ABSTRACT
There is now a considerable amount of research which has explored the factors linked to reoffending. Many of these are similar to the findings of research on the onset of offending: in particular, the importance of factors relating to early childhood, family and education has been stressed (see, for example, Fergusson et al., 1992 and 1998; Farrington, 1994, Graham and Bowling, 1995; Hawkins et al., 1998; Lipsey and Derzon, 1998). There is also now a considerable amount of research which has explored "what works" in tenns of interventions aimed at preventing reoffending (see, for example, Utting, 1996; Loeber and Farrington, 1998; Shennan et al., 1998; Sherman, 1999). And there is some research on the potential effects on reoffending of subsequent life events such as establishing relationships, finding employment, and having a stake in life (see, for example, Farrington, 1994; Moffittat and Harrington, 1996). There has, however, been remarkably little research on the impact of processes on reoffending or the extent to which these may minimise the adverse effects of previous negative factors in the offender's life experience.
