Over the last decade there has arisen considerable disquiet about the relationship between criminal justice and its publics. This has been expressed in a variety of different ways, ranging from a concern that state criminal justice has moved too far away from the concerns of ordinary people (become too distant, too out of touch, insufficiently reflective of different groups in society) to the belief that the police have been attending to the wrong priorities, that the state has failed to reduce crime, that people still feel a general sense of insecurity. Governments have sought to re
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AbstractThere are few long‐term studies of the convictions of persistent offenders and the extent to which they may desist from offending. The Sheffield Desistance Study interviewed 113 men aged 19–22 years over four or so years. Their subsequent convictions over the next ten years generally show a continuing pattern of convictions, but with major crime‐free gaps. Initial hopes for desistance, if seen as continuing cessation from crime, have not been fulfilled, linked to both substance abuse and, it is argued, recent penal policy in England and Wales. The question is then how we should see recidivism and desistance.
Originally published in 1988, this title opened up an entirely new field within criminology and the sociology of deviance. The authors focus on the nature of informal social control in both villages and urban centres to show the kinds of policing people do for themselves, within their communities, in an endeavour to curb crime and deviance.
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AbstractResearch into desistance from crime has progressed enormously in the past three decades. Despite this tremendous growth, some issues remain unexplored. Among these is the extent to which the reasons why people stop offending might vary by the age at which they stop, and their previous lifestyles. Herein we explore the extent to which the reasons why people desist are associated with their age, and the length and nature of their criminal career. We find that there are no particular associations between the reasons for their desistance and any of these variables, though social context is important. So particular social contexts are seen by those desisting as key to their wish to desist, but they may occur at different ages and it is when they are salient to that individual that they promote action. We close by discussing why this might be the case and the ramifications for theories of desistance.
Purpose Recent changes in the UK to the regulation and modes of work in the formal and informal economies are considered. Research in this field has tended to remain in silos (treating formal economy working conditions separately from research on the informal economy). The question is whether the means of work and benefits to the worker for formal and informal work are now as different as the former images of formal and informal economy work imply under a "jobs-for-life" economy. The purpose of this paper is to consider whether the current aim of government regulation of the informal economy – to formalise it – is actually of benefit to workers, as might be supposed.
Design/methodology/approach This paper considers recent research findings on the formal and informal economy, using official government statistics for the UK and more detailed European studies on the informal economy.
Findings This paper argues that formal employment in the UK is becoming more casualised, with less associated benefits to employees. Though it is still of benefit to the state to formalise informal work (to increase tax take), some of the links between formalisation and a good working environment for workers are being broken, which may lead to the informal economy becoming more popular and requiring different priorities in its regulation.
Originality/value This paper argues that we need to change our assumptions and image of work in the formal economy, compared to that in the informal economy.
Within the human life-span, the decade of the 20s (age 20—29) is known to manifest the fastest deceleration of offending. This article reports findings concerning the social and moral values of a sample of recidivist offenders at the start of this age-range. Most reported surprisingly conformist values, for example with regard to future aspirations (employment, housing, etc.) and to the importance of staying within legal boundaries. Nevertheless, longitudinal data showed that these conformist values often did not prevent some continued offending (though within the sample, taking steps towards desistance was associated with more conformist values). This dissonance between values and behaviour was not explained by neutralizations, but rather (1) by complex processes of maturation, in which intentions to 'go straight' co-exist with lapses into learned (habitual) criminal responses; and (2) by the spontaneous character of much offending, with for example invitations to offend by criminal friends being common. Thus, those seriously wishing to desist (to bring their behaviour into line with their social values) face an obstacle-strewn process of lifestyle change, though one often supported by partners and relatives. To assist lifestyle change, many would-be desisters adopt tactics of 'diachronic self-control', attempting to avoid future situations of criminal temptation. If the criminal justice system wishes to assist desistance among this age-group, it is vital that these complex processes are understood and supported.
