lecture 17 - release and resettlement (prisons and desistance) Flashcards
desistance is the word for what?
word for how people with a previous pattern of offending come to abstain from crime
when was there a criminological interest in desistance
1970s
how was there was there a major area of enquiry in 1990s for desistance?
- criminal career data sets
- empirical research/ case studies
how is reoffending and desistance measured
- measured over a one-year follow up period
- and a further 6 month waiting period to allow for offences to be proven in court
what % did adult offenders have a proven reoffending rate of?
22.7%
adults released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months had a proven reoffending rate of what %
54.9%
what is there measurement problems for the study of crime in general
ambiguity and imprecision
what do maruna and farrell 2004 argue that we only truly know offending career is over when?
only truly know that an offending career has finally ended when that person is dead
what do the majority of academics now acknowledge distance as
its a process not a specific event
what does shover 1996 define desistance as the voluntary…
the voluntary termination of serious criminal participation
most research emphasises a state of what?
a state of non-offending or a significant crime free gap
desistance is temporary non offending
what does bushway 2001 argue research is still interested
still interested in process by which individuals arrive there
uggen and kruttschnitt 1998 argue what 2 things for the process of desistance?
- a change from offending to non-offending
- the arrival at a permanent state of non-offending
maruna and farrall 2004 argue that primary desistance is what gap?
any crime free gap in the course of a criminal career
maruna and farrall 2004 argue seocndary desistance is what?
the movment from..
adoption of…
the movement from the behaviour of non offending to the adoption of a non offending role or identity
mcneill 2016 argues tertiary desistance is what?
social recognition of…
development of…
not intended to be…
social recognition of change and the development of a sense of belonging
but not intended to be sequential or linear stages
what does nugent and schinkel 2016 argue
AIR
- act desistance for non offending
- identity desistance for internalisation of non offending identity
- relational desistance for recognition of change by others
act
identity
relational
4 theories of desistance
ISIS
- individual and agentic
2, social and structural - interactionist
- situational (bottoms 2014)
what is individual and agentic theory of desistance?
link between?
established links between age and maturational reform theories
what is social and structural theory of desistance
- social bonds and social control theories
- circumstances external to the individual e.g. family ties employment education -
- considered to create a stake in conformity
what are interactionist theory of desistance
interactions between individuals agency and social structures
- point to the significance of subjective changes in the persons sense of self and identity
what are situational theory of desistance
how the social environment and situated routine activities influence behaviour
what is the age crime curve key conundrum
most adult offenders were young offenders
but most young offenders do not become adult offenders
glueck and glueck 1940 say what about age and desistance
growing out of crime
immaturity burnout
desistance expected
what limitations are there to understanding desistance based on age and maturation
- suggests an end point
- fail to explain different pathways to desistance
- ignores agency - rational choice
- fails to take into account life course events or any socio structural, situational or instituional factors
undestanding desistance through social learning theory
less exposure to criminal lifestyles and behavuour
understanding desistance through age graded theory of informal social control
what can act as a turning point
opportunity for what
social bonds can act as turning point
- supervision and structure to routine activities = opportunity for identity transformation
reduction in offending in young adults because starts acquiring conventional ties
- stakes in conformity
- persist when have nothing to lose
what 4 examples of turning points for desistance
- marriage
- children
- employment
- punishment
marriage is more likely to increase deisstance for who?
men rather than women
offending men tend to marry up
offending women marry down
children effects deisstance in who
motherhood
effect of having children larger for women than men
employment more likely to promote desistance for who
men
3 aspects of punishment as a turning point for desistance
- age and maturation
- reassessment of the criminal calculus
- tired of prison and beaten by the system
limitations of understanding desistance through social and structural theories
- imply that transitional experience are not universal
- suggest that key life events such as marriage, parenthood etc are indeed likely to be shaped by , although not necessarily causal of desistance
- direction unclear: trigger desistance or emerged after indivifual had ceased offending
are turning points enough to trigger desistance
no
what do interactionist theory argues
- individuals seek to alter their socio structural context
- in doing so acquire new behaviours and new pro social roles
- this = shift in the individual person and social identity
turning points may have a different impact depending on the actors what?
motivation and readiness to change
what is the importance of agency in desistance
- belief and hope that one can desist correlates with actual desistance
- can accurately predict own susceptibility to recidivism
- encourages resilience
what is maruna 2001 narratives of deisstance
- transformation narrative in which the individual has replaced his old criminal self with a new law abiding self
what 4 types of identity and narratives does maruna 2001 argue
- redemption script
- generative script
- wounded healer
- condemnation script
what 4 things make up desistance
- maturity
- agency and a decision to desist
- constructive social bonds
- new self concept and identity
the 7 pathways are clearly linked to what 3 things
- hooks for change
- turning points
- importance of human agency
what solutions are there for desistance
- take advantage of strengths and resources - family, community etc
- whole prison approach
- rehabilaitive culture
but desistance is a social process that needs what
community level and broader social and political commitment to ex prisoner reintegration
perhaps the most fundamental question is not whether society can resettle prisoners but whether
it really wants to
social identity is a what script
condemnation script
doomed to deviance
social exclusion =
risk of recidivism
social inclusion =
increases likelihood of long term desistance
what does the desistance agenda/ paradigm do:
moves away from JUST looking at rehabiliation or resettlement
- calls for BROADER COMMITMENT to social justice
woolf report 1991 prisoner links with who are vital
links with families = vital importance to them and to minimise harmful effects of imprisonment
how likley are prisoners to reoffend within 1 year of release if unable to maintain family ties
between 2 and 6 times more likely to reoffend
creating and ecouraging family contact in custody can reduce liklihood offending by up to how much?
up to 6 times
farmer review 2017 continuing need to include all families in all aspects of prisoners progression
golden thread….
golden thread vital in helping prevent reoffending and reducing intergenerational crime
research shows prisoners who receive visits from family are how much less likely to reoffend
39%
