In recent years, the growing literature on the topic of desistance from crime and deviant behavior has generated a large body of knowledge on this dimension of the criminal career. Despite these efforts, it has been suggested that our understanding of the processes underlying desistance remains limited. The objective of the current article is to offer a critical assessment of past desistance research and to highlight some unresolved issues in this area. Theoretical, empirical, methodological, and policy issues are discussed.
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