Simpson, Nicholas --- "White-Collar Offenders and Desistance from Crime: Future Selves and the Constancy of Change by Ben Hunter" [2016] CICrimJust 7; (2016) 27(3) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 345

• Introduction
• The impact of imprisonment on white-collar desistance
• Optimism, stigmatisation and desistance post-release
• Success, failure and change in the post-release world
• Conclusion
• References

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Review

White-Collar Offenders and Desistance from Crime: Future Selves and the Constancy of Change by Ben Hunter, Routledge, 2015,

210 pp (ISBN 9781138794092)

Nicholas Simpson^[*]

Introduction

White-Collar Offenders and Desistance from Crime: Future Selves and the Constancy of Change is a study of change — change in behaviour and change in identity. It explores personal reflections of white-collar criminals in autobiographical form within the rubric of desistance and resettlement discourse (Laub and Sampson 2001; Maruna 2001; Visher and Travis 2003). The significance of this study is in its contribution to the desistance debate. It identifies how and why white-collar criminals stop offending and resettle into the community. The study is the first of its kind to investigate the personal experiences of white-collar criminals spread across three distinct stages: imprisonment (Chapter 4), release (Chapters 5 and 6), and resettlement (Chapters 6, 7 and 8).

A white-collar offence is broadly defined as ‘[a]n illegal act or series of illegal acts committed by non-physical means and by concealment or guile, to obtain money or property, to avoid the loss of money or property, or to obtain business or personal advantage (p 11, citing Edelhertz 1970). The white-collar offender is therefore ‘anyone convicted of a white-collar offence’ (p 11). For Hunter, desistance is viewed as a process rather than an event, representing not only a gap in offending behaviour (primary desistance), but also a ‘movement from the behaviour of non-offending’ to the identity of a changed person, namely a non-offender (secondary desistance) (p 15, citing Maruna and Farrall 2004). By treating desistance as a process, Hunter’s study draws inspiration from recent developments in desistance research that have focused on the subjective elements of offending (p 3). That research permits Hunter to understand how an offender reconstructs his or her identity as a non-offender (p 3) without slavish regard to the traditionally held explanations of desistance: age, relationship and employment. Finally, resettlement is recognised as a process aimed at reintegrating or transitioning the offender back into the community or ‘legitimate world’ (p 85).

Hunter uses existential sociology as a means to explain desistance theory through

self-assessment, values and emotions experienced by offenders. He chronicles the process of offenders seeking to understand their place in the world both during imprisonment and after release (p 6). This insight is achieved by using the autobiography as a distinctive and novel form of qualitative analysis. Hunter considers and deconstructs published autobiographical accounts (34 in total) written by 23 white-collar offenders generally made up of authors, politicians and businessmen. The author’s use of the autobiography as a means to tell the life narrative of several offenders serves his purpose well. The medium allows a truer understanding and reading of individual thoughts, feelings and experiences of the present, the past and the future of white-collar offenders in their natural and everyday environments.

On the back of recent desistance studies (Maruna 2001; Giordano, Cernkovich and Rudolph 2002; Farrall 2002, 2005; Maruna and Farrall 2004; Farrall et al 2014), Hunter creatively investigates identity shifts in white-collar offenders during their process of reintegration into the community. The significance of this approach is that it uncovers a subjective understanding of desistance to white-collar crime which to date has only been hypothetical (p 179).

Framing these experiences, Hunter successfully chooses existential sociology to explain how ‘desisters react to social encounters, managing, manipulating and reflecting upon them for the relevance they have’ (p 5). The end product is recognition of the importance of emotions during the desistance and resettlement process and the ways individuals attach meaning to their experiences (p 5). It is a powerful portrayal of the living experience of desistance and resettlement through the offender’s eyes.

The impact of imprisonment on white-collar desistance

Hunter’s study casts doubt on the theorised assumption that privileges held by white-collar offenders make the transition process from offender to non-offender easier (see Shover and Hochstetler 2006 cited p 85; Mann et al 1980 cited p 179). To the contrary, desistance and resettlement remain a challenge for the white-collar offender. Nor were white-collar offenders better able to cope with prison than other offenders. Many offenders in Hunter’s study struggled with feelings of shock, dehumanisation and the loss or diminution of their self-identity. Prison afforded some an opportunity to grow and reflect on life, isolate ‘where it went wrong’ (p 72) and chart new courses. Those that came to pass turned to religion or education as a means to cope with varying degrees of success (p 72).

