The research group on Criminal Desistance and Reintegration Policies has its origins in the “Research Group in Criminology applied to penology”, created in 2005, and leaded by Professor Elena Larrauri, in the first Catalan call to fund research groups. Probably, the most known work of the research group was the book Jueces Penales y Penas en España [Penal Judges and Penalties in Spain] (Tirant lo Blanch, 2002), which was the first wide-ranging empirical research in Spain about the imposition and execution of the penalties. Subsequently, in 2014, the “Desistance from Crime and Reintegration Policies” (2017-SGR-1772) emerging group was created, which was focused on desistance and resettlement. In 2021 the group joined the criminology group of the University of Girona. The name of this Inter-institutional group is “Research group on Criminal Justice and Penology” [SGR en Justicia Penal y Penología, 2021-SGR-00207]. The coordinator of this group is Professor Daniel Varona.
The group is focused on the knowledge about the processes that lead to criminal desistance and reintegration. Its latest research analysed the adult and juvenile desistance, the imprisonment impact on recidivism and the role of mentoring in desistance and reintegration. Its research has been published both in international (such as European Journal of Criminology, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Prison Journal) and national journals (Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, Revista Internacional de Sociología, Revista Electrónica de Ciencia Penal y Criminología, Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología, among others).
The group objective is to enhance reintegration policies through its research efforts. To achieve this, it has collaborated with public institutions and third-sector entities, primarily in Catalonia, to conduct research and implement the findings. Moreover, the group has consistently shown a keen interest in internationally disseminating its research. It actively participates in international conferences, engages with various groups, and is involved in international research networks. Notable examples include collaborations with the Working Group on Community Sanctions and Measures and the Working Group on Prisons (both from the European Society of Criminology)
At present the group is carrying out the research “Open regime, conditional release and resettlement” that is focused on understanding the causal mechanisms that may explain that the progressive transition to release may act as turning point in the life of former prisoners.
