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Desistance from Crime: A Review and Ideas for Moving Forward

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Handbook of Life-Course Criminology

Abstract

The study of desistance, the process by which individuals stop offending, is a dynamic field of interest to both academics and policymakers. This chapter reviews the existing theoretical thinking about desistance, and presents a new perspective on the role of identity change in desistance. We begin by verifying empirically that there are in fact people who offend throughout their life-course, and that desistance is not “normative.” In a departure from usual practice, we discuss these models within the framework of formal time series processes. We then present an argument for why identity change is the most promising theoretical direction for criminologists interested in desistance. Finally, we present long-term hazard models as a “new” approach for studying desistance. We close with a challenge to the field to think not just about ways to cause desistance, but also about ways to identify offenders who are in fact at low risk of reoffending (i.e., people who have desisted).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    1  

  2. 2.

    2  

    The following is the simplest possible dynamic model. It can be generalized by including more lags. However, the basic concepts apply.

  3. 3.

    3  

    Wright et al. (2004) finds, in contrast to Nagin and Paternoster’s prediction, that those with the most self-control are the least responsive to structural events. Doherty (2006) finds no evidence of an interaction between social bonds and social control. This latter result could be explained by Doherty’s use of a sample of serious juvenile delinquents rather than a more heterogeneous general population sample.

  4. 4.

    4  

    This is not to say that biological processes play no role in explaining desistance from crime. For example, behavioral economists have suggested that one’s orientation to the future or discount rate can improve over time so that with age people become more patient and less tempted by immediate things (Mischel, Ayduk, & Mendoza-Denton, 2003). Since some of this improvement in resisting immediate temptation can be attributed to a maturing of the prefrontal cortex of the adolescent brain, a biological process is implicated (Albert & Steinberg, 2011).

  5. 5.

    5  

    Along similar lines, Schlenker (1985:74) speaks of a “desired self.” A desired self is “what the person would like to be and thinks he or she can really be.” A desired self then emphasizes a positive identity that a person would like to have and is realistic to have.

  6. 6.

    6  

    Implicated by this change in identity is a change in the quality of one’s decision making. Even with the same biological equipment a change in identity can lead one to make better use of his or her endowments to make better decisions.

  7. 7.

    7  

    Giordano et al. (2002: 992) call these supports “hooks for change.”

  8. 8.

    8  

    People who have no offenses are at hazard for a first criminal event, those who offend once are at a hazard for a second criminal event, etc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY, 12222, USA

    Shawn D. Bushway

  2. Institute of Criminal Justice & Criminology, University of Maryland, 2220 Lefrak Hall, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Raymond Paternoster

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Criminology, University of Florida, Turlington Hall 3219, Gainsville, 32611-7330, Florida, USA

    Chris L. Gibson

  2. Dept. Sociology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Marvin D. Krohn

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Bushway, S.D., Paternoster, R. (2013). Desistance from Crime: A Review and Ideas for Moving Forward. In: Gibson, C., Krohn, M. (eds) Handbook of Life-Course Criminology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5113-6_13

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