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Frequent utilizers of the criminal justice system heavily strain local resources due to their ongoing interactions with criminal justice agencies and their disproportionate need for social and behavioral health services. We first identify and compare frequent utilizers 'demographic and legal characteristics to first-time and repeat offenders by analyzing two years of prosecution data from three counties in a large Florida jurisdiction. Ordinal regression is then employed to evaluate the impact of first-time offenders, repeat offenders, and frequent utilizers on filed charge severity and the harshness of punitive sanction. Results reveal that frequent utilizers are more likely to be involved in property and drug offenses than personal offenses. They also have an enhanced proclivity to be represented by public defenders or assigned counsel, be held pretrial, and receive custodial sentences. However, contrary to previous research, our findings show that frequent utilizers exhibit a more serious pattern of offending than first-time or repeat offenders. These findings suggest the need for rigorous state monitoring of frequent utilizers in the community while still underscoring the importance and effectiveness of various rehabilitative and prevention strategies beyond the criminal justice system's purview to address the complexities of frequent utilizers' needs. • Frequent utilizers are in the top 95th percentile in arrest frequency within age cohorts. • They face more severe charges than first-time and repeat offenders. • Frequent utilizers are often involved in property and drug offenses. • They have higher rates of pretrial detention and less legal representation. • Frequent utilizers receive harsher sanctions, including custodial sentences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The act of continuing to commit crimes after being imprisoned for a first-time offence and freed is known as recidivism. The level of delinquent behavior in an individual character, that is closely associated to repeated recidivation, can be determined by assessing offenders behavioral features. The dataset includes 220 offenders, with a total of 204 participants whose data was used to create the desired dataset. The raw information was acquired using a questionnaire form that included personality traits, parental and family characteristics, socio-demographic characteristics, crime details, cumulative jail behavior elements, and the HCR-20 risk assessment technique. Behavior sample was gathered from several jails and correction facility in the Indian state of Jharkhand for the objective for initial relapse estimation from first convicts in the current study. The dataset can be used by criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, and academicians to determine an offender's pattern and psychological qualities. Specialists in detention centre undertook the felony evaluation.

The current study analyzes the relation between psychopathic traits and the four facets of psychopathy (i.e., interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial) and general and intimate partner violence (IPV) recidivism. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and the Marital Violence Inventory (IVC) were completed by a sample of 279 male perpetrators of IPV who were retrospectively classified as general repeated offenders versus first-time offenders and IPV repeated-offenders versus IPV first-time offenders. Four separate binary logistic regression analyses were conducted controlling for age and criminal and abuse variables. PCL-R total scores and the antisocial facet were positively correlated with general repeated offenses, despite criminal history showing higher associations with general recidivism. For IPV repeated offenders, PCL-R antisocial facet and criminal history were statistically significant, being the last one the variable that presents higher association with IPV recidivism. These results support the role of criminal history as an important variable for repeated offenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: We examine the effects of mass incarceration on the admission of minority and marginal (i.e., first‐time) offenders to state prisons. Our analyses are based on six waves of data from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities from 1973 to 2004. The results suggest that the era of mass incarceration led to increased incarceration of Hispanic offenders relative to White offenders, but not Black offenders relative to White offenders. Disproportional incarceration did occur, however, during some periods. For example, during the early period of mass incarceration, there was a disproportional increase in the admission of Hispanics and marginal offenders. In the late 1980s, during the "War on Drugs," the likelihood that admissions were Black or Hispanic drug offenders increased, but the likelihood that admissions were marginal offenders did not. Policy Implications: Our results provide further evidence of the perils of punitive policies. The tendency to overreact to crime problems sometimes, but not always, leads to the disproportionate incarceration of minority and marginal offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent first-time offenders demonstrate greater risk of continued offending, justice system contact, and high school dropout. The current study evaluates if optimistic expectations protect youth by reducing offending and improving school grades for 3 years following a first arrest (N = 1,165, Mage  = 15.29). This article also considers whether improved behavior raises expectations about the future and uses autoregressive latent trajectory modeling with structured residuals to examine the within-person cross-lagged associations between expectations and behavior. The results indicated that positive expectations reduce offending and improve grades, which are in turn associated with higher expectations. Although raising expectations may improve outcomes following an arrest, ensuring adolescents have the tools to meet their goals may be an effective way to raise expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the influence of the individual and social background in predicting the rearrest of 1124 juveniles who were first brought into the juvenile detention center in a midsized county in California. Independent variables include demographic characteristics, first offense type, gang affiliation, usage of drug, and family characteristics. Using cross-validation to choose an appropriate machine learning model for predicting rearrest, this study identified that the most important predictors of subsequent arrest are age at first arrest, drug usage, gang affiliation, and family with government assistance. Despite the fact that blacks are overrepresented in the juvenile detention population, race was not a significant predictor for rearrest. Future research would continue to explore the utilization of machine learning adding nontraditional variables to enhance the prediction of recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prior research finds a robust link between delinquent behavior and expectations, or an adolescent's perceived likelihood of obtaining one's future goals, fewer studies have evaluated aspirations, or the perceived importance of achieving one's goals. In addition, few studies consider how individual traits such as impulsivity affect the degree to which expectations and aspirations motivate or deter delinquent behavior. We contribute to this body of research by evaluating the independent effects of expectations and aspirations, and the aspiration-expectation gap (i.e., strain) on delinquent behavior during the year following an adolescent's first arrest using a large ( N = 1117), racially/ethnically diverse sample of male adolescents (46.55% Latino, 35.81% Black, 14.95% White, and 2.69% Other race). In addition, we considered how impulse control interacts with expectations, aspirations, and strain to motivate behavior. Our results indicated that