The Criminal Career Paradigm

Piquero, Alex R.; Farrington, David P.; Blumstein, Alfred

doi:10.1086/652234

Cited by 681 publications

(523 citation statements)

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“…Such research has had a long history in criminology, dating back at least to the 1800s (Kobner 1893; see review in Piquero et al 2003). This line of work has produced one of the most replicable yet controversial of all criminological facts: the relationship between age and crime.…”

Section: Criminal Careersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several important findings emerged from their study, including the facts that (1) about one-third of the cohort had a police contact by age 18 and (2) a small percentage of the sample (\6%) termed 'chronic offenders' was responsible for over half of the cohort's contacts by age 18. Several other longitudinal studies were subsequently carried out to replicate and extend this early study throughout the world using a variety of samples and methods (see Piquero et al 2003).…”

Section: Criminal Careersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invited Address: James Joyce, Alice in Wonderland, the Rolling Stones, and Criminal Careers

Piquero

2011

J Youth Adolescence

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The study of criminal careers generally, and patterns of continuity and change in criminal offending in particular, has been a long-standing interest to social scientists across many disciplines. This article provides readers with an overview of this line of research. After an introduction to the criminal career perspective, the article presents several 'facts' that have emerged from criminal career studies. This material segues into a discussion of theories based on criminal careers research as well as a related discussion of the emerging methods and trends in the area. The article closes with some observations about public policy with respect to criminal careers knowledge and identifies some neglected research needs. A key summary conclusion is that the processes associated with continuity and change are not mutually exclusive, but instead are important and complimentary aspects of criminal careers research.

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Section: Criminal Careersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Criminal Careersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invited Address: James Joyce, Alice in Wonderland, the Rolling Stones, and Criminal Careers

Piquero

2011

J Youth Adolescence

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“…In fact, the opposite was observed. Various factors may have influenced the degree of specialization observed for a particular type of crime (Blumstein et al, 1988;Cohen, 1986;Piquero, Farrington, & Blumstein, 2003). The proportion of sexual offences reported to the police and the chances of being arrested may be lower than for other types of crime.…”

Section: Transition Matrices Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, this hypothesis has been examined using various samples (i.e., community sample, sample of offenders), types of data (i.e., longitudinal, crosssectional), measures of crime (i.e., official, self-report), and offence classification (for reviews, see Cohen, 1986;LeBlanc & Frechette, 1989;Piquero et al, 2003). These data were mostly analyzed using transition matrices and Markov chains.…”

Section: Developmental Criminology and Sexual Offendingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Results suggest that the tendency to switch crimes is more important in adolescence rather than adulthood (Cohen, 1986). Furthermore, studies have shown that as offenders get older, especially in their thirties and forties, frequency tends to decrease, while desistance from some crime-types occurs, thus showing evidence of a more specialized criminal repertoire (Piquero et al, 2003;Piquero et al, 1999). Yet, it is difficult to generalize these results to sexual offenders in adulthood, since the bulk of research on crime specialization has been conducted on offending behavior during adolescence.…”

Section: Developmental Criminology and Sexual Offendingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Criminal Activity of Sexual Offenders in Adulthood: Revisiting the Specialization Debate

Lussier

2005

Sex Abuse

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Two major hypotheses have been put forward to describe the criminal activity of sexual offenders in adulthood. The first hypothesis states that sexual offenders are specialists who tend to repeat sexual crimes. The second hypothesis describes sexual offenders as generalists who do not restrict themselves to one particular type of crime. The current state of knowledge provides empirical support for both the specialization and the generality hypothesis. The presence of both generality and specialization in the offending behavior of sexual offenders is not as contradictory as it may first appear. However, methodological problems limit the possibility of drawing firm conclusions. Indeed, the specialization hypothesis is based on just one parameter of criminal activity, that is, recidivism, which only takes into account two consecutive crimes. The generality hypothesis is focused mainly on two criminal activity parameters, participation and variety, which do not take into account the dynamic nature of criminal activity over time. Developmental criminology provides a new paradigm to explore the issue of generality and specialization in the offending behavior of sexual offenders. Key words: criminal activity; specialization; versatility; sex offenders. REFERENCE: Lussier, P. (2005). The Criminal Activity of Sexual Offenders in Adulthood: Revisiting the Specialization Debate. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 17 (3), 269-292. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to P. Lussier, Pavillon Charles-De Koninck, 1030, ave. des Sciences-Humaines, Quebec, Quebec G1V 0A6, Canada. Tel.: +1 418 656 2131x5978. E-mail address: patrick.lussier@svs.ulaval.ca. THE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OF SEXUAL OFFENDERS 2The Criminal Activity of Sexual Offenders in Adulthood: Revisiting the Specialization DebateIn the criminal justice system, individuals having committed a sexual offence are considered a special kind of offender in need of a specific intervention (Simon, 1997(Simon, , 2000. Over recent years, in North America and many European countries, various treatment programs were elaborated to rehabilitate sexual offenders . Although much controversy surrounded the evaluation of treatment effectiveness (Alexander, 1999;Hall, 1995;Marshall & Pithers, 1994;Quinsey, Harris, Rice, & Lalumière, 1993), many efforts were made to develop the risk management of sexual offenders. These efforts led to the identification of risk factors associated with sexual recidivism , as well as the emergence of various risk assessment scales designed specifically for sexual offenders (Boer, Hart, Kropp, & Webster, 1997;Hanson, 1997;Hanson & Thornton, 1999;Quinsey, Harris, Rice, & Cormier, 1998). At the same time, legal dispositions were introduced, such as the "Sexual Predator Laws" in the United States (Lieb, Quinsey, & Berliner, 1998) and the "Dangerous Offender Legislation" in Canada (Petrunik, 2003). These legislative changes were accompanied by measures attempting to reinforce formal and informal social control against...

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The Legal Regulation of Adolescence

Woolard

Scott

2009

Handbook of Adolescent Psychology

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The Criminal Career Paradigm

Cited by 681 publications

References 100 publications

Invited Address: James Joyce, Alice in Wonderland, the Rolling Stones, and Criminal Careers

Invited Address: James Joyce, Alice in Wonderland, the Rolling Stones, and Criminal Careers

The Criminal Activity of Sexual Offenders in Adulthood: Revisiting the Specialization Debate

The Legal Regulation of Adolescence

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