National Institute of Justice: The Pathways to Desistance Study

Description:

How serious adolescent offenders reduce or stop their criminal offending is critical information for the juvenile justice system to have as it attempts to redirect adolescent offenders while ensuring public safety. The Pathways to Desistance Study is a multi-site, collaborative research project that followed 1,354 serious juvenile offenders from adolescence to young adulthood. The investigation sought to:

• identify initial patterns of how serious adolescent offenders stop their antisocial activity
• describe the role that social context and developmental changes play in promoting these positive changes
• compare how well sanctions and interventions promote these changes

The larger goals of the study were to improve decision making by court and social service personnel and to clarify debates about alternative policies for serious adolescent offenders.

Source: National Institute of Justice (U.S.)
Download final pdf report: The Pathways to Desistance