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David S. Kirk follows the lives of prisoners released in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to examine what happens when they do not return home after incarceration.
Home Free offers a story of redemption and illustrates the power of a fresh start to help end the cycling of people in and out of prison.
List of contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1. Introduction
- Chapter 2. The Wrath of Hurricane Katrina
- Chapter 3. Mechanisms of Criminal Persistence
- Chapter 4. Residential Relocation as a Remedy to Recidivism
- Chapter 5. For Whom Does Moving Matter?
- Chapter 6. The Maintenance of Desistance
- Chapter 7. People, Places, and Things
- Chapter 8. Considering Negative Cases
- Chapter 9. Policy Levers to Foster Residential Change and Reduce Recidivism
- Epilogue: Residential Relocation Absent a Hurricane
- Appendix A. Quantitative Research Design
- Appendix B. Qualitative Research Design
- References
About the author
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.
Summary
David S. Kirk follows the lives of prisoners released in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to examine what happens when they do not return home after incarceration. Home Free offers a story of redemption and illustrates the power of a fresh start to help end the cycling of people in and out of prison.
Additional text
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.