Introduction:`What Lies Beyond? Problems, Prospects and Possibilities for Life after Punishment

Published: November 2008

Interest in the topics of the ‘resettlement’, ‘re-entry’ and ‘reintegration’ of people after they have undergone a criminal sanction has grown rapidly in recent years, at least if the extent of the published literature on these subjects is any measure. Discussions about the status and social situation of ex-offenders vis-a-vis their life chances, their citizenship, their efforts to take responsibility for their actions, or their recognition of the harm they may have caused, have cropped up time and again in criminological debate. In part, this is a regular feature of academic and policy-related research. However, the dramatic increases in incarceration rates in the USA and latterly, even if as yet on a lesser scale, in the UK and various other countries (see, for example, Petersilia, 2003) have made this topic an increasingly pressing one.

Authors / Editors

Prof Richard Sparks

University of Edinburgh

Research Themes

Criminal Justice Process and Institutions