The Dynamics of Desistance
INTERNATIONAL SERIES ON DESISTANCE AND REHABILITATION
Series editor: Stephen Farrall
Published titles
The Dynamics of Desistance: Charting pathways through change, by Deirdre Healy
Criminal Behaviour in Context: Space, place and desistance from crime, by Nick Flynn
First published by Willan Publishing 2010
This edition published by Routledge 2012
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Deirdre Healy 2010
The rights of Deirdre Healy to be identified as the author of this book have been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
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ISBN 978-1-84392-783-9 hardback.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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ISBN: 9781315086736 (ebk)
The International Series on Desistance and Rehabilitation aims to provide a forum for critical debate and discussion surrounding the topics of how and why people stop offending and how they can be more effectively integrated into the communities and societies to which they belong. The books published in the series will be international in outlook, but tightly focused on the unique, specific contexts and processes associated with desistance, rehabilitation and reform. Each book in the series will stand as an attempt to advance knowledge or theorising about the topics at hand, rather than being merely an extended report of a specific research project. As such, it is anticipated that some of the books included in the series will be primarily theoretical, whilst others will be more practically focused on the sorts of initiatives which could be employed to encourage desistance. It is not our intention that books published in the series be limited to the contemporary period, as good studies of desistance, rehabilitation and reform undertaken by historians of crime have much to teach us and are also welcome. In terms of authorship, we would welcome excellent PhD work, as well as contributions from more established academics and research teams. Most books are expected to be monographs, but edited collections are also encouraged.
Deirdre Healys excellent book is an ideal early contribution to the series. As she notes in the early sections of her book, her main aims were to explore the subjective factors associated with desistance from crime; how these interacted with the social context to produce change; the mechanisms responsible for the shift from criminal to conventional lifestyles; and the early stages of the change processes through which people move away from crime. In short, her aims were to explore the role of agency and its interaction with wider social contexts. This is particularly interesting set of questions in its own right, but set against a background of rapid social and economic change in Ireland (and at the time of writing it appears that Ireland may be in for more dramatic changes) they become all the more interesting. Healy finds that sudden, dramatic changes are not uncommon and that periods of reflection often kick start processes of change. Among her sample (73 male probationers living in Dublin) Healy finds little evidence of the role of generativity in her desisters accounts of their change (perhaps because, as she freely acknowledges, they were still at the early stages of leaving crime behind). Instead, redemption appears to be a result of desistance, and the role of generativity comes in supporting the process of desisting. Social processes (such as rebuilding damaged relationships) appear to develop slowly and iteratively alongside desistance.
All in all, this is a fascinating read which unpacks several recent theoretical developments in research into desistance and rehabilitation and explores them in the context of well-designed and executed empirical research. For those reasons, this book represents an auspicious start to what we hope and expect will be an important and stimulating series.
Stephen Farrall,
Sheffield
The Editorial Board
Ros Burnett (Oxford University, England)
Stephen Farrall (Sheffield University, England, General Editor)
Thomas LeBel (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA)
Mark Halsey (Flinders University, Australia)
Fergus McNeill (Glasgow University, Scotland)
Shadd Maruna (Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland)
Gwen Robinson (Sheffield University, England)
Barry Godfrey (Keele University, England)
This book explores the nexus between social and personal forces in the desistance process. It was assisted in its development through ongoing dialogue, both formal and informal, with many colleagues. I would especially like to thank my PhD supervisor, Professor Ian ODonnell, Director of the University College Dublin Institute of Criminology, for his guidance and support throughout this project. I am grateful to others who provided advice and suggestions about earlier drafts of this book and the various publications that have arisen from the study. In particular, I would like to mention: Anthony Bottoms, Ros Burnett, Steve Farrall, Shadd Maruna, Mick OConnell, Joanna Shapland, and Glenn Walters. In addition, I would like to thank the Irish Probation Service and An Garda Sochna (the national Irish police force) for facilitating this research and the probation officers who participated in the study. I would like to extend special thanks to the probationers who volunteered their time to participate in this research and shared their wisdom and experience with me. I would like to gratefully acknowledge the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences for funding my post-doctoral research fellowship for two years. I am also obliged to the National University of Ireland, who provided me with a small grant. Finally, I would like to thank Cormac Behan, Angela Ennis and Seamus Healy for reading the manuscript.
When I began my research, desistance was still a somewhat novel research topic and little was known about the processes that engendered the termination of criminal careers. I spent many hours talking to men who were trying to move away from crime. They described lives that were characterised by social disadvantage, drug addiction, and limited vocational experience, and I was struck by just how difficult it would be for them to change direction. Yet, many had stopped or were reducing their offending. Coming from a background in psychology, I was particularly interested in discovering whether, and how, they used their inner resources to overcome the odds that seemed to be stacked against them.
