On Track

Abstract

This chapter relays the twists and turns taken by the three young men who, on the best evidence, are edging toward a secondary form of desistance — the stage, it will be recalled, which involves more than the slowing or cessation of offending to encompass, additionally, personal and social belief in a ‘conventional’, predominantly law-abiding self. Each of them, as shall be seen, consider themselves ex-offenders, or better still, in terms other than those which invoke reference to crime, prison, or the like. Minor forms of offending, though, persist in each case. But these are limited mainly to driving while disqualified (as juveniles, all had the prospect of applying for a licence cancelled by the courts), consuming the occasional alcoholic beverage (which contravenes parole conditions) or occasional consumption of illicit drugs. With these exceptions, Billy, Charlie and David are ‘making good’. Their lives are fundamentally distinct from the days when they shared the same secure care unit as teenagers. Each, though, has taken a different path in the quest to get on track.