Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie har varit att undersöka professionellas förståelse för sitt och organisationens arbete med avhoppare som vill lämna kriminella grupperingar, samt studera hur samverkan fungerar mellan organisationer. För att besvara syftet har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med yrkesverksamma som arbetar med avhoppare. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt har varit Travis Hirschis teori om sociala band och samverkansteori. Studiens empiri har tolkats genom tematisk analys. Studien visar på att professionella identifierar ett flertal påverkansfaktorer som är centrala i arbetet med avhoppare. När det gäller processen in i kriminalitet tar yrkesverksamma upp sociala aspekters betydelse, såsom påtryckningar från omgivningen, lojalitet, umgänge och sammanhang. Bristande skolgång och avsaknad av meningsfull fritid, samt individens egna betydelse lyfts också. Gällande processen ut ur kriminalitet betonar yrkesverksamma att akuta händelser, såsom dödsfall eller hot, är centrala aspekter. Många som väljer att lämna kriminaliteten gör det på grund av trauma och att orken att vara kriminell finns inte längre kvar. Nya sammanhang och nya värderingar i livet kan leda till att individer påbörjar avhopparprocessen. Samverkan beskrivs som ytterst nödvändig för att arbetet med målgruppen ska kunna bedrivas. Alla insatser sker genom samverkan och aktörer behöver inta en kompletterande roll gentemot varandra. Yrkesverksamma i arbetet med målgruppen har olika erfarenheter av möjligheter och begränsningar i arbetet. Samverkan och sekretess anses vara både möjliggörande, men även försvårande i arbetet. Att personalen är relationsskapande och personalomsättningen är låg, ger goda förutsättningar för att arbetet med målgruppen ska ge önskade resultat. Psykiatrin lyfts fram som en saknad aktör och ytterligare nationellt stöd efterfrågas för att arbetet i kommunerna ska bli mer samstämmigt. Slutsats kan dras att arbetet med målgruppen behöver fortsätta att vidareutvecklas och inkludera professionella på flera olika nivåer, lokalt, regionalt och nationellt.

I detta kvalitativa arbete undersöktes om och, i sådana fall, på vilket sätt maskulinitetsgörande kunde påverka processen att lämna en kriminell gruppering och den kriminella livsstilen, samt hur arbetet i stödverksamheter förhöll sig till maskulinitetsgörande. Detta undersöktes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju individer från stödverksamheter som hade insyn i arbetet att hjälpa individer att lämna kriminella grupperingar samt insyn i processen att lämna kriminella grupperingar. Arbetet tog utgångspunkt i två maskulinitetsteorier. Den tematiska analysen resulterade i fyra centrala teman, som belyste maskulinitetsgörande i processen att lämna en kriminell gruppering och stödverksamheternas arbete med detta. Dessa var: upprätthålla status, strävan efter att bli en deltagande medborgare med kapital, känslomässig process och en kvinnlig partners roll i processen. Delar av resultatet kunde anses överensstämma med tidigare forskning och resterande resultat berörde viktiga aspekter vilka kan vara av värde att undersöka i framtiden. / This qualitative paper examined whether and, in such cases, in what way masculinity influenced processes of leaving criminal groups and the criminal lifestyle and how the work in the support organizations related to masculinity. This was investigated through semi-structured interviews with seven individuals from support organizations who had insight into the work of helping individuals to leave criminal groups, and insight into the process of leaving criminal groups. The paper was based on two theories about masculinity. The thematic analysis resulted in four central themes, which highlighted masculinity in the process of leaving criminal groups and the supporting work regarding masculinity. These were: maintaining status, striving to become a participating citizen with capital, emotional process and a female partner's role in the process. Parts of the results corresponded with previous research and the remaining results referred to important aspects which may be of value to investigate in the future.

