POST-RELEASE EMPLOYMENT OF DESISTING INMATES

Recent research has questioned the causal effect of employment on desistance from crime. The aim of the current study was to examine the post-release employment trajectories of Finnish inmates convicted to prison in 2004-05 (n = 1,998) who are desisting from crime, using varying criteria. While a majority of the inmates received some salary from work during the four-year follow-up, the results show that only one tenth of them were able to sustain a continued streak of employment. Instead, the proportion outside of the labour force grew with time from release. The results suggest that employment plays a limited role in the desistance processes in the current Finnish context. The potential causes for this finding are discussed, and avenues for future research are proposed.