ABSTRACT
In this chapter we deal with two of our three foundation stones for understanding criminal careers — persistence and desistance. As with onset, there are a number of problems to deal with, including those relating to definitions and being clear about exactly what we are talking about. There is no universal consensus over how to define persistence and desistance, so again it is crucial to understand the different definitions that researchers use in order to make sense of their findings. There are also methodological issues to consider. For example, how do we find the evidence of what we are talking about? In addition, identifying the link between theory and the evidence is an important feature to be grappled with. We begin this chapter with a focus on persistence and the continuity of a criminal career.
