Practical applications for The Road from Crime film

There’s an interesting blog from Professor Stephen Farrall on Discovering Desistance today http://blogs.iriss.org.uk/discoveringdesistance/2012/12/06/over-to-you/#comment-10382 , asking for comments about how The Road from Crime is being used in practice. 
I was also speaking to Professor Farrall yesterday about the research that I’m currently undertaking and also in how The Road from Crime is being used in Avon and Somerset.  So overnight I’ve been thinking about the number of applications that the film could have in practice.

Awareness raising of desistance has been very successful, as demonstrated by the film screening that we arranged on 22^nd November 2012.  The film transmits a wealth of research and information in a way that can be applied to a variety of practices.  I think that the importance of this is that is encourages organisations and individuals to work in way s that support desistance rather than frustrate it.

I’ve found that service users have related well to the film.  I was impressed with how the film held the attention of small groups and stimulated debates.  It was useful to separate the film into sections to promote targeted discussions.  An interesting area of discussion was how residents in Approved Premises related the content of the film to each others lives.  I think that the different messages of the film enable it to be relevant to people at different stages of desistance, this is something that I would like to explore further.  As the personal reflections on desistance change, the film could have a changing impact on individuals.  This could be a useful application of the film.

In speaking with colleagues, they are very positive about the film.  It also serves to reinforce the values and ideals of “why” we started working in this area.  It’s quite easy to lose sight of this in times of paperwork and targets, but beneath this is the motivation to support people to change.  Since the film screening, I’ve been discussing different ways in which the film could be used.  There are so many skilled and creative staff who can use the film in applications to their work and I think that this should be encouraged by their managers.  Hopefully this will be the case.

I would like to see all people who work with individuals who commit crime or are at risk of committing crimes, to view the film.  Also to share it with the people that they work with.  There is the potential to use the film in whatever context you work with.  The benefits of this are that it can be an individualised intervention or piece of work, which is what best supports desistance.

If you haven’t watch The Road from Crime, why not?  The link is at the bottom of the page so there is no excuse!