Human Development And Criminal Behavior

Human Development and Criminal Behavior proposes an exten- sive agenda for crime research. The book is part of a pio- neering effort to understand the causes of crime, particu- larly its developmental course. It defines and sets the con- ditions necessary to conduct an accelerated longitudinal study of individuals at risk to become engaged in criminal careers. This work offers a blueprint for research to eluci- date and possibly prevent crime in our society.

Background In July of 1992, approximately sixty scholars and researchers met for a week at the "Fritz Erler Akademie" in Freudenstadt, Germany, to participate in a workshop entitled "Cross-National Lon gitudinal Research on Human Development and Criminal Behavior". The participants represented 15 nations and 45 universities and research centers. Although longitudinal research in criminology has a long history, this workshop represented the first one in the field of criminology in which it was attempted to get together the main scholars in this field from around the world. The largest group of the workshop represented American scholars (19), a reflection of the fact that longitudi nal research in criminology is predominantly conducted in North America. This volume is the result of the workshop process and in particular of the invitations to participants to prepare pre or conference papers. The chapters in this volume were selected from a larger set of pre- or conference papers. As workshop conveners and volume editors, it falls to us to set some of the context for this enter prise. Longitudinal research in criminology became a major approach after the publication of the land mark study by Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin "Delinquency in a Birth Cohort" in 1972. Around the same time, when Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin started their Philadelphia cohort study, were longi tudinal studies, although different in scope and aim, launched by Shannon in the USA, West in England, Janson in Sweden, and Goppinger in Germany.

In Developmental Theories of Crime and Delinquency, Terence P. Thornberry and his contributors show that criminal behavior is not a static human attribute, but ebbs and flows over the life course of the individual. Criminal behavior tends to follow a distinct psychological pattern. It is relatively uncommon during childhood, is initiated by most offenders during adolescence, flourishes during late adolescence and early childhood, and usually diminishes or disappears by the mid-twenties. This pattern is not characteristic of all people--some never commit crimes and others become career criminals--but it is a general description of the developmental pattern of criminal offenders. This pattern has profound implications for theories of crime and delinquency. Not only does it explain initiation into, maintenance of, and desistance from involvement in crime, it offers insight into why crime flourishes during adolescence. Traditional theories of crime and delinquency have often failed to distinguish among different phases of criminal careers. They tend to ignore developmental changes that occur across a person's life course, changes that coincide with and can explain the causes and patterns of criminal behavior. This paperback edition of the seventh volume of the distinguished series Advances in Criminological Theory moves us from static identifications of the criminal by presenting a broad range of developmental explanations of crime. Each contributor articulates a developmental or life course perspective in explaining how people become involved in delinquency and crime. Each covers a wide range of theoretical territory and reveals how a developmental perspective enhances the explanatory power of traditional theories of crime and delinquency. This volume is an invaluable tool for criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, and other professionals seeking to teach how crime and violence can be understood in our culture.

The Development of Persistent Criminality addresses one of the most pressing problems of modern criminology: Why do some individuals become chronic, persistent offenders? Because chronic offenders are responsible for the majority of serious crimes committed, understanding which individuals will become chronic offenders is an important step in helping us develop interventions. This volume bridges the gap between the criminological literature, which has recently focused on the existence of various criminal trajectories, and the developmental psychology literature, which has focused on risk factors for conduct problems and delinquency. In it, chapters by some of the most widely published authors in this area unite to contribute to a knowledge base which will be the next major milestone in the field of criminology. The authors of this volume represent a unique gathering of international, interdisciplinary social problem so that we can prevent the enormous human and economic costs associated with serious crimes, these authors share their insights and findings on topics such as families and parenting, poverty, stressful life events, social support, biology and genetics, early onset, foster care, educational programs for juvenile offenders, deterrence, and chronic offending among females. Significant attention is paid throughout to longitudinal studies of offending. Several authors also share new theoretical approaches to understanding persistence and chronicity in offending, including an expansion of the conceptualization of the etiology of self-control, a discussion of offender resistance to social control, a dynamic developmental systems approach to understanding offending in young adulthood, and the application of Wikström's situational action theory to persistent offending.

Even though youth crime rates have fallen since the mid-1990s, public fear and political rhetoric over the issue have heightened. The Columbine shootings and other sensational incidents add to the furor. Often overlooked are the underlying problems of child poverty, social disadvantage, and the pitfalls inherent to adolescent decisionmaking that contribute to youth crime. From a policy standpoint, adolescent offenders are caught in the crossfire between nurturance of youth and punishment of criminals, between rehabilitation and "get tough" pronouncements. In the midst of this emotional debate, the National Research Council's Panel on Juvenile Crime steps forward with an authoritative review of the best available data and analysis. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents recommendations for addressing the many aspects of America's youth crime problem. This timely release discusses patterns and trends in crimes by children and adolescentsâ€"trends revealed by arrest data, victim reports, and other sources; youth crime within general crime; and race and sex disparities. The book explores desistanceâ€"the probability that delinquency or criminal activities decrease with ageâ€"and evaluates different approaches to predicting future crime rates. Why do young people turn to delinquency? Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents what we know and what we urgently need to find out about contributing factors, ranging from prenatal care, differences in temperament, and family influences to the role of peer relationships, the impact of the school policies toward delinquency, and the broader influences of the neighborhood and community. Equally important, this book examines a range of solutions: Prevention and intervention efforts directed to individuals, peer groups, and families, as well as day care-, school- and community-based initiatives. Intervention within the juvenile justice system. Role of the police. Processing and detention of youth offenders. Transferring youths to the adult judicial system. Residential placement of juveniles. The book includes background on the American juvenile court system, useful comparisons with the juvenile justice systems of other nations, and other important information for assessing this problem.

Criminal Behavior explores crime as a developmental process from birth through early adulthood. It further examines the role that legal, political, and criminal justice systems play in the development of criminal behavior.