemble (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Punishment doubled into an object relation producing the criminal as a known individual #corroborates (0.82) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 163
• Police, prison, and delinquency form a self-reinforcing circuit producing delinquents #corroborates (0.75) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 432