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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
07:36
An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
Summary
The criminal-career approach reveals that active offenders
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Sociology
- Criminal Justice
Background:
- Traditional crime research relies on cross-sectional analyses linking community crime rates with attributes.
- This method provides limited insight into individual offender behavior over time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the utility of the criminal-career approach for understanding individual offending patterns.
- To analyze crime-committing patterns as a longitudinal stochastic process.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the criminal-career approach, focusing on individual offenders.
- Examined parameters such as participation rate, initiation rate, termination rate, career length, and offending frequency.
Main Results:
- Annual offending frequency remains stable with age for active offenders.
- Termination rates are low for active offenders in their 30s.
- Offending frequencies show little sensitivity to demographic attributes in active offenders.
Conclusions:
- The criminal-career approach offers insights contrary to cross-sectional analyses.
- Individual offending patterns are better understood through longitudinal analysis of offender behavior.
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