Desistance: the beginning and the end of criminal career

Abstract

In this text I write about desistance of the criminal career. To understand how the abandonment of crime occurs, I carried out a literature review on the subject and adopted the perspective of developmental and life course theory, which points out that the events experienced can explain why people start their criminal career and, within this same line of reasoning, they could also explain the reasons that would lead individuals to interrupt this career. To bring the discussion into the Brazilian context, I make a brief reflection on the crime prevention policy in the State of Minas Gerais, and I conclude that this discussion is not yet on the agenda in the performance of this service.