Desistance from Crime: Personal Accounts of Ex-Convicts in Singapore

Abstract

To better understand how and why people stop offending, we need to study the desistance process. In the field of criminology, desistance is generally defined as the “cessation of offending or other antisocial behaviour”. While most research in Singapore has focused on recidivism, or the tendency to reoffend, this thesis aims to help readers better understand the process of desistance and argue that time is the major factor when ex-convicts turn away from criminal lifestyles. Using the theory of “maturity reformation”, I argue that age and maturity are both the direct and indirect link to one’s decision to do away with one’s criminal tity. To explore the desistance process, this qualitative study offers a detailed examination of a randomly selected group of ex-convicts several years after their discharge from prison in the Singapore context. Semi-structured interviews focusing on the termination of a criminal lifestyle were conducted with the 10 ex-convicts, age ranging from 39 to 72 years old. In so doing, this thesis seeks to build and sustain hope for ex-convicts in our community.