Resistance To Crime: Empirical Findings Regarding Life Stories of Resisters

• In Event: Narrative Criminology III: Innovations

Abstract

Most life story research in criminology focuses on people with a criminal career (persisters) or those who stopped having one (desisters). Yet, little criminological research pays attention to so-called resisters: people who do not have a criminal career, but grew up in a dominantly criminogenic environment, exposed to lures and pressures of (doing) crime. After all: “many people in the so-called causal categories do not commit crimes.” (Katz, 1988:3). This presentation elaborates on empirical findings from several years of research answering the question; what meaningful insights can be extracted from a empirical exploration on resistance to crime using a narrative (mixed method) approach? Resisters were interviewed and invited to tell their life stories and asked to complete two personality tests. Empirical findings are presented based on a coding analysis exploring meaningful themes and resistance strategies that contribute to staying out of crime. In addition, an idiographic analysis of a selection of collected life stories focuses on positioning and narrative identity.

Author

• Sheila Adjiembaks, University of Applied Sciences Avans-Fontys Faculty of Law