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Criminal careers in transition: The social context of desistance from crime

Farrall, Stephen; Hunter, Ben; Sharpe, Gilly; Calverley, Adam

Authors

Stephen Farrall

Ben Hunter

Gilly Sharpe

Adam Calverley



Abstract

There has been a growth of interest in why people stop offending, and the processes by which they are rehabilitated back into the community. This book follows the completion of a fifth sweep of interviews with members of a cohort of former probationers interviewed since the late 1990s. The research has been about developing a long-term evidence base, rather than a rapid assessment which does not have the time fully to explore the issue, namely whether (and how) probation supervision assists desistance from crime. The cohort members were initially followed for two years, culminating in a book—widely acclaimed academically and used for teaching purposes on undergraduate and postgraduate courses—which reported that few probationers stopped offending directly because of being on probation. Rather, as their lives developed and their social and personal circumstances changed, these factors encouraged or brought about their desistance. The findings have been the subject of much interest within academic and policy circles. A second book reported on a further wave of interviews with 51 of these same probationers completed four to five years after they were last interviewed in 2003–2004. It explored the effectiveness of probation, and was able to throw significant further light on the processes associated with desistance and reintegration. This current book continues our exploration into how probation supervision helped people to stop offending, and extends our interests into new areas (such as victimization, citizenship, emotional trajectories of reform, and the spatial dynamics of desistance).

Citation

Farrall, S., Hunter, B., Sharpe, G., & Calverley, A. (2014). Criminal careers in transition: The social context of desistance from crime. Oxford UK: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199682157.001.0001

Book Type Monograph
Acceptance Date Jun 1, 2014
Publication Date Jul 17, 2014
Deposit Date Jun 4, 2019
ISBN 9780199682157
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199682157.001.0001
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1934822
Publisher URL https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199682157.001.0001/acprof-9780199682157