In Their Own Words: The Meaning and Causes of Crime in the Autobiographical Narratives of Offenders in Czechia

• In Event: Narrative Criminology

Abstract

This paper seeks to present the preliminary findings of an ongoing research endeavor examining the life stories of two distinct groups of non-violent offenders in Czechia: petty criminals and more sophisticated economic offenders. These narratives are constructed based on narrative interviews conducted with 20 individuals from each category. On average, each interview, segmented into three parts, lasted approximately 5 hours. Interviews were conducted with individuals either in prison or shortly after their release. Rooted in narrative criminology, the project aims to compare these narratives and explore specific themes identified during the research interviews. These will include key events to which perpetrators attribute significance for understanding their own actions and circumstances. The contribution of this paper also lies in the fact that narrative criminology remains largely neglected in the Global East context. The evidence gathered from this cultural context has the potential to enrich the general theorizing on the narratives of criminals.

Authors

• Václav Walach, University of Ostrava

• Petr Kupka, University of West Bohemia