Book Review: Desistance From Sex Offending: Alternatives to Throwing Away the Keys

• Author: Kristine Artello
• Date: 01 March 2012
• Published date: 01 March 2012
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016811407485
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

book would make a very good supplemental text for a graduate course or upper level undergraduate

course on capital punishment or wrongful convictions.

D. R. Laws and T. Ward

Desistance From Sex Offending: Alternatives to Throwing Away the Keys.

New York, NY: The Guilford Press, 2011. xi, 306 pp. $45. ISBN 978-1-60623-935-3

Reviewed by: Kristine Artello, Penn State University, New Kensington, PA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016811407485

Laws and Ward argue that offenders possess value as human beings, regardless of their offenses; and

consequently, deserve the opportunity to redeem themselves by how they live their lives after ser-

ving time. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the authors use criminological desistance work in

conjunction with forensic psychology research underpinned by human rights theory to develop a

rehabilitative theory. Their good lives-desistance model (GLDM) theory of offender rehabilitation

combines the risk-need-responsivity model with desistance theory from Sampson and Laub

(external factors), supplemented by Maura’s narrative restructure (internal processes) to provide a

holistic theory of intervention for sex offenders to transform their lives. The authors build their argu-

ment in the book’s seven sections—an introduction, a review of the literature in criminology, plus

discussion of forensic psychology, reentry and reintegration, recruitment, desistance-focused inter-

vention, and the ethics of human rights.

Section II outlines criminological research starting with an analysis of the age–crime curve and

desistance literature from the Gluecks’ original study of delinquent and nondelinquent boys 10 to

17-years-old to Sampson and Laub’s follow-up 40 years later. Then, the authors examine internal

explanations for desistance postulated by Maura’s narrative theory. Further discussion focuses on

Gottfredson and Hirshi’s self-control theory, Moffitt’s life-course work, and Giordano’s social inter-

actionist perspective, to supplement how individuals desist from crime. The authors concisely detail

the desistance factors identified by Sampson and Laub’s work on Gluecks’ boys, such as turning

points, which strengthen social bonds (marriage and employment). The authors argue that Sampson

and Laub’s work is incomplete since it does not consider the internal changes necessary to comple-

ment and maintain desistance. They find Maura’s narrative theory supplements life-course theory by

describing ‘‘redemptive scripts,’’ the cognitive transformation necessary to support desistance.

Section III points out that forensic psychology literature lacks any discussion of desistance by sex

offenders. They remark that the field appears to support the popular misconception that sex

offenders continue criminal activity throughout their lives. Yet, the forensic studies of recidivism

find that only a small group of offenders continues to offend later in life. Some studies indicate mod-

est reductions in recidivism for new sexual and nonsexual offenses following completion of treat-

ment. The authors note that, similar to life-course theory, the literature lacks explanation for how

desistance occurs.

Section IV presents the barriers to reentry and reintegration parolees find as they return to their

communities after incarceration, and potential options to overcome the barriers. The authors analo-

gize that sex offenders experience the same, if not more, barriers as parolees (homelessness, lack of

employable skills, improvised communities, health concerns, substance abuse, exclusion from pub-

lic programs, and voting rights) because of the nature of the offense and the new laws focused on sex

offenders (e.g., registration, community notification, and residence restrictions). To overcome these

barriers, the authors recommend the development of reentry court, similar to drug courts, ‘‘to man-

age all aspects of reentry’’ including referrals to community partners to help parolees, health care

partnerships, and a pathway to restore one’s civil identity.

Book Reviews 135