On a number of occasions the individuals I’m speaking with have previously said, maybe repeatedly, that they have had enough and they are going to stop offending. However they’ve not previously managed to do this, resulting in further convictions and/or imprisonment. Although motivation can increase the likelihood of desisting (Farrall, 2002), it’s not as straight forward as simply wanting to stop offending.
So what reasons do people give for “why” they want to stop offending, this time?
My readings today (Maruna, 2001) focused on how events can trigger the motivation to make changes; a conscious decision to cease to offending. Some individuals may have an event occurring internally or externally (or both) that results in a decision to change. This could be witnessing serious violence, not wanting to lose a relationship, threat of imprisonment or becoming a parent for instance. These changes in their life mean that they decide that they no longer want to commit the offences. On the face of it this would be a straightforward way to stop offending, simply provide an individual with good reasons to stop offending. However, it’s not that simple because some of these individuals might have had positive lifestyles and relationships, and they wanted to avoid further crimes, but they still re-offend.
My readings today (Maruna, 2001) focused on how events can trigger the motivation to make changes; a conscious decision to cease to offending. Some individuals may have an event occurring internally or externally (or both) that results in a decision to change. This could be witnessing serious violence, not wanting to lose a relationship, threat of imprisonment or becoming a parent for instance. These changes in their life mean that they decide that they no longer want to commit the offences. On the face of it this would be a straightforward way to stop offending, simply provide an individual with good reasons to stop offending. However, it’s not that simple because some of these individuals might have had positive lifestyles and relationships, and they wanted to avoid further crimes, but they still re-offend.
The question of “what's different this time” isn’t that simple either. Many of the individuals I’m speaking to have previously had significant trigger events to avoid offending such as becoming a parent, risks to their safety, or losing relationships for instance, but they have continued with the pattern of offending despite the negative consequences. So why would this be when they want to stop and they have the reasons to stop offending?
It appears that an individual can identify similar triggers at different life stages, but it hasn’t previously resulted in them desisting at an earlier point. It’s possible that although the triggers may appear to be the same, they didn’t have the same significance to the individual until now. Furthermore, the capacities and opportunities for change both internal and external may be more effective more recently than in the past. Therefore, supporting desistance cannot merely be about filling up the positives in someone’s life so that they stop offending, this is over simplistic. I would suggest that although the triggers and motivators provide some answers behind desisting, they cannot be considered in isolation. This is why it is important to appreciate in more depth why the motivators are significant (or not) and how an individual is going to make the changes.
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