This book examines several contentious and under-studied criminal career issues using one of the world's most important longitudinal studies, the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD), a longitudinal study of 411 South London boys followed in criminal records to age 40. The analysis reported in the book explores issues related to prevalence, offending frequency, specialization, onset sequences, co-offending, chronicity, career length, and trajectory estimation. The results of the study are considered in the context of developmental/life-course theories, and the authors outline an agenda for criminal career research generally, and within the context of the CSDD specifically.
• Very descriptive • Stated for academics and non-academics alike • Graphics not mathematically oriented
Contents
1. Introduction; 2. Literature Review: A. General criminal careers; B. Organize around contentious issues; 3. Data Overview; 4. Prevalence and Incidence; 5. Onset Age and Incidence; 6. Specialization; 7. Onset Sequences; 8. Co-Offending; 9. Chronicity; 10. Offending Trajectories; 11. Career Length; 12. Discussion.
Reviews
'This is the 5th book reporting the world-renowned Cambridge longitudinal Study of Delinquent Development, and in my view the best! We senior scientists who learned our first criminology facts from the CSDD will want to own this book, as will students newly learning criminology. This book is organised for busy readers' convenience, chapters are very concise, and each is summarised with a list of its new findings. Each chapter ends with a list of as-yet unanswered questions about crime; giving readers great ideas for new research projects! This book is brilliant on theory, it masterfully integrates developmental, life-course, and crime-careers theories, making sense of them all. ‘Key issues’ systematically examines fresh data on onset age, offender prevalence, violence specialization, crime seriousness, career duration, offending frequency, co-offending, chronicity, and developmental trajectories of crime careers. ‘Key issues’ is the best book about crime I have read in 5 years.'
Terrie Moffitt, Institute of Psychiatry
‘The criminal career paradigm has shaped the empirical study of delinquency and crime for the past quarter century. Using data from The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, Piquero, Farrington, and Blumstein present the most thorough and sophisticated investigation of this paradigm to date. Their analyses both replicate earlier core observations and present new, insightful results that advance our understanding of crime across the life-course. The totality of their findings is a quantum leap forward.’ Terence P. Thornberry, University of Colorado
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