COHORT STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF ADULT CRIMINAL CAREERS TO JUVENILE CAREERS

• NCJ Number: 64279
• Author(s): L W SHANNON
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 60 pages
• Grant Number(s): 76JN-99-0008; 76JN-99-1005; 77JN-99-0019
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: TO BE PRESENTED AT AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SELECTED CRIMINOLOGICAL TOPICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, AUGUST 11-12, 1978

Annotation

THIS LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND CRIME IN RACINE, WIS., RELIED ON DETAILED POLICE RECORDS FOR TWO AGE COHORTS TO EXPLORE THE RELATION BETWEEN JUVENILE AND ADULT CRIMINAL CAREERS.

Abstract

THE FIRST AGE COHORT WAS BORN IN 1942 (1,352 PERSONS), AND THE SECOND WAS BORN IN 1949 (2,099 PERSONS). REASONS FOR POLICE CONTACT, CRIME SERIOUSNESS, AND PLACE OF RESIDENCE AT THE TIME OF POLICE CONTACT WERE CONSIDERED IN DETERMINING WHO IS LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR, WHO WILL CEASE DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR AS THEY GROW OLDER, AND WHO WILL CONTINUE INTO ADULT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH 333 PERSONS FROM THE 1942 COHORT AND WITH 566 PERSONS FROM THE 1949 COHORT. STUDY FINDINGS REVEALED THAT MOST CRIMINAL CAREERS WERE NOT CONTINUOUS AND THAT MOST DELINQUENCY DID NOT LEAD TO CRIME. CAREERS WERE HETEROGENEOUS AMONG PERSONS WITH MORE THAN ONE POLICE CONTACT. FACTOR ANALYSIS FAILED TO SHOW ANY MEANINGFUL GROUPING OF REASONS FOR POLICE CONTACT ACCORDING TO RACE/ETHNICITY AND SEX. WHILE THERE WAS LITTLE VARIATION IN REFERRAL RATE BY AREA OF RESIDENCE, BLACKS WERE REFERRED AT A DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGHER RATE THAN WHITES. INTERVIEWS DEMONSTRATED THAT EMPLOYMENT REGULARLY AND OCCUPATIONAL LEVEL OF PARENTS WERE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO THE NUMBER OF POLICE CONTACTS, CRIME SERIOUSNESS, AND CAREER PATTERNS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF BLACK MALES. SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS WAS CLEARLY RELATED TO DELINQUENCY. POLICE CONTACT DECLINED AFTER MARRIAGE. PREDICTIONS OF CAREER CONTINUITY, BASED ON POLICE CONTACT AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, DID NOT RESOLVE THE QUESTION OF WHETHER AN EARLY ONSET OF POLICE CONTACTS CAN BE EXPLAINED BY AN EARLY ONSET OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR, CHANCE, OR POLICE LABELING OF PERSONS WHO SHOULD BE OBSERVED MORE CAREFULLY BECAUSE OF THEIR ETHNICITY AND/OR AREA OF RESIDENCE. CRIMINAL CAREER PREDICTION IS COMPOUNDED SINCE THE RELATION BETWEEN JUVENILE AND ADULT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY DEPENDS ON THE VIEWS OF JUVENILE AND ADULT JUSTICE SYSTEM PERSONNEL AND ON WHAT OCCURS IN THE MINDS OF JUVENILE AND ADULT OFFENDERS. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO AGE COHORTS IN WISCONSIN SUGGEST CONSISTENCIES OVER TIME, AS WELL AS HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES RESPONSIBLE FOR PERIODIC CHANGES IN EVENTS THAT LEAD TO FREQUENT AND SERIOUS POLICE CONTACTS AMONG BOTH JUVENILES AND ADULTS. SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED. (DEP)