Narrative CriminologyNarrative criminology examines how stories, narratives, and personal identities influence criminal behavior and social reactions to crime. is a comparatively recent criminological approach that focuses on the stories about crime people tell themselves and others in order to explain, justify, or even make possible their (deviant) behavior. Rather than centering on the objective act itself, Narrative CriminologyThe scientific study of crime, criminal behavior, prevention, and societal reactions to deviance within and beyond the criminal justice system. emphasizes its subjective interpretation and meaning. Crime is understood as a narrative construction of reality, identity, and deviance. The approach is closely connected to Cultural Criminology and Symbolic Interactionism.
Cheat Sheet
Narrative Criminology
Main Proponents: Lois Presser, Sveinung Sandberg
First Publication: 2015 [Presser & Sandberg (eds.), Narrative Criminology: Understanding Stories of CrimeActs or omissions that violate criminal laws and are punishable by the state.]
Country of Origin: United States and Norway
Core Idea: Crime is not merely an act but also a story. Individuals tell stories about themselves, their actions, and their world — and these narratives can enable, justify, or prevent deviance. Crime is therefore understood as a narratively structured framework of meaning.
DistinctionDistinction refers to the use of cultural preferences, lifestyles, and tastes to express and reproduce social differences and social status. from Other Theories: In contrast to structurally oriented approaches (e.g., Strain Theory) or rationalist models such as Rational Choice Theory, Narrative Criminology focuses on subjective meaning-making and cultural interpretations. It expands classic concepts such as Techniques of Neutralization by asking how narratives generate meaning and construct identity.
Historical Context
Narrative Criminology emerged during the 2010s as criminologists increasingly recognized the importance of subjective perceptions and cultural interpretations in understanding crime and deviance. The approach builds on the Labeling Approach and Cultural Criminology, but moves one step further: it not only examines the labeling of deviance by others, but also how offenders interpret and narrate themselves. A key publication in this regard is Narrative Criminology: Understanding Stories of Crime by Lois Presser and Sveinung Sandberg (2015), which gave the field its name.
Narrative Criminology According to Presser and Sandberg
Narrative Criminology examines the stories people tell about their actions and how these stories are connected to social identity, life experiences, and cultural contexts.
This perspective draws on social-scientific approaches to narrative identity, which assume that individuals structure their lives in the form of stories. Narratives organize experiences, create meaning, and enable people to understand themselves as acting subjects.
Narrative Criminology conceptualizes narratives as “discursive actions” — linguistic acts that do not merely describe reality but actively produce social reality.
The approach is rooted in the tradition of interpretive sociology, as shaped by Max Weber: the central object of analysis is not the objective act itself but the subjective meaning attached to it. Crime is therefore understood as meaningful social action embedded within social contexts and structured through narratives. How individuals understand their own deviant behavior and how they justify it to others becomes a central focus of analysis.
Presser and Sandberg argue that narratives can have an enabling function for deviant behavior. Individuals may tell themselves stories in which deviance appears necessary, heroic, or unavoidable. Narratives may also be used to deny guilt, shift responsibility, or portray oneself as a victim.
In this regard, Narrative Criminology directly connects to Sykes and Matza’s (1957) theory of Techniques of Neutralization. Sykes and Matza described how offenders use cognitive mechanisms such as denial of responsibility or condemnation of condemners to morally justify deviant behavior. Narrative Criminology extends this idea by understanding such mechanisms as part of coherent narrative patterns — not merely spontaneous rationalizations, but culturally available stories learned and reproduced within social contexts.
Typical narrative structures in stories related to deviance include:
- The “necessary break” with an unjust social order
- The story of rebellion or emancipation
- Narratives of failure or addiction
- Stories of remorse and redemption
Importantly, Narrative Criminology does not claim to provide objective truths about deviance. Instead, it focuses on the subjective meaning of crime and the ways individuals understand and position themselves in relation to criminality.
Further Reflections: Truman Capote, Gonzo Journalism, and the Storytelling of Crime
Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (1966) is widely regarded as a milestone of literary journalism. Its detailed and literary reconstruction of a real double murder in Kansas blurred the boundaries between fact and fiction. Capote approached the offenders not from a detached perspective but by narrating their story from within — psychologically, emotionally, and at times almost empathetically.
Similarly, Gonzo journalism, pioneered by Hunter S. Thompson in the late 1960s, represents another form of narrative boundary-crossing. Rather than striving for objectivity, Gonzo journalism relies on radically subjective perspectives, personal involvement, and stylistic exaggeration. In Hells Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (1966), Thompson describes his field research from inside the scene — not as a neutral observer but as participant, observer, and occasionally even part of the action.
In Seductions of Crime, Jack Katz explicitly references Capote’s work to illustrate how moral narratives — such as perceived humiliation or “righteous slaughter” — structure criminal behavior. Narrative Criminology builds upon this insight by treating such stories not as literary decoration but as a constitutive component of deviant action. Whether in journalism, song lyrics, autobiographies, or interviews, narratives create meaning, enable action, and provide deviance with structure. The boundary between reality and representation is therefore rarely clear-cut.
Critical Appraisal and Contemporary Relevance
Narrative Criminology offers an innovative perspective on deviance and enriches criminological theory. Its strengths lie in the qualitative depth with which it explores biographies and life experiences, as well as in its connections to Cultural StudiesAn interdisciplinary field examining how culture shapes and reflects power, identity, and social structures., biographical research, and media analysis.
Methodologically, Narrative Criminology is closely related to biographical research and interpretive social research, both of which treat life stories as central sources for understanding social orientations and action.
Critics point out that Narrative Criminology has so far produced relatively few quantitative studies and relies heavily on interview data and textual analysis. Furthermore, questions remain concerning the relationship between narratives and structural power relations: Who is allowed to tell certain stories? Whose narratives are heard and considered legitimate?
Especially in the context of music (e.g., rap), podcasts, autobiographical literature, or TikTok videos, Narrative Criminology offers enormous research potential — for example in the analysis of victim narratives, biographies of chronic offenders, or police counter-narratives.
Implications for Criminal Policy
Narrative Criminology does not provide direct normative prescriptions, but it does have important implicit implications for criminal policy. If narratives are understood as constitutive elements of criminal behavior, this has consequences for sentencing, rehabilitation, and crime prevention.
- In rehabilitation, narrative approaches can be used to reshape deviant self-images and facilitate “narrative turning points.”
- Work with offenders may benefit from strengthening alternative identities through storytelling, for example within the framework of Restorative Justice.
- The analysis of public discourses on crime can also reveal how popular narratives reinforce or challenge stereotypes about particular offender groups.
Literature
- Presser, L., & Sandberg, S. (Eds.). (2015). Narrative Criminology: Understanding Stories of Crime. New York: NYU Press.
- Sandberg, S. (2010). What can “Lies” tell us about life? Notes towards a framework of narrative criminology. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 21(4), 447–465.
- Presser, L. (2009). The narratives of offenders. Theoretical Criminology, 13(2), 177–200.
- Presser, L. (2018). Inside Story: How Narratives Drive Mass Harm. University of California Press.
- Maruna, S. (2001). Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives. American Psychological Association.
