White-Collar Offenders and Desistance from Crime

Ben Hunter is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at University of Greenwich, UK. His research interests focus on desistance from crime, white-collar crime and the contributions of existential philosophy to understandings of offenders’ lives.

‘How do white-collar offenders struggle to rebuild their selves and their future post-release? With his highly perceptive book on this topic Ben Hunter has contributed not just to the field of desistance studies, but to what might just as well be called existentialist criminology.’ - Ronnie Lippens, Professor of Criminology, Keele University, UK‘This book makes a significant contribution to criminological debates concerning identity, existentialism, white-collar crime and desistance. Drawing on a range of published autobiographical accounts, Ben Hunter’s existential approach critically examines how white-collar offenders’ sense of self-identity is challenged and reconstructed by their experiences of both imprisonment and resettlement. This is a fascinating and unique study of deviant identities, and is a book I will certainly be recommending to students and colleagues.’ - James Hardie-Bick, Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology, University of Sussex, UK"Hunter is to be commended for his skilful integration of developing desistance theories with a subjective analysis of white-collar criminals. Further, his use of existential sociology and autobiographical accounts is original and provides novel insights...Hunter’s text is a valuable contribution to understanding the experiences of white-collar criminals throughout the stages of imprisonment, release and resettlement. It is thoughtful and well researched and will no doubt encourage further qualitative studies into white-collar crime and desistance." - Nicholas Simpson, Current Issues in Criminal Justice

• Introduction: White-Collar Offenders and Desistance from Crime 1. The Challenge of White-Collar Offenders’ Desistance 2. Searching for the Self 3. Autobiography and the Search For ‘Truth’ 4. Imprisonment and the Assault On The Self 5. Who Am I? Self and Identity in The Post Punishment World 6. The Journey to Self: Success, Failure and Change 7. Becoming who one was: Professional-Ex Roles 8. Becoming Who One Is: Religious Conversion Narratives and Desistance 9. An Existentially Informed Understanding of Desistance.