1. In what ways might the criminal justice system promote reoffending?

2. According to the filmmakers, desistance is both an ‘internal’ and an ‘external’ process. Where do you see internal and external processes in the film?

3. What punishment policies might be changed, added or abandoned to better promote desistance?

4. Most people who work in the criminal justice system have never been convicted of serious crimes. How might the system be different if it incorporated more input from people who had been punished under it?

After watching the documentary, students could then imagine that they are social workers working in a community to which many ex-offenders return. What resources do you think would be needed to meet the needs of the community as a whole as well as resources to help the ex-offenders desist from reoffending? What organisations would be needed to help provide support? Students could work in groups to identify the stakeholders that would need to be involved and what help they would need to give.