NCJ Number
244964
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2013 Pages: 438-455
Date Published
May 2013
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study investigated to what extent children of convicted parents might have a higher risk of a conviction themselves.
Abstract
The authors investigated to what extent children of convicted parents might have a higher risk of a conviction themselves because criminal justice systems, such as the police and courts, focus more attention towards certain criminal familiesa concept called official bias. Bias was measured using several variables: a convicted parent, low family income, low family socio-economic status, poor housing and a father's poor job record. A convicted parent as well as poorer social circumstances such as a father's poor job record, low family income and poor housing predicted an increased conviction risk while controlling for self-reported offending. The results support the official bias mechanism, but also suggest that other mechanisms are needed to explain intergenerational transmission of criminal convictions. (Published Abstract)