NCJ Number
153630
Journal
Social Policy Journal of New Zealand Issue: 3 Dated: (December 1994) Pages: 107-120
Date Published
1994
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Forty-eight offenders who had been sentenced to supervision in New Zealand in 1987, had completed their sentence in a specific probation region, and had not been reconvicted of a criminal or major traffic offense by October 1990 were interviewed about factors that helped break their criminal career.
Abstract
Just over half the participants were men; the average age of all participants was 32 years. The participants included Europeans, Maoris, and Pacific Islanders. Less than half were employed -- as manual laborers. Only one-third of participants had any formal educational qualifications. They had an average of five convictions, which covered a wide range of offenses. The results showed that, for these offenders, going straight was a conscious decisionmaking process in which they could pinpoint specific changes in perception. The main strategies they used in avoiding reoffending involved dealing with underlying problems and adapting models of how they could be different. In most cases, the respondents changed friendship patterns. The stigma of conviction was identified as a major barrier in going straight. 13 notes and 19 references