| There has been little empirical investigation of the factors associated and correlated with desistance from offending- What has been written on this subject focuses on the socio-cognitive development of the offender--the psychosocial (or structural) forces which shape an individual's motivation to desist. Studies of treatment intervention follow a general evaluation model, in which the stated goals of a program are taken as the frame of reference for evaluating its impact. But from other frameworks--in particular, routine activities and rational choice orientations--it is clear that programs may have unintended, positive impacts as well. For example, the mere fact of getting caught may affect both the way a person calculates the wisdom of entering crime-potent situations and may also affect the willingness of peers to expose the person to such situations. Similarly, participation in time-intensive treatment activities limits the residual time available for criminal behavior. Very little systematic attention has been paid to these questions. The authors describe a comprehensive yet parsimonious model of the correlates of desistance, combining the two approaches. |
Updated 05/20/2006