The resettlement approach in working with offenders Desistance, social work and restorative justice

Conceptualising the resettlement of offenders as an end-to-end process we need to differentiate and elaborate the concept of rehabilitation. The focus should not only be on the practical side and on the way of organising the process, but also on the moral dimensions: desistance, stigma-management and the role of redemption. The causes of crime and desistance have also to be discussed: Which role plays the individual himself, which the social situation? The article tries to contribute to the conceptualisation referring to discussion in social work, the desistance approach and by taking into account the restorative justice approach. That way a comprehensive conceptualisation of rehabilitation will be developed, focusing on social integration and seeing rehabilitation as a common task.