Abstract

It has long been recognised that changes in social networks (and the
underpinning changes in personal and social identity) are strong predictors
of both desistance from crime and recovery from substance use. Building
on existing work attempting to measure and shift social networks and
transitions to prosocial groups, the current study provides pilot data from
prisoners and family members about a visualisation technique widely used
in specialist addiction treatment (node-link mapping) to map opportunities
for linkage to prosocial groups and networks. The data presented in the
paper are from a small-scale feasibility pilot. This suggests both bonding
and bridging capital in prisoner populations due for release and the
diversity of community capital opportunities that exists in this population.
The implications of this work are significant for substance users and
offenders pending return to the community, and has implications around
resettlement and reintegration support for probation staff in prisons and in
the community. The paper emphasises the importance of mapping
connectedness as a key component of planning for reintegration back into
the community for those working with offenders who are aspiring to
achieve desistance and recovery.