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Once convicted? The long‐term pathways to desistance
Author(s) -
Shapland Joanna
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the howard journal of crime and justice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 2059-1101
pISSN - 2059-1098
DOI - 10.1111/hojo.12473
Subject(s) - recidivism , criminology , term (time) , psychology , psychiatry , quantum mechanics , physics
There are few long‐term studies of the convictions of persistent offenders and the extent to which they may desist from offending. The Sheffield Desistance Study interviewed 113 men aged 19–22 years over four or so years. Their subsequent convictions over the next ten years generally show a continuing pattern of convictions, but with major crime‐free gaps. Initial hopes for desistance, if seen as continuing cessation from crime, have not been fulfilled, linked to both substance abuse and, it is argued, recent penal policy in England and Wales. The question is then how we should see recidivism and desistance.