both aspirations, expectations and strain uniquely influence criminal behavior. Importantly, aspirations interacted with impulse control, such that aspirations affected delinquency only among youth with higher impulse control. Our findings suggest that aspirations may only influence behavior if youth also have the psychosocial capabilities to consider their future aspirations when behaving in the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some sex differences have been detected in driving while impaired by alcohol (DWI) offenders. However, understanding of the key factors contributing to DWI among male and female drivers remains elusive, limiting development of targeted interventions. Sex-based neurocognitive analyses could provide the much-needed insight. We examined whether male DWI offenders show cortical thickness anomalies that differ from those in female DWI offenders, when compared to their respective controls. Moderating role of sex and alcohol use on DWI status was also investigated. Sixty-one DWI offenders (29 male; 32 female) and 58 controls (29 male; 29 female) completed an anatomical brain scan and assessments on other relevant characteristics. Only male DWI offenders had reduced cortical thickness in the right dorsal posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a region involved in cognitive control. Lower cortical thickness was associated with increased odds of DWI status only among males who have not engaged in very hazardous pattern of alcohol misuse in the previous 12 months. Thus, for these male DWI drivers, interventions that could impact PCC could be most advantageous. Continued multidimensional sex analysis of the neural characteristics of male and female DWI offenders is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many jurisdictions, drivers convicted for the first-time of driving while impaired by alcohol undertake a risk assessment that will determine the severity of sanctions and the remedial measures they must follow as requisites for re-licensing. There is uncertainty inherent in the assessment of risk for recidivism, however, many offenders feel unfairly assessed and discommoded by the decision-making process and its consequences. The objective of this qualitative study was to gain insight into the perspectives of offenders regarding re-licensing decision making and sanctioning. Specifically, in focus groups first-time offenders and recidivists were probed as to whether they favoured erring on the side of road safety in decision making, with its consequent greater risk of false positive assessments, or erring on the side of maintaining driving privileges, with its consequent greater risk of false negative assessments. In general, participants preferred a higher probability of false negative vs. false positive assessments. Most cited the consequences of sanctions and remedial measures as too severe to impose them on potentially low-risk drivers, as the assessment and monitoring protocols’ limitations could lead to non-equitable treatment. At the same time, recidivists evoked a greater preference for a higher probability of false positive assessments compared to first-time offenders, as they believed that recidivism was more likely to follow a first conviction than did first-time offenders. This information can be useful for a more comprehensive and societally coherent exercise of DWI prevention policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Substance use and delinquency among adolescents have been shown to be positively associated; however, the temporal relationship is not well understood. Examining the association between delinquency and substance use is especially relevant among adolescents with a first-time substance use related offense as they are at-risk for future problems. Method: Data from 193 adolescents at time of diversion program entry and six months later was examined using cross-lagged path analysis to determine whether substance use and related consequences were associated with other types of delinquency across time. Results: Results demonstrated that delinquency at program entry was related to subsequent reports of heavy drinking and alcohol consequences, but not marijuana use or its consequences. In contrast, alcohol and marijuana use at program entry were not related to future reports of delinquency. Conclusions: Findings emphasize the need to build in comprehensive assessments and interventions for youth with a first time offense in order to prevent further escalation of substance use and criminal behaviors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: To examine the long-term sexual recidivism risk of juvenile sex offenders in England and Wales, and to compare the risk to that of a first time sexual offense for non-convicted juveniles. Additionally, the study explores the long term sexual recidivism risk of other types of juvenile offenders, and the long term violent recidivism risk of these groups. Methods: The England and Wales Offenders Index was used to extract birth cohort data. Life table methods were used to estimate cumulative recidivism risk, and discrete time hazard models were used to compare hazard functions. Results: At the five year period, 7% of juvenile sexual offenders have been reconvicted of a sexual offense; reaching 13% by the end of the 35year follow-up. When the reconviction hazard of the juvenile sexual offenders was compared with the first sexual conviction risk of a non-convicted comparison group, the hazards converged statistically after 17years. Conclusions: The study has implications for the registration periods of juvenile sex offenders. Indefinite registration for some juveniles needs to be considered, and a review of registration after a conviction free period would provide more balance between the protection of the public and the rights of the offender. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: The current study investigates the covariates of age of onset (actual and official) and cost avoidance of sex offending in first-time convicted sex offenders. Methods: The current study utilized a large sample (n=332) of federally sentenced first-time convicted adult male sex offenders. Actual onset was measured using self-report, victim statements, and police investigation notes. Official onset was measured using age at first conviction. Cost avoidance was measured as the time gap between actual and official onset. Results: First, while most offenders initiated their sexual criminal career in their early adult years (25–35years) they were typically not arrested until middle adulthood. Second, the covariates for official onset are in line with cost avoidance, but not actual onset. Third, offenders best able to avoid costs were early starters with a conventional background (i.e., employed, absence of a conviction for a non-sex crime), targeting prepubescent children within the family context. Conclusions: While early actual onset offenders were more likely to target stranger victims, early official starters exhibited an unconventional background, prior criminal record, more extensive sexual criminal career, and targeted strangers. Thus, official, but not actual onset revealed a profile in line with prior research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Research examining the connection between the unemployment rate and the aggregate crime is inconclusive. One explanation for the inconsistent findings is that the unemployment rate influences the criminal activity of repeat and first-time offenders in different ways. Results support this thesis by revealing an inverted U-shaped association between the unemployment rate and the probability of repeat offending. The curvilinear relationship likely results from repeat offenders and those lacking a criminal record entering and exiting the labor force at different levels of unemployment. Our findings highlight the role that the unemployment rate plays in affecting repeat offending and underscore the importance of distinguishing between repeat and first-time offending when analyzing the effