NCJ Number
102422
Editor(s)
A. Blumstein,
J. Cohen,
J. A. Roth,
C. A. Visher
Date Published
1986
Length
466 pages
Annotation
This survey of research into the identification of career criminals and analysis of criminal careers considers methodological issues, the uses of such information in interventions and criminal justice system decisionmaking, and an agenda for future studies.
Abstract
The book reviews existing data on the demographic characteristics of individuals who become involved in criminal activities and the frequency, seriousness, and duration of their criminal careers. An examination of methodological problems focuses on observational approaches, such as self-reports and official records, sampling issues, and estimation techniques. The following crime control strategies which use career criminal knowledge are discussed: programs intending to prevent young children from becoming offenders, efforts to modify ongoing criminal careers through family interventions and changes in substance abuse behavior and employment, and incapacitation policies. Formal and informal ways in which decisionmakers use criminal career information are explored, as are methods to improve prediction scales and data quality. An agenda for future research addresses three key areas: promising intervention strategies, basic research on criminal career dimensions, and new directions in measurement and modeling techniques. The appendixes provide literature reviews on participation in criminal careers and individual frequency of offending and mix of offense types. References and index.