| NCJ Number: |
81849   |
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| Title: |
Who Commits Crimes - A Survey of Prison Inmates |
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| Author(s): |
M A Peterson; H B Braiker; S M Polich |
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| Corporate Author: |
Rand Corporation
United States of America |
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| Date Published: |
1981 |
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| Page Count: |
286 |
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| Sponsoring Agency: |
National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
Washington, DC 20531
Oelgeschlager, Gunn and Hain Publishers, Inc
Boston, MA 02116
Rand Corporation
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138
US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
Washington, DC 20531 |
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| Grant Number: |
77-NI-99-0053 |
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| Sale Source: |
Oelgeschlager, Gunn and Hain Publishers, Inc
131 Clarendon Street
Boston, MA 02116
United States of America |
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| Type: |
Survey |
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| Language: |
English |
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| Country: |
United States of America |
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| Annotation: |
This study, based on survey data collected in 1976 from 624 male felons in 5 California State prisons, explores such issues as the number of crimes committed by offenders and the characteristics of career criminals. |
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| Abstract: |
Inmates answered detailed questions about crimes they had committed (especially violent crimes) during the 3 years before their present prison terms. Internal consistency and good rates of response suggest that the accuracy of self-reported survey data was high. Results indicate that most inmates were either occasional offenders or broadly active criminals committing various types of crimes. Younger offenders were most active. While blacks were overrepresented in the survey, their criminal acts were less dangerous and they were less active than whites and Mexican-Americans. Recently active offenders tended to have lengthy criminal records, and respondents who began committing youthful crimes reported higher crime rates as adults than those who began criminal activities later in life. A group of career criminals (25 percent of the sample) committed a large proportion of all reported crimes. These criminals began committing serious crimes as juveniles; they see crime as a safe and enjoyable way to obtain a high standard of living and seem unconcerned about being caught. They expect to return to crime after release. These data lend considerable support to the general objectives of career criminal programs, but suggest that these programs would probably be more effective in reducing property crimes, since only offenders who commit many crimes can be identified with sufficient precision. The limitations and benefits of self-report surveys are discussed. Appendixes include extensive tables, figures, a bibliography of nearly 50 citations, an index, and the survey instrument. |
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| Index Term(s): |
Career criminal programs; Crime surveys; Deterrence; Deterrence effectiveness; Offender profiles; Professional criminals; Research methods; Self reported crimes |
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To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=81849 |
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