Discovering Desistance is a project aiming to share knowledge and improve understanding about why people desist from offending.
The project involves:
- Producing an educational documentary exploring the issues related to desisting from crime
- Holding a series of workshops for probation professionals to examine the issues raised in the documentary
- Exploring the implications of desistance research for probation practice and developing ideas about how to better support the process of desistance
The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The project lead is Fergus McNeill (Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, University of Glasgow) and other members of the project team are Stephen Farrall (University of Sheffield), Claire Lightowler (Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services) and Shadd Maruna (Institute of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Queen’s University Belfast).
If we can be of any help with your research please get in touch. Penrose is introducing a desistance framework model in its Forensic Mental Health services and our integrated offender management service in Lewisham London. The integrated service is an incentive payment contract where we get paid on our results to help reduce reoffending working with 300 SU’s. We are providing structured programmes, alternative therapies, education, employment an family mediation and support. Lots more things going on and trying out new idea s all the time wiith strong service user / family involvement.
If you think we might be able to help please feel fee to call me on 07966 499 070
Kind Regards
Gill Arukpe
Penrose CEO
Dear Gill — Sorry I didn’t notice your comment before. Your project sounds really interesting, and very relevant to the recent posts on desistance and recovery networks. Maybe you’d like to write us a post about your experiences so far? Fergus
Hey Guys,
I have just undertaken a comprehensive literature review of the “Recovery” model relating to substance misuse for a presentation, and with an in-depth knowledge of the desistance paradigm through gaining a BA Criminology, wondered to myself “Why do the two fields not collaborate on projects?”. Which may sound a wee bit naive. As ultimately their end results are the same with “desistance” or “recovery” been the desired status for offenders and substance misuser’s alike.
Surely if one was attempting to construct, deliver and embed a Desistance focused program then lessons could be learnt from the fields of substance misuse, mental health and alcoholism as the recovery model has had a great deal of success in those fields. I am curious as what you guys think about the idea of a multi-field collaborative project. Has something similar been attempted previously? Would it be a case of too many chiefs and not enough Indians?
Hi Paul — Yes, I think there is a lot in this and I know that Shadd has often thought about (and sometimes written about the ‘read across’ these inter-related fields. There is a whole literature out there on self-help and mutual aid networks which could be usefully drawn upon, and the other obviously connected (but under-examined) link is with resilience perspectives. If we conceive of desistance (at least partly) as a process of human development, then it does seem obvious that a lot could be learned from thinking about other similar or related processes (though we should also be careful of the distintiveness of different developmental processes. Of course, desistance isn’t only a developmental process — its links to questions around reintegration and justice (criminal and social) raises some wider issues not so much about the desister as about the social and community contexts of reintegration. A person might reform themselves, but they certainly can’t reintegrate themselves. A multi-field collaborative project — or better still a whole research programme — sounds like a great idea! Fergus
We would be happy to host an event if you would like to do something in the south west. Our offices just south of Bristol are the most accessible for the region. Very close to Bristol Airport. Would be good to include IOM police too. Fergus, you have my work number.
Thanks Sally. Unfortunately, we only have funding for one or two meetings in England, and so will probably need to keep it central (like Sheffield, perhaps). That said, we may well want to follow up the project with trips elsewhere, maybe taking the film out and about and facilitating workshops after people have seen it. Certainly, this whole project is just one more step in what we hope will be an ongoing process.
On reading others comments – a further note re substance misuse and desistance. Absolutely re application. Was at a national IOM Conference (England and Wales) in June 2011 and working with colleagues there from the NTA who knew not of the current desistance literature. Had discussion on it when mtg with Shadd soon after. Fwded to NTA N.E. region some initial references and materials from Fergus and Shadd, to set a ball rolling. aA national push on this with NTAs would be excellent.
Elizabeth