NCJ Number
56254
Date Published
1977
Length
248 pages
Annotation
A SEQUENTIAL MODEL IS USED TO ANALYZE TWO BIRTH COHORTS IN RACINE, WIS., TO ISOLATE THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH MULTIPLE POLICE CONTACTS; SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT TRENDS WERE FOUND BETWEEN THE 1942 AND 1949 COHORTS.
Abstract
PUBLIC SCHOOL RECORDS, CITY DIRECTORIES, AND POLICE AND COURT RECORDS WERE USED TO COMPILE DATA FOR 1,352 MEN AND WOMEN BORN IN 1942 AND 2,099 BORN IN 1949. EACH GROUP WAS FOLLOWED FOR 20 YEARS, FROM THE AGE OF 6 THROUGH 26. THE COHORTS CONTAINED APPROXIMATELY EQUAL NUMBERS OF MALES AND FEMALES. HOWEVER, ONLY 3 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL BORN IN 1942 WERE MINORITY GROUP MALES AND 2.6 PERCENT WERE MINORITY GROUP FEMALES. FOR THE 1949 COHORT THE FIGURES WERE 5.1 PERCENT MINORITY GROUP MALE AND 4.1 PERCENT MINORITY GROUP FEMALE. THE 1949 COHORT HAD GREATER CONTACT WITH THE POLICE, 36 PERCENT COMPARED TO 24.4 PERCENT FOR THE 1942 COHORT. FACTORS ANALYZED INCLUDED RACE, SEX, AGE, AND AREA OF TOWN. FOR BOTH COHORTS SEX AND AGE AT FIRST CONTACT WITH THE POLICE WERE SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS OF CRIMINAL HISTORY. MALES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LIKELY TO HAVE POLICE CONTACTS AND TO HAVE MORE OF THEM, AND THOSE WHO HAD THEIR FIRST CONTACT IN THE EARLY TEENS HAD A GREATER NUMBER OF SUCCESSIVE POLICE CONTACTS THAN THOSE WHOSE FIRST CONTACT CAME LATER. RACE AND AREA OF RESIDENCE (A MEASURE OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS) WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT IN THE 1942 SAMPLE, BUT WERE FOR THE 1949 GROUP. MORE FEMALES HAD POLICE CONTACT IN THE 1949 GROUP. THE PERCENT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE CONTACTS WAS 41 PERCENT FOR THE 1942 GROUP, BUT ONLY 30 PERCENT FOR 1949. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THESE CHANGES IN STATISITCS REFLECT CHANGING SOCIAL CONDITIONS. THE FINDINGS ARE COMPARED WITH A SIMILAR STUDY CONDUCTED IN PHILADELPHIA, PA., AND THE DIFFERENCES IN THE COMMUNITIES ARE DISCUSSED. CHARTS AND TABLES PRESENT STUDY DATA. REFERENCES ARE APPENDED. (GLR)