Rethinking carceral domesticity: electronic monitoring, punishment and home as prison

Abstract

This article explores the evolving dynamics of carceral domesticity in the context of Elec- tronic Monitoring (EM) as a contemporary techno-penal practice. While the prison, as the main outlet for punishment, keeps blurring the boundaries between the private and public by challenging traditional conceptions of domesticity, recent prison reforms driven by mass incarceration and overcrowding, have led to the proliferation of EM-based house arrests as alternatives to imprisonment. However, technologies and punitive implications of EM on people and their households remain underexamined. Therefore, drawing on emerging theo- ries, testimonies and government reports through a Post-Domestic lens, this article argues that EM devices, such as wrist bracelets and ankle shackles, complicate notions of privacy, autonomy, dignity, economy and safety within domestic spaces. It further discusses how such techno-carceral practices perpetuate and reinforce existing inequalities, particularly affecting gendered, sexualized, and racialized bodies disproportionately and consolidating the status quo of the criminal justice system. In doing so, the article engages with prison abolitionist theories to speculate on alternative approaches to transforming spaces and justice, by shedding light on the intricate power dynamics inherent in carceral domesticity and EM-based confinement, aiming to contribute to the discourse surrounding the reconfig- uration of domestic spaces within the context of harm.