ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a criminological sequence of some closely linked perspectives in new integrated criminology theory, which have a considerable correspondence between them. One of the first social scientists to address the question of desistance from offending was Adolphe Quetelet, who argued that the predilection for crime diminishes with age ‘due to the enfeeblement of physical vitality and the passions’. Similarly, efforts have been made to use normative patterns of human development to explain desistance as a natural or normal process of ageing. Beyond ‘maturational reform’, the next most influential explanation of desistance is the theory of social bonds or ‘informal social control’. The internal changes involved in desistance from crime are likely to be charted and understood on the narrative level of personality. Several central themes can be identified from the discussion of desistance theories, which have significant policy implications.
