Turning over a new leaf: desistance research for a new generation

This chapter introduces the notion of desistance, which refers to the sustained abstinence from offending among those who previously had engaged in patterns of criminality. Early desistance research implies how people can change and criminality is not a permanent trait. Desistance was also a product of its time, catching fire at a particular moment in British criminology that involved Tony Blair’s ‘New Labour’ Government’s criminal justice policies. The chapter explains how the potential of intersectionality to generate new, critical insights into desistance research and theory. It references several case studies and literature on justice practices being influenced by desistance theory.