NCJ Number: 193116
Title: Cross-National Comparative Studies in Criminology (From Contemporary Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice: Essays in
Honor of Gilbert Geis, P 307-320, 2001, Henry N. Pontell and David Shichor, eds. -- See NCJ-193102)
Author(s): David P. Farrington
Date Published: 2001
Page Count: 14
Sponsoring Agency: Prentice Hall Publishing
Sale Source: Prentice Hall Publishing
Publisher: http://www.policetrainingstore.com
Type: Literature Review
Format: Book (Softbound)
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: In this essay the author reviews his own cross-national
comparisons of risk factors for delinquency, criminal career
features, and rates of crime and punishment in different
countries.
Abstract: Regarding risk factors for delinquency, several are replicable
predictors of delinquency over time and place, especially
impulsivity, poor concentration, low achievement, an antisocial
parent, a large family, low family income, a broken family, poor
parental supervision, and parental conflict. More replication
studies are required to determine the universality of the major
risk factors for delinquency. A review of longitudinal studies of
criminal careers in London and Stockholm found most criminal
career features to be similar in the two cities. The aggregate
age-crime curve was similar in the two cities, peaking at about
age seventeen; and the types of offenses committed in different
age ranges were similar in both countries. The distribution of
criminal career lengths was similar in the two countries, and an
early age of onset of offending predicted a large number of
offenses and a long criminal career. A review of a study of
criminal justice system responses to crime in the United States
and England found that the United States was far more punitive,
having a higher probability of custody and a much longer average
time served. In England there were consistent negative
correlations between the risk of punishment and the crime rate;
however, there were no consistent negative correlations between
the severity of punishment and the crime rate in either country.
The author recommends mounting a coordinated program of
cross-national comparative studies, which could produce great
advances in knowledge about criminal careers, risk factors, and
effective crime prevention methods. 4 figures and 24 references
Main Term(s): Criminology
Index Term(s): Criminal career patterns; Criminal justice system analysis; Cross-cultural analyses; Cross-cultural comparisons; Juvenile delinquency factors
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=193116
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