Civic commitment: Promoting desistance through community integration

Why people desist from crime has been a popular topic among criminologists over the past decade or more. Debate continues about the relative importance of external or internal factors in contributing to desistance. Both sides agree that social dimensions affect desistance. This article argues that the social role of the larger community of ordinary citizens in integrating offenders has been under-theorized and untapped. Drawing upon qualitative interview data from a Circles of Support and Accountability program, I describe and analyze the nature of the relationships formed between released offenders and community volunteers who support them in their reintegration efforts. After a period of developing trust, the team creates a sense of mutual obligation, which thereby establishes the group's moral authority, similar to the family model advocated by Braithwaite. Such a strengths-based and inclusive model of reentry contrasts with much of the correctional rehabilitation discourse that concentrates on offender re-offense risks and their management.