When examining the life of an offender and those wishing to desist from crime, there are certain points that need very careful consideration.
We live in a society that likes to condemn the socially excluded. We tend to use language and labels that enable individuals to stay stuck in the guilt and shame of their wrong doings. In the pursuit of political correctness we are doing a great disservice. You wouldn’t dream of calling a heterosexual person that decided they wanted to enter a same sex relationship as an ex-heterosexual! What we need is a common language that affirms hope for the future.
An individual is no more an ex-offender than they are a future law abider. They have just made choices that society would deem unacceptable. To date the best terminology that we have been able to come up with is desister, but there’s still a slight problem with this. Whether or not the individual has stopped committing offences, it still has it’s definition based in crime. We are people with convictions who still have a right to dignity, opportunity and freedom!
I myself am a quote, unquote, ex-offender. I know only too well how the stigmas, beliefs and attitudes can compound the already negative self messages that we tell ourselves. Even for those wishing to implement real change in their lives.
Take for example a guy with several years, maybe even decades of entrenched offending fuelled with substance misuse, addiction issues. Consider the frustration of not knowing how to stop. Try to get a picture of a person who already feels like a failure. The core of their existence, shot through with different levels of guilt, shame, remorse and fear.
Imagine being trapped in a cycle that you cannot, in and of yourself, break free from. The constant battle of CRB
clearance, employment, trying to go straight. Just to be accepted as a responsible and productive member of society.
It is indeed a struggle that requires deep levels of commitment, faith and perseverance. See, what I really need is hope; hope is a drug that every offender needs! Surely what we really want is to feel good about ourselves, to feel useful. What we really need is opportunities to do something different with our lives. Clearly we as a society and as professionals that work in the industry, have much to learn about the therapeutic process of desistance and how to help individuals move from hopelessness to hope and optimism.
I certainly don’t have all the answers; I am not a qualified sociologist or criminologist. I don’t have any letters after my name; I merely have experiences that I believe to be relevant, valid and potentially helpful to the cause.
It’s high time we realised that we don’t need academics to tell our story. We do however need them to help us make sense of our experience, to break down the struggle so together we can find workable solutions.
On that note let me point this out. There are clearly many of us that have managed to stop offending and go on to carve out successful lives for ourselves. Surely it stands to reason that we have much benefit to offer Criminal Justice practice.
I believe knowledge and experience is a synergy vital to effectiveness and professionalism. It may pay dividends to start taking our voices more seriously. It might be useful to take bigger risks in opening doors and creating employment opportunities for people with convictions to work alongside professionals in a paid capacity, qualified and unqualified! For the therapeutic value of one desister helping another is without parallel. Moreover, desistance taken on a new meaning when an individual realises his experience can benefit someone else. Why don’t we start our own support groups? Create spaces where we can support and encourage each other.
Finally I have every faith that with the steadfast commitment, determination and perseverance, we can together change the shape of the old age lie, once a criminal always a criminal.
