NCJ Number
229244
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 49 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2009 Pages: 879-899
Date Published
November 2009
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study examined factors predicting offender completion of a community-based general offending program and compared results between men's and women's compliance.
Abstract
Results show significant variations between the women and men in the predictors of program completion; women's completion rates were significantly lower than men's. Odds of completion increased slightly with offender age for both men and women; however, while earlier first contact with the criminal justice system also increased completion odds for both sexes, the effect was significantly larger for women. If first police contact occured before age 14, women's completion odds increased by over 50 percent as compared to only 3 percent for men, suggesting that females quickly learn the value of compliance at their first intervention if it occurs early enough, while males do not. It may additionally reflect the aforementioned qualitative differences by sex in the reasons for early intervention, such as running away versus committing criminal offenses. Supporting this interpretation, receipt of a custodial sentence over the age of 21 decreases the likelihood that men will complete (by 15 percent) but has no effect for women. Data were collected from 10,228 case samples which included 1,064 female offenders. Tables and references