Desistance from crime

Abstract

The text explores the concept of desistance from crime, which has been increasingly used in contemporary criminological literature, debating the subject of stability and behavioural change from new theoretical principles. The work discusses the contributions of different criminological theories and offers an overview on the main evidence found in longitudinal studies, highlighting the relevance of the age factor for the desistance considered by the “maturational reform” hypothesis. The “life-course perspective” (Sampson & Laub, 1995) indicates the so-called “turning points”, represented by special events correlated to desistance, such as marriage, birth of the first child, first formal job experience, amongst others. The international experience sustains that the phenomenon of desistance can be broadly stimulated through public policy and specific programs, which would most likely achieve positive results as to the overall safety of the population. In its final part, this challenge is applied to the Brazilian context, and paths to tertiary prevention, specifically regarding the community integration of former inmates, are suggested.