David S. Kirk, Professor of Sociology and Professorial Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford

David S. Kirk is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College at Oxford University. At Oxford, he directs the Centre for Social Investigation. His research has appeared in leading outlets such as American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Criminology, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Winner of the 2021 James Short Senior Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology Division of Communities and Place

"It is easy to say that this book is a significant contribution to scholarship on the life course of crime, re-entry and desistance, and a must read for policy makers and practitioners working with the formerly incarcerated. The rigorous study design integrating a large quantitative dataset that leverages a natural experiment analytic approach with a deep qualitative inquiry provides a richness of detail about the challenges of re-entry, and how context overlays the process of desisting from crime." - Bianca Bersani, University of Maryland, Rutgers

"Kirk offers a mixed-methodology design to investigate the reincarceration rates of ex-prisoners who returned to live in New Orleans after their release after Hurricane Katrina, compared to those who left to live in other places. The quantitative analysis is triangulated with qualitative interviews involving mostly African American ex-inmates to explain why some desisted and others persisted in experiencing reincarceration." - B. Agozino, CHOICE