NCJ Number
184030
Journal
Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: May 1999 Pages: 157-177
Date Published
May 1999
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This Canadian study examined distinctive patterns of police contacts among heterogeneous subpopulations of youths in the early transition stages of their criminal careers.
Abstract
The authors argue that research which focuses on heterogeneity and the initial transition stages of criminality can provide insights into behavioral dynamics previously overlooked in the study of the onset and development of criminal careers. Using computerized police archival data from a large western Canadian city, the study used event history survival models to estimate patterns of onset and persistence for delinquent careers over 6-month intervals in the early stages of police contact. The results provide strong evidence of meaningful short-term change in offending among multiple levels of youth subgroups. Some youths apparently offend only briefly and then desist, and others continue offending and at a higher rate; however, there also appear to be patterns of heterogeneity within as well as between these subgroups of young offenders during the early stages of criminal careers. This paper concludes by identifying legal and social contingencies that may potentially influence events and turning points that constitute the processes common to criminal careers. 5 tables and 69 references