NCJ Number
214908
Journal
Theoretical Criminology Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2006 Pages: 179-202
Date Published
May 2006
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Utilizing a case study of a far-right activist, this article explores the dynamics of identification and recognition in fostering desistance from crime.
Abstract
Despite social continuity within offenders’ lives, the concepts of identification and recognition can clarify how psychic change can occur and foster desistance from crime. Frank is a 44 year-old potteries worker, local odd-job man, and British National Party (BNP) electoral candidate. His story is primarily an example of the kind of continuity and change that is known for characterizing most people’s lives, as well as most offenders’ criminal careers. His offending began during his youth, persisted into his teens, becoming more intimidating and violent as he approached adulthood, and escalating during his 20s when he joined the National Front (NF). However, Frank’s criminal career came to an abrupt halt around the time of the birth of his first child. This desistance from crime pertained to his social continuity. From Frank’s story, researchers are correct to argue that the processes of desistance necessitate changes at the level of personal identity. The closeness in Frank’s marital life and fatherhood made other forms of identification possible for Frank. From this story, it is possible to deconstruct the pattern of identifications. Frank’s story teaches us that recognition plays a critical role in facilitating psychological change. Opportunities for recognition repeatedly arise throughout the life-course. In summation, the prospects for establishing more relationships in which recognition becomes possible hinges crucially on discovering patterns of identification that transcend the limits of social difference. References