Moving on from Crime and Substance Use ─ Transforming Identities

Desistance is a hot topic of the criminological world, but while research suggests that as offenders turn their backs on crime they often change their behavior and their sense of identity, we know relatively little about how this reforming or transforming of identity might be affected by gender, age, or ethnicity. Showcasing international research from a wide range of contributors in the field, this book investigates the roles played by these various diversity issues during desistance. By considering similarities and differences between desisting from crime and recovering from addiction, it pushes the desistance and recovery debates in novel directions, offering unique insight into experiences of change and transformation among individuals who are seeking healthier and more successful futures.

Anne Robinson is a principal lecturer in the Department of Law and Criminology and leader of the professional education program for qualifying probation officers at Sheffield Hallam University. She is the author ofFoundations for Offender Management: Theory, Law and Policy for Contemporary Practice andFoundations for Youth Justice: Positive Approaches to Practice, as well as coeditor ofValues in Criminology and Criminal Justice, all published by Policy Press.Paula Hamilton is a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University where she leads the desistance-focused strand of teaching in the professional education program for qualifying probation officers. She is a contributor toValues in Criminology and Community Justice.