Is desistance hopeless?

Offending behaviours don’t just stop and there are a number of processes that an individual goes through.  To go through this difficult process it requires a great deal of self belief, which is more difficult if not impossible when those around them believe that they will fail (Maruna and Le Bel, 2010).  Hope has been found to be an important factor in desistance, both in terms of self belief and the belief from others.

Hope is the individual’s perception and confidence that they can achieve their personal goals (Le Bel et al. 2008).  Hope isn’t something tangible that can be measured or easily developed through interventions.  Just as desistance can be provoked by someone believing in them, the belief by someone else can also help to maintain hope, when they cannot do it for themselves (McNeill, et al., 2011).  In the research I’ve carried out, it seems to be a powerful combination to have hope yourself, but also that someone else has hope and belief in you can support this. 

So what is the alternative to having hope?  The desisters I’ve spoken with have described that in their past, prison was more attractive than their lives in the community, because they didn’t see how their life could change.  The changes, especially when there is an entrenched offending pattern, can be so difficult to make that it is easier to continue with the past behaviour.  If you don’t have hope that your life could be better, why would you put yourself through the pain and difficulties of changing?

I’ve found that approaches that focus on the strengths of an individual encourage them to engage with workers because there is more focus on the future and it engenders self belief and hope in them.  Of course, the hope needs to be realistic so that there is not disappointment.  However, with motivation, the right support, and opportunities people can start the process and hope is so central to this.