The Unmaking of Crime documents the pathways of offenders reforming their journey and desisting from crime, and assesses the opportunities and limitations of the criminal justice system in aiding this process. Starting with known factors involved in desistance — the influence of family, relationships, employment, or geographical relocations — it expands the lens to include new perspectives, such as the impact of drug abuses on the post-sentence period, the interaction of religion with delinquency, and the reconfigurations of citizenship.

Building on original qualitative research in Paris, the book considers a range of factors in the process of desistance, such as spheres of socialisation, the role of stigma and the opportunities offered or denied after a time in a criminal lifestyle, and the relationship between those seeking to desist from crime and key institutions and resources.