La notion de réussite criminelle a essentiellement été définie au moyen de l’indicateur objectif des gains monétaires. Si l’idée selon laquelle l’argent est au coeur de la réussite professionnelle fait l’objet d’un large consensus social, il semble improbable que les gains monétaires permettent à eux seuls d’appréhender la réussite. Pour mieux comprendre certaines dimensions des carrières criminelles telles que la persistance et le désistement, il paraît utile de se pencher sur la manière dont les criminels définissent leur propre réussite. Il a été établi que l’auto-efficacité, soit la croyance que possède un individu en sa capacité à accomplir une tâche, permet de prédire plusieurs dimensions des carrières légitimes. À partir de la théorie sur l’auto-efficacité, ce mémoire examine de quelle manière se forme l’auto-efficacité criminelle. Nous soutenons que les perceptions relatives à la réussite criminelle sont affectées par des facteurs semblables à ceux qui jouent dans le développement de l’auto-efficacité légitime. Nous partons de l’hypothèse que les criminels forgent leur auto-efficacité à partir de quatre sources d’expérience : les réussites personnelles, l’apprentissage vicariant, la persuasion sociale et les états physiologiques. Il est également avancé que certaines caractéristiques individuelles et environnementales ont un impact significatif sur le développement de l’auto-efficacité criminelle. Sur la base d’entrevues auprès de 212 délinquants, nos résultats indiquent que l’auto-efficacité criminelle est une construction complexe fondée sur les caractéristiques individuelles et environnementales, ainsi que sur les expériences criminelles personnelles. Nous discutons de l’impact éventuel de ces conclusions sur l’appréhension de la persévérance et du désistement dans les carrières criminelles. / The study of success in crime has been primarily restricted to a single objective indicator: earnings. While there is broad cultural agreement that money is a central component of career success, it is unlikely that earnings are the sole factor equated with achievement. Understanding how offenders subjectively define success for themselves might prove informative in understanding criminal career outcomes such as persistence and desistance. Self-efficacy – the belief that one can successfully perform a behavior leading to desired types of performance – has been shown to predict various legitimate occupational outcomes. Drawing from the self-efficacy and social cognitive career theories, this thesis explores how criminal self-efficacy beliefs are formed. It is argued that factors akin to the ones leading to the development of legitimate self-efficacy also serve as a basis for perceptions of success in crime. More specifically, it is hypothesized that criminal self-efficacy is forged as offenders interpret information from four experiential sources: personal performance accomplishments, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and physiological states and reactions. Because cognitive self-appraisals are not formed in a vacuum, it is also argued that individual and environmental characteristics exert a significant impact on the development of criminal self-efficacy. Based on interviews with 212 incarcerated offenders, our results suggest that criminal self-efficacy is complexly built from individual and environmental characteristics, as well as from personal experiences with crime. The potential repercussion of these findings on the understanding of criminal persistence and desistance are discussed.

With the expansion of the use of private prisons and detention centres worldwide and the increasing involvement of private actors in the provision of custodial services, this doctoral thesis considers life inside two private prisons in England. Using theoretically informed ethnography it evaluates the effect of responsibility on men imprisoned in two private prisons in England. Firstly, it briefly reviews the background and development of prison privatisation in England and Wales and considers the role and place of private prisons as part of a wider neo-liberal shift. Secondly, using qualitative data gathered inside two private prisons, it evaluates if these prisons, through their regimes, are trying to create responsible self-governing prisoners. The thesis reviews both, how regimes and practices in place in these two prisons attempt to forge responsible prisoners, and how individual men and groups of prisoners experience, feel about, cope with and assimilate penal messages of self-governance and responsibility. Finally, it questions both the impact of responsible prisoners for prisons and the impact of responsibility on prisoners and argues that, whilst there is a benefit to fostering environments in which prisoners are enabled to become responsible and self-governing, a careful balance must be maintained, as for some men the responsibility itself becomes characteristic of the "pain of imprisonment".

Delivered through the medium of a Community of Philosophical Inquiry, this thesis outlines the experience of engaging prisoners in philosophical conversation, thereby articulat-ing the relevance of this type of education for those in long-term confinement. The research, which took place in two prisons, explores the role of prison education, community dialogue and active philosophising in encouraging personal development. With similar populations but contrasting characters, HMPs Grendon and Full Sutton provided the backdrop to grounded, ethnographically-led research. The research design reflects the exploratory nature of the approach. Derek Layder’s adaptive theory has provided a methodological framework, whilst the theoretical framework draws on desistance literature, prison sociology, and philosophical pedagogy to enhance and develop understanding of the emergent themes. However, as a criminological piece of research, it sits within the criminological, and more specifically, prison sociological paradigm. The thesis culminates in a discussion of personal development that articulates the role of education in developing growth identities among prisoner-participants. The research de-scribes the role of philosophical dialogue in developing trust and relationships between and among the participants; the relevance of this type of education to prisoners’ psychological wellbeing; and the significance of the subject-matter to participants’ perspectives. The thesis argues that prison promotes the formation of a hyper-masculine ‘survival’ identity. It goes on to argue that education, and more specifically philosophy education, can play a role in culti-vating growth identities that encourage personal exploration, self-reflection, and development of new interests and skills among prisoners.

