In contrast to the widespread public and academic focus on ethnicity in relation to engagement in offending, existing research has largely overlooked whether processes associated with desistance from crime vary by ethnicity. This is despite known ethnic differences in factors identified as affecting disengagement from offending such as employment, place of residence, religious affiliation and family structure providing good reasons for believing differences would exist. This thesis explores the processes associated with desistance from crime among offenders drawn from some of the principal minority ethnic groups in the United Kingdom. Data were obtained from qualitative interviews with 33 male offenders who were of Indian, Bangladeshi, and Black and dual heritage ethnic origin, had a previous history of offending and were identified (in collaboration with their probation officers) as being in the process of desisting. Interviews explored life histories, factors responsible for their desistance, strategies to avoid further offending, access to resources, impediments faced, and plans for the future. To identify shared themes and make comparisons data was analysed by ethnic group. Ethnic differences did exist in terms of desistance, particularly at the meso level in terms of family and community. For the Indians desistance was influenced by their families' aspirational values and access to resources, while Bangladeshis families showed a laudable willingness to offer acceptance and forgiveness. Forboth these groups desistance was characterised as a much more collective experience involving their families actively intervening in their lives and a reorientation towards the family. In contrast Black and dual heritage offenders' desistance was a much more individualistic endeavour c::haracterised by greater isolation and disengagement from their community. The implications of these findings for a need for a wider research agenda that appreciates the importance of how desisters' structural location affects their desistance is discussed in the concluding chapter
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:502985 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Calverley, Adam |
| Publisher | Keele University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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