Desistance from crime

Reflections on the transitional experiences of young people with a history of offending

Bibliographic Data

ID12600331
AuthorsYvonne Haigh (0000-0002-8019-9771, Murdoch University, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume12
Issue3
Pages307-322
Publication date2009-04-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Youth Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1367-6261 • E-ISSN: 1469-9680
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13676260902775077
OpenAlexW2038789904
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited37

The purpose of this paper is to explore the complexities involved in young people's attempts to move away from criminal activity. This paper draws on qualitative data from a study that aimed to identify how young people negotiate transitions away from offending. The paper argues that an analysis of the subtle shifts in young people's perceptions and interpretations of their situation sheds light on the complex nature of desisting from crime. To do so, the paper focuses on the role of relevance in order to explore how these subtle shifts in thinking enable young people to reinterpret their lives and move towards desistance. By way of undertaking this analysis, this paper draws on Alfred Schutz's phenomenological approach to the nature of relevance to explore how young people shift between their known world of ‘doing crime’ and an unknown world of being ‘straight and legitimate’

Criminology · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Lived experience · Negotiation · Order (exchange · Perception · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Qualitative research · Relevance (law · Social science · Sociology · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Gender Studies · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Psychology