‘A wee kick up the arse’: Mentoring, motivation and desistance from crime
| Author | Steve Kirkwood |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/17488958211043691 |
| Published date | 01 April 2023 |
| Date | 01 April 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958211043691
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2023, Vol. 23(2) 183 –199
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/17488958211043691
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‘A wee kick up the arse’:
Mentoring, motivation and
desistance from crime
Steve Kirkwood
The University of Edinburgh, UK
Abstract
Mentoring is an increasingly popular approach for supporting people who have a history of
offending. Previous research provides some evidence that it may contribute to reductions in
offending behaviour and support desistance from crime. The present study analysed interviews
with 33 people who used mentoring services in Scotland to examine the relationships between
mentoring, motivation and desistance. The findings suggest that the offer of mentoring may
translate a general desire to change into motivation by providing the means to achieve this
change. Mentoring may help people develop ‘hooks for change’ through practical assistance that
leads to positive changes and by encouraging people see the value of such changes. Mentors
can also model ways of being that outline possible future selves and services can structure in
pro-social activities that support stakes in conformity. The article contributes to theoretical
understandings of motivation and desistance by specifying the interplay of agency and structure.
Keywords
Desistance, identity, mentoring, motivation, re-offending
Introduction
Mentoring has become a popular way of supporting people who have been involved in
offending behaviour (Buck, 2020). But how does mentoring help people to change?
Previous research suggests one way mentoring helps people to desist from crime is to
motivate them to change (Buck, 2017; Mulholland et al., 2016). However, the relation-
ships between mentoring, motivation and desistance have not been fully explored. This
article draws on interviews in Scotland with people with a history of offending behaviour
Corresponding author:
Steve Kirkwood, The University of Edinburgh, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square, Edinburgh
EH8 9LD, UK.
Email: s.kirkwood@ed.ac.uk
1043691CRJ0010.1177/17488958211043691Criminology & Criminal JusticeKirkwood
research-article2021
Article
184 Criminology & Criminal Justice 23(2)
who used mentoring services to examine how mentoring helps motivate people to stop
offending.
Desistance and motivation
Desistance is the process ‘going straight’, of reducing, ceasing and refraining from
offending behaviour (Maruna and Farrall, 2004). Maruna (2001) described three main
perspectives on this process, emphasising maturation, social bonds and narrative iden-
tity. Maruna and Farrall describe primary desistance as a period of non-offending and
secondary desistance as a change in identify from ‘offender’ to ‘non-offender’; McNeill
(2015: 201) added ‘tertiary desistance’ as the experience of being treated as a changed
person by others. Nugent and Schinkel (2016: 570) described these three dimensions,
respectively, as ‘act desistance’, ‘identity desistance’ and ‘relational desistance’. They
suggest the first two dimensions are within some control of the individual, while the third
dimension is within the gift of others. Maruna and Farrall emphasise that desistance
occurs at the intersection of agency and structure. As described by Laub and Sampson
(2003), desistance is ‘a result of a combination of individual actions (choice) in conjunc-
tion with situational contexts and structural influences linked to important institutions
that help sustain desistance’ (p. 145). Such life changes include getting married, becom-
ing a parent or getting a job (Laub and Sampson, 2003; Maruna and Farrall, 2004).
Importantly, it is not just the ‘objective’ changes in a person’s life that matter, but also
their ‘subjective’ assessments of these changes (Farrall, 2002). King (2013a) highlighted
that ‘assisted desistance’ involves helping people develop motivation, build self-confi-
dence, make decisions and imagine a better future for themselves. Overall, ‘going
straight’ seems to occur at the nexus of individual choices and actions, material condi-
tions and contexts, and social interaction, together creating opportunities, laying path-
ways, and shaping a sense of self.
Giordano et al. (2002) provided a theory of desistance focused on cognitive transfor-
mation, which helps conceptualise the relationship between motivation and desistance.
They outlined four types of cognitive transformation (1000–1002):
1. A shift in the openness to change;
2. Exposure to ‘hooks for change’;
3. Envisioning and fashioning an appealing conventional ‘replacement self’;
4. A ‘transformation in the way the actor views the deviant behavior or lifestyle
itself’.
This theoretical conceptualisation tracks through a number of stages. The first
involves a general openness towards the possibility and attractiveness of changing. The
second relates to exposure to events, opportunities or situations that are consistent with a
move away from offending behaviour (e.g. a job, relationship or being a parent). The
third aspect involves constructing a vision of the self that is connected to these ‘hooks for
change’ and involves a shift in the way of being that is consistent with desistance. The
fourth dimension means that the person comes to see offending behaviour as fundamen-
tally inconsistent with their new way of being. Motivation, then, can be understood to
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