‘Well-kent Faces’: Policing Persistent Offenders and the Possibilities for Desistance

Marguerite Schinkel,Colin Atkinson,Sarah Anderson

doi:10.1093/bjc/azy050

Marguerite Schinkel, Colin Atkinson + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azy050

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Abstract

This article focuses on the policing of adult persistent offenders and its implications for desistance. It integrates the findings from two qualitative studies undertaken in Scotland on the experiences of those considered ‘persistent offenders’ and the police. The article’s contribution lies in its close analysis of how adult persistent offenders and the police interact, examining factors before, during and after their encounter. We show that the police’s enforcement focus is a significant obstacle to desistance, especially as enacted through intelligence-led policing and the lack of positive discretion towards ‘well-kent faces’. However, we also note that frustration with this approach is emerging within Scottish policing and argue for a relatively modest re-orientation of police practice towards a recognition of signals of desistance.

Highlights

In contemporary Scotland, as in many other jurisdictions, persistent offending remains a persistent problem
The requirement to address the issue of persistent offending has been recognized by the Scottish Government, and its strategy to ‘reduce reoffending’ acknowledges the need to support desistance pathways
There is a relative paucity of research on adult persistent offenders or how their experiences of policing impact upon their desistance pathways

Summary

Introduction

In contemporary Scotland, as in many other jurisdictions, persistent offending remains a persistent problem. This neglect is puzzling when one considers the extensive literature on the potential influence of other criminal justice practitioners on desistance processes, including sentencers (Weaver 2009; Birgden 2015; Marchetti and Daly 2017), defence agents (Wexler 2005), those who supervise offenders in the community (King 2013; Farrall et al 2014; Robinson et al 2014; Evans 2016) and prison staff (Scottish Prison Service 2013; Schinkel 2015) This article addresses these issues by drawing together findings from two separate, but complementary research studies undertaken in Scotland. Through its integrated analysis of data and synthesized findings, this article highlights how ‘the policed’ and ‘the police’ in Scotland encounter (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

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