The Role of Work Integration Social Enterprise in Overcoming Barriers to Sustained Employment and Desistance for Criminalized Individuals
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8400640 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rebecca Jayne Oswald (0000-0002-6253-4812, Northumbria University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 389-406 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal of Criminology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0955 • E-ISSN: 1464-3529 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjc/azaf051 |
| OpenAlex | W4411255250 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
The importance of legitimate employment in supporting desistance has been consistently recognized, yet many of those with a significant criminal history face numerous barriers to participating in labour markets. This paper considers the value of work integration social enterprises (WISE) offering ‘supported employment’ for criminalized individuals. Interviews (n = 28) with criminalized individuals and other stakeholders based at three UK WISE, demonstrate that WISE provide a working environment that accommodates for complex needs, in addition to holistic support to help stabilize these, which can make sustained employment and desistance more achievable. Nonetheless, pervasive stigmatization of criminalized individuals, the structural conditions of contemporary labour markets and an increasingly competitive funding environment can undermine WISE’s social mission
Criminology · Political science · Sociology · Work (physics) · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Engineering · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology
Making good
The Precariat
Desistance from Crime
Citizenship on probation
Criminalisation, criminal records and rehabilitation
Crime in the Making
The potential of social enterprise to enhance health and well-being
The pains of desistance
Collateral consequences of criminal records from the other side of the pond
For whom does a transitional jobs program work
Working around the Law
Consequences of mental and physical health for reentry and recidivism
The Effects of Employment on Longitudinal Trajectories of Offending
Work, Family and Criminal Desistance
The Internal Narrative of Desistance
A General Inductive Approach for Analyzing Qualitative Evaluation Data
Men, masculinities and violence
Ex-Offenders and the Conformist Alternative
Living for the weekend
Gender, Crime, and Desistance
Anticipated Stigma and Stigma Management Among Those to be Labeled 'Ex-con
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |