Danielle Arlanda Harris, Desistance from sexual offending: Narratives of retirement, regulation and recovery
| Author | Kelly Richards |
| Published date | 01 September 2019 |
| Date | 01 September 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0004865818810823 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
In the final chapter, Vicki Sentas (chapter 18) looks beyond media discourses to
locate race and racism in criminal justice systems. She argues that criminal justice
institutions generate their own racialised discourses on criminality. They are dissimilar
to media discourses, and thus “are vital starting points for understanding any potential
relationship criminal justice systems have to media texts” (p. 377).
Sentas formulates a number of challenges for future research at the nexus of media,
crime, and racism. Future investigations may also need to question the very premise that
forms the foundation of the first 17 chapters, namely that media influence public opin-
ion rather than consumers selecting media that reinforce their already existing beliefs
and values. While this volume foregrounds Islamophobia and anti-Black racism in tra-
ditional media formats, future editions may concentrate on social media, Sinti and
Roma as the most discriminated-against ethnic group in Europe, or resistance move-
ments like Black Lives Matter and Idle No More. Considering the continuously expand-
ing and ever-changing nature of media, this area of research is bound to attract growing
interest and further its theoretical depth. This edited collection represents an excellent
starting point for researchers and both undergraduates and postgraduates in media
studies, criminology, sociology, gender studies, and related academic fields.
Danielle Arlanda Harris, Desistance from sexual offending: Narratives of retirement, regulation and recovery.
Palgrave Macmillan, 2017; 287 pp. ISBN 9783319631998, USD$149.99
Reviewed by: Kelly Richards, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
The overall thesis of Desistance from Sexual Offending: Narratives of Retirement,
Regulation and Recovery by Danielle Arlanda Harris is that men who sexually offend
can and usually do desist from sexual offending, that current policies in Western crim-
inal justice systems – ostensibly designed to encourage desistance – actually do the
opposite, and that if we truly want to understand how to foster desistance, we should
listen to those who have achieved it. Arlanda Harris’s painstaking analysis, outlined in
detail, reveals a number of distinct pathways to desistance from sexual offending –
which she categorises as either “retirement,” “regulation,” or” recovery” – each of
which she examines in detail from the men’s point of view.
The book has a number of strengths. It is novel in that the topic has rarely been
considered. While there is a burgeoning literature on desistance generally, this scholar-
ship often overlooks desistance from sexual offending, as it is assumed that this simply
does not occur. The book also provides an incredibly rich insight into this under-
examined phenomenon. Arlanda Harris conducted life history interviews with 74 men
from north-eastern USA, many of whom had had contact with the Massachusetts
Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. As
a consequence, she is able to provide rich qualitative description and new insights not
only into the men’s lives but also into her own journey to understanding and grappling
with this complex topic area. The book provides a down-to-earth and detailed account
of the research endeavour, and as such will be valuable reading for anyone engaged in
Book Reviews 437
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