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This article presents the initial theoretical underpinnings for a fresh prospective study of desistance, focused on 20-year-old recidivists. It is argued that significant crimefree gaps appropriately form part of the subject matter of desistance. An interactive theoretical framework is presented, involving 'programmed potential', 'social context' (structures, culture, situations) and 'agency'. It is argued that agency, while rightly attracting increasing interest within criminology, needs to be used with greater precision.

In order to create an economic measure of the direct and indirect effects of crime, it is necessary to consider the effects of crime on victims. The article reviews the state of research into the effects of crime on individuals, in respect of personal and household victimisation, and the effects of crime on businesses. General population surveys have concentrated upon the common property offences and minor violence and have tended to ignore the dimension of the course of victimisation over time.Longitudinal studies are rare and have concentrated upon serious violent crime. Because of the element of clinical judgment, much work on PTSD is unsuitable for creating an economic measure of effects over all types of crime. There needs to be a marriage of survey methodology with time measures, possibly using a panel design.

Desistance studies have routinely focused on issues such as family links, employment prospects and moving away from criminal friends, but they have said less about the meso- and macro-level structural issues that might facilitate or impede the transition of ex-offenders to the status of more mainstream members of civil society.Yet, in view of the necessary interaction between agency and structure in producing processes of desistance, a consideration of social structures (and the implications of changes in structures) is clearly of some importance. This paper addresses these issues, with special reference to recent structural changes in the UK in the fields of employment, families and housing, and criminal policy. The paper concludes with a discussion of conceptual foundations for social policy responses.

In the context of 'ordinary' probation practice, quality is a contested concept, as well as an under-researched one. In this article we present the findings of a study which sought to capture, via interviews inspired by Appreciative Inquiry, the views of probation staff about the meaning(s) of 'quality' in probation practice. The interviews revealed a 'frontline' perspective on quality which has not previously been exposed or articulated as such. Drawing upon theoretical concepts developed by Bourdieu, it is argued that despite significant recent changes in the penal and probation fields in England & Wales, and some signs of adaptation in normative conceptions of probation work, there exists a culture or 'probation habitus' among frontline staff that is relatively cohesive and resilient.

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.

Drawing from the evaluation of three major restorative justice schemes in England and Wales, the article considers the theoretical implications for process and outcomes of situating restorative justice for adults within criminal justice, including the allocation of roles, the balance of power, the importance of procedural justice, and the tasks of restorative justice (such as apology, rehabilitation, reparation, healing, restoration, and reintegration and its relation with social capital). Given that restorative justice events are by definition unique, because of their participative nature, the ability to make generalizations across cultures is problematic, stemming from whether participants bring normative assumptions about justice to the event.

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