Awards
- Winner of Winner of the 2021 James Short Senior Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology Division of Communities and Place.
Overview
Each year in the United States, more than 625,000 individuals are released from prison. Half will be back in prison within just three years. Many former prisoners who reoffend return home to their old communities, where the same family, friends, drugs, and criminal opportunities await them.In Home Free, David S. Kirk uses Hurricane Katrina as a natural experiment to examine whether residential relocation away from an old neighborhood can lead to desistance from crime. Drawing upon both quantitative and qualitative evidence and data from an experimental housing mobility program, he focuses on the lives of individuals released from Louisiana prisons soon after the hurricane, some who moved away from New Orleans and some who did not. Kirk further explores the impact of the Katrina-induced residential change, which provides a unique opportunity to investigate what happens when individuals move not just a short distance away from home, but to entirely different cities, counties, and social worlds. In a series of analyses, Kirk shows the impact that changes in structured daily activities and peer relationships, as well as opportunities for cognitive transformation can have to substantially reduce the likelihood of recidivism.Addressing one of the biggest challenges now facing the criminal justice system, Home Free offers a story of redemption. In light of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Kirk provides important insights into how the power of a fresh start can have considerable policy implications for reducing recidivism.
Full Product Details
Author: David S. Kirk (Professor of Sociology and Professorial Fellow, Professor of Sociology and Professorial Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 23.90cm
, Height: 2.80cm
, Length: 15.50cm
Weight: 0.476kg
ISBN: 9780190841232
ISBN 10: 0190841230
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 18 June 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
Kirk offers a mixed-methodology design to investigate the reincarceration rates of ex-prisoners who returned to live in New Orleans after their release after Hurricane Katrina, compared to those who left to live in other places. The quantitative analysis is triangulated with qualitative interviews involving mostly African American ex-inmates to explain why some desisted and others persisted in experiencing reincarceration. * B. Agozino, CHOICE *
Author Information
David S. Kirk is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College at Oxford University. At Oxford, he directs the Centre for Social Investigation. His research has appeared in leading outlets such as American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Criminology, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
