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Offense Specialization of Arrestees: An Event History Analysis

NCJ Number
235386
Journal
Crime & Delinquency Volume: 54 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 341-365
Author(s)
Celia C. Lo; Young S. Kim; Tyrone C. Cheng
Date Published
July 2008
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether an arrestee's current offense was typical of his or her past crimes.
Abstract
The dataset employed in the present study came from interviews with arrestees conducted between 1999 and 2001 as well as from their official arrest records obtained from jail administrators. A total of 238 arrestees ages 18 to 25 constituted the final sample. Event history analysis examined each arrestee's movement from periods of no arrests to periods including arrests for any of four types of offense; background variables were controlled, and relevant time-varying factors became the explanatory factors. The results show a tendency among these arrestees to specialize, to varying degrees, in violent offenses, drug offenses, miscellaneous offenses, and property offenses. Evidence of versatility is presented. Anticrime measures are also discussed. (Published Abstract)