Theme 5: Pathway to Desistance

Practitioners described the crucial elements needed to encourage young people to desist from crime. These were grouped into individual factors, relationships and practical methods. They were aware that for desistance to occur a young person needed to be ready for that change, they needed a supportive team around them and they needed something to fill their time with.

5.3.5.1 Individual

Individual factors which contributed to desistance were considered the most important by practitioners. They talked about how important it was for a young person to want to change their behaviour. Some practitioners talked about desistance as a concept that could only occur when all factors came together at the right time.

“I think it’s also almost like a time and place, if you can catch at the right time in the right place” (P101)

In addition to the right time and place, practitioners talked about how a young person needed to be ready for change. Without a readiness to change their lifestyle and behaviour, desistance from crime could not be achieved.

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Practitioners talked about how they could work with a young person and carry out interventions, but if they did not have the drive to change, they would have little or no impact;

“For some young people they need to want to make those changes, they need to be ready to make those changes” (P102)

“They have to want to stop, if they don't want to, they’re not going to” (P110)

One of the reasons young people reoffend is because of the purpose it served. Practitioners acknowledged that for desistance to occur, young people needed to find something that replaced the need that offending filled. Practitioners talked about young people finding a different direction in life, and this helped them to move away from offending.

“People are generally meeting some needs by offending, so by replacing that need and getting them involved in a positive activity, give them some hopes and goals for the future, something to aim for, some hope that they can have a life, again, increasing their self-esteem of that person” (P111)

5.3.5.2 Relationships

Young people need stable, positive and pro-social relationships with those around them to move away from offending. Taking into account that a negative peer group can encourage reoffending, practitioners talked about how moving away from that group can encourage desistance from crime.

“Not associating with the peers that they used to associate with” (P103)

As well as the impact of peer relationships, practitioners also spoke about how young people stopped offending when they were romantically involved with someone who did not approve of their offending. As young people mature, they are more likely to become interested in other things aside from offending. Practitioners discussed that they felt young people were more likely to give up offending if for example, their partner did not approve.

“I’ll go to relationship, strong relationships; personal relationships are a really important factor in desistance” (P108)

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“Whenever lads have got a girlfriend who disapprove of them committing offences, that tends to curb their offending” (P109)

In addition, practitioners spoke in detail about how important wider relationships were for young people. They talked about having positive relationships being key to helping young people to desist from crime. This included their own relationship with the young person, they needed to build a strong relationship with them to help foster desistance from crime. Practitioners often felt that they filled many roles for a young person from taking them to meetings to reparation work and offence focused interventions.

“You know you’re interested, and want to help them. That makes a massive difference. I think that’s doing that but often you feel like between a cross between a taxi driver and a mum, a lot of the time” (P112)

“I think the relationship is absolutely crucial” (P113)

5.3.5.3 Practical

Lastly, practitioners talked about the impact of practical support on encouraging desistance from crime. They spoke about the importance of education or employment in helping young people move away from offending. Whereas practitioners considered that being disengaged from education contributed to reoffending, practitioners thought that being engaged in education helped young people to move away from reoffending. Practitioners talked about how they would try and get the young person back into education and encourage them to attend.

“And if they are engaged in education, is an obvious one isn’t it?” (P111) “I think you try and get their education sorted” (P112)

Practitioners considered the practical advice about education and training as being crucial as it provided a pro-social activity for young people to engage in. Practitioners believed it was crucial in finding something that the young person was good at which gave them a purpose away from offending behaviour;

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“I think a lot of the practical stuff can help, like young people getting some training or some education or some employment or something that will give them a structure and a purpose and a sense of reward” (P113)