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There is an overrepresentation of youths with disabilities in the juvenile justice system. As a result, each year thousands of juvenile offenders despite of the seriousness of the crimes committed, are released from incarceration with the hopes of living a successful life in society. Despite progressive research on identifying factors associated with desistance, it is still unclear what factors contribute to desistance for serious juvenile offenders and especially those with disabilities. The current study investigated the individual differences (e.g., moral disengagement, motivation to succeed and impulse control) and social factors (e.g., employment, education and maternal warmth) that are important in the process of desistance for serious juvenile offenders. The sample of 14 to 17-year-old male and female offenders (N =1354) was composed primarily of ethnically marginalized youths who have committed serious offenses. Results of the study indicated that both social and individual factors are significant predictors of desistance from crime. However, varied significance was found as it relates to Aggressive, Income Offending and desistance. Results obtained are applicable to scholarship across multiple disciplines, as well as inform policy, practice and future research on desistance from crime. Limitations of the study were also stated.

La notion de réussite criminelle a essentiellement été définie au moyen de l’indicateur objectif des gains monétaires. Si l’idée selon laquelle l’argent est au coeur de la réussite professionnelle fait l’objet d’un large consensus social, il semble improbable que les gains monétaires permettent à eux seuls d’appréhender la réussite. Pour mieux comprendre certaines dimensions des carrières criminelles telles que la persistance et le désistement, il paraît utile de se pencher sur la manière dont les criminels définissent leur propre réussite. Il a été établi que l’auto-efficacité, soit la croyance que possède un individu en sa capacité à accomplir une tâche, permet de prédire plusieurs dimensions des carrières légitimes. À partir de la théorie sur l’auto-efficacité, ce mémoire examine de quelle manière se forme l’auto-efficacité criminelle. Nous soutenons que les perceptions relatives à la réussite criminelle sont affectées par des facteurs semblables à ceux qui jouent dans le développement de l’auto-efficacité légitime. Nous partons de l’hypothèse que les criminels forgent leur auto-efficacité à partir de quatre sources d’expérience : les réussites personnelles, l’apprentissage vicariant, la persuasion sociale et les états physiologiques. Il est également avancé que certaines caractéristiques individuelles et environnementales ont un impact significatif sur le développement de l’auto-efficacité criminelle. Sur la base d’entrevues auprès de 212 délinquants, nos résultats indiquent que l’auto-efficacité criminelle est une construction complexe fondée sur les caractéristiques individuelles et environnementales, ainsi que sur les expériences criminelles personnelles. Nous discutons de l’impact éventuel de ces conclusions sur l’appréhension de la persévérance et du désistement dans les carrières criminelles. / The study of success in crime has been primarily restricted to a single objective indicator: earnings. While there is broad cultural agreement that money is a central component of career success, it is unlikely that earnings are the sole factor equated with achievement. Understanding how offenders subjectively define success for themselves might prove informative in understanding criminal career outcomes such as persistence and desistance. Self-efficacy – the belief that one can successfully perform a behavior leading to desired types of performance – has been shown to predict various legitimate occupational outcomes. Drawing from the self-efficacy and social cognitive career theories, this thesis explores how criminal self-efficacy beliefs are formed. It is argued that factors akin to the ones leading to the development of legitimate self-efficacy also serve as a basis for perceptions of success in crime. More specifically, it is hypothesized that criminal self-efficacy is forged as offenders interpret information from four experiential sources: personal performance accomplishments, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and physiological states and reactions. Because cognitive self-appraisals are not formed in a vacuum, it is also argued that individual and environmental characteristics exert a significant impact on the development of criminal self-efficacy. Based on interviews with 212 incarcerated offenders, our results suggest that criminal self-efficacy is complexly built from individual and environmental characteristics, as well as from personal experiences with crime. The potential repercussion of these findings on the understanding of criminal persistence and desistance are discussed.

No description available.

No description available.