Reentry Processes of Released Sex Offenders - Pathways of Desistance and Recidivism

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

Although desistance has become a major topic in recent criminological research, little is known about how the lives of released sex offenders are shaped. Furthermore, sex offender recidivism research has often focused on static and dynamic risk factors and is therefore primarily paying attention to the offender’s pre-prison life. The aim of this study is to explore different pathways of community re-entry and to offer a better understanding of the life-courses, risk factors and social situations of released sex offenders. To do this, sixty-nine qualitative interviews which have been conducted with released male sex offenders are analyzed. The study is being performed in two stages. First, an in-depth, reconstructive analysis following Grounded Theory principles is carried out on a subsample. Thus far, this has revealed initial patterns concerning re-entry processes. The second stage will use these results to develop a coding-guide for the analysis of the whole sample. In addition, a questionnaire concerning self-reported delinquency is included instead of exclusively consulting re-arrest data. The study aims to be able to identify stabilizing and de-stabilizing factors in the life-course patterns of released sex offenders concerning their community re-entry.

Authors

• Kira-Sophie Gauder, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg, Germany

• Gunda Woessner, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law