Going Straight : Transitions away from Juvenile Delinquency and Implications for Social Reintegration Policy

This report considers the protective factors, coping strategies, personal and family characteristics of people who have been criminal and compares them to those of individuals for whom recidivism is still a way of life.

It examines the role of intervention strategies in contributing to "persistence" or "desistence", ranging from work placement and job training, through education and personal growth projects such as counselling and recreational activities.

The conceptual basis of the study was the view that it is only when individuals cast themselves into socially committed roles, i.e. construct productive "narratives" for themselves, that they can put crime behind them. This report takes a different approach to the rehabilitation process and suggests guidelines on the appropriate rehabilitative strategies for various offending groups.