Optimism, stigmatisation and desistance post-release

Hunter explores how prisoners perceived the outside world when their release from imprisonment was imminent. For some, that perception was marred by a sense of anxiety, while others expressed feelings of optimism that a bright future awaited them. It was at the point of release that the prisoners sought to ‘locate their place in the world’ (p 102). As expected, their impressions varied. Upon release, some offenders struggled with feelings of stigmatisation and ‘blocked paths’. Others discovered a schism between their perception and society’s perception of the position that a former offender should hold in the real world (p 100). Most offenders perceived themselves in strong terms as a ‘non-offender’ despite the contrary views of outsiders (p 100). For other offenders, the associated stigma was measured by a loss of prior friendships or associations, or the painful discovery that their previous lives had been cast adrift (pp 100–2). Coupled with this stigmatisation were denials of former opportunities/occupations, adverse publicity or financial difficulties (pp 101–2). These matters contributed to the offenders’ continued discovery of themselves and search for their former ‘non-offender’ selves in the community.

Success, failure and change in the post-release world

Success, failure and the attainment of goals post-release were themes that offenders discussed in their accounts. Hunter characterises it as ‘[t]he journey to self’ (p 107, ch 6). Despite being value-laden terms, Hunter explores them with a depth of analysis that highlights the link between success in achieving goals and bringing about change in the offenders’ lives. By contrast, several offenders who failed in their chosen endeavours treated that failure as a discrete event enabling them to recast their values and life goals (p 113). In these two contexts, success is viewed as a process and failure as an event (p 116). As Hunter writes, this keeps with ‘the notion of the self as future oriented and constantly becoming’ (p 116, citing Fontana 1984). Resettlement, as Hunter remarks, ‘brings with it many instances of succeeding and failing’ (p 110). Hunter does observe, however, that obsession with these concepts did deny some offenders opportunities for future growth (p 116).

How offenders engaged with change fluctuated but was influenced by their understanding of how they have been changed by their experiences, particularly whether an offender accepted or rejected past offending (pp 112, 117–20). For some, acceptance of guilt and/or conversion to faith brought about substantial changes in themselves; they appeared to draw upon their deviant past or previous professional experience in order to help others and themselves (p 118). For others, incarceration resulted in limited change by failing to accept guilt or seeking to portray their illegal behaviour as commonplace within their previous occupation (pp 119–20). In some instances, partial change gave offenders a heightened awareness of the impact caused by their actions. At its simplest, the research demonstrates that a willingness to embrace change will play an important role in the overall desistance process (p 184).

Conclusion

Hunter is to be commended for his skilful integration of developing desistance theories with a subjective analysis of white-collar criminals. Further, his use of existential sociology and autobiographical accounts is original and provides novel insights. It is unfortunate that Hunter’s sample size is limited to 23 as it lessens the scope of its application when considering the full possible range of explanations for desistance and resettlement. Nonetheless, Hunter’s text is a valuable contribution to understanding the experiences of white-collar criminals throughout the stages of imprisonment, release and resettlement. It is thoughtful and well researched and will no doubt encourage further qualitative studies into white-collar crime and desistance.

References

Edelhertz H (1970) The Nature, Impact and Prosecution of White-Collar Crime, USGPO

Farrall S (2002) Rethinking What Works with Offenders, Willan

Farrall S (2005) ‘On the Existential Aspects of Desistance from Crime’, Symbolic Interaction 28(3), 367–86

Farrall S, Hunter B, Sharpe G and Calverley A (2014) Criminal Careers in Transition, Oxford University Press

Fontana A (1984) ‘Introduction’ in JA Kotarba and A Fontana (eds), The Existential Self in Society, University of Chicago Press, 3–17

Giordano PC, Cernkovich SA and Rudolph JL (2002) ‘Gender, Crime and Desistance’, American Journal of Sociology 107(4), 990–1064

Laub JH and Sampson RJ (2001) ‘Understanding Desistance from Crime’, Crime and Justice, 28, 1–69

Mann K, Wheeler S and Sarat A (1980) ‘Sentencing the White-Collar Offender’, American Criminal Law Review 14, 479–500

Maruna S (2001) Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild their Lives, American Psychological Society Books

Maruna S and Farrall S (2004) ‘Desistance from Crime’, Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 43, 171–94

Plummer K (1983) Documents of Life, George Allen & Unwin

Shover N and Hochstetler A (2006) Choosing White-Collar Crime, Cambridge University Press

Visher CA and Travis JT (2003) ‘Transitions from Prison to Community’, Annual Review of Sociology 29, 89–113

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^[*] Barrister, Sessional Tutor and LLM Candidate at Sydney Law School, University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia. Email: [e-mail].