Theorizing structural and individual-level processes in desistance and persistence: Outlining an integrated perspective

Abstract

In this paper we outline our current thinking on the processes associated with desistance from crime. This work, conducted as part of the theoretical apparatus of a fifth sweep of interviews with a cohort of ex-probationers originally interviewed for the first time in the late 1990s – but which, by implication holds lessons for those researching people leaving prison – is an attempt to build an account of the processes which help to shape the speed, nature and direction of an individual’s efforts to avoid further offending. In it we develop an account of desistance which draws on thinking about macro-level structures and meso-level influences whilst retaining sufficient room for individual agency. Our account, whilst based on what we have learnt from the previous four sweeps of interviews with this cohort and other studies we have undertaken, nevertheless remains a ‘work in progress’. We describe briefly the design and aims of the fifth sweep of interviews towards the end of the article.