NCJ Number
207034
Journal
The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 43 Issue: 4 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 390-404
Date Published
September 2004
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article reviewed the limitations of the rational choice theory as a basis for understanding recidivism and desistance from crime.
Abstract
In 1993 when Home Secretary Michael Howard first announced his "prison works" plan it was clear that there would be a shift to a tougher policy regarding imprisonment. This sudden shift toward the advocacy of imprisonment jeopardized the principle that custody should be imposed only if the offense was so serious that no other sentence could be justified. Following the 1993 announcement, the prison population increased by 14 percent. The number of sentences for fewer than 12 months shot up by 67 percent between 1989 and 1999. Prison building could not keep pace with the rising population and dire conditions of Britain’s prisons. Howard came under heavy criticism for his importing punitive sentiments from America that came from the no tolerance policies popular in America at the time. Howard argued that more certain detection and stiffer sentences were essential to deter offenders, because offenders, keen to avoid long sentences, will put up with short sentences as an occupational hazard. Recently, as part of re-examining the dynamics of rational choice, criminologists interested in desistance from crime have started to explore the complex interplay between subjective and objective contingencies, the roles of agency and structure, and interactions between cognitive and social variables in the change process. Researchers found the role of hope in the desistance study to have positive implications. In order to assist the research, researchers constructed a hope scale to help display recidivism. Analyzing full criminal history data on 130 of the original members of the sample, dating from 1963 to 2001, found only 23 of the sample could be considered to be desisting. The remaining average sample member received six further convictions, and spent 27 additional months in prison. This situation leaves the researchers to allow policymakers to decide if prison works. Figures, references