I just want to live a normal life filled with interesting problems’; Exploring identity reconciliation in desistance from cyber-dependent crime

Anderson, Sarah; Horgan, Shane; Collier, Ben

Abstract

Drawing on the in-depth life history narratives of a small sample (n=5) of people previously involved in cyber-dependent crime, this paper explores the way in which the separation of different social- identities (i.e. online and offline selves; pre- and post-criminalised selves; and the selves presented to different audiences) are sustained, challenged and reconciled and how this impacts on their personal identity and hacking career. It explores the role that different moral actors and communities, and different forms of capital (human, social and cultural) play in this process, as activities become visible and are (re)interpreted, and as the narrators seek to lay claim to neoliberal cultural values of innovation and entrepreneurship. This study’s contribution rests with its synthesis of the cybercrime and desistance literatures. This work acknowledges the utility of identity theories of desistance as an under-utilised tool to make sense of hacking careers, but require researchers to attend to the interplay and battle between multiple co-existing identities. Finally, it presents a provocation to the desistance literature by highlighting dependencies on neoliberal notions of legitimacy and state/corporate definitions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, specifically where one’s skills, values, and achievements that are criminalised, are commercially valued, highly sought after and legitimately supported to persist.

Citation

Anderson, S., Horgan, S., & Collier, B. (2024, July). I just want to live a normal life filled with interesting problems’; Exploring identity reconciliation in desistance from cyber-dependent crime. Presented at British Society of Criminology Conference, Glasgow, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: British Society of Criminology Conference
• Start Date: Jul 10, 2024
• End Date: Jul 12, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 14, 2024
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed