Peer Mentors and Desistance: A Systematic Literature Review and Synthesis

Abstract

This systematic literature review investigates the deployment and effectiveness of peer mentors in criminal justice practice. The findings reveal a lack of any consistent definition of what constitutes a peer becoming a mentor within this context. Despite this, strong evidence suggests that support from a peer mentor alongside formal interventions positively influences subjective factors that contribute to desistance from crime for both mentors and mentees, particularly among prison leavers. This review formulates three themes: “Street and Carceral Capital,” “Conflicts of Warrants to Knowledge,” and “Growth Reciprocity,” which are key aspects of peer mentoring and demonstrate both the challenges and benefits of the inclusion of peer mentors as a criminal justice response to preventing re-offending. Consequently, international policymakers should focus on recruiting, training, and retaining professionals with personal experience of crime and desistance to enhance the efficacy of criminal justice interventions and testing their impact.

Keywords

peer mentors desistance carceral capital reciprocal growth knowledge production

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