Having the motivation to avoid further offending is perhaps one of the key factors in explaining desistance. As mentioned in Chapter 1, West (1978), Shover (1983), Shover and Thompson (1992), Moffitt (1993), Sommers et al. (1994) and Pezzin (1995) have all pointed to a range of factors which motivated the offenders in their samples to desist. These included the desire to avoid negative consequences (such as death or serious injury), realising that legitimate financial gains outweigh criminal gains, wanting to ‘lead a quieter life’, embarking upon a committed personal relationship and so on.1 Burnett (1992: 66, 1994: 55-56) suggested that those ex-prisoners who reported that they wanted to stop offending and, importantly, felt they were able to stop offending, were more likely to desist than those who said they were unsure if they wanted to stop offending:

‘more of those who desisted stated unequivocally at both the pre-release [from prison] and the post-release [interview] that they wanted to desist’ (1992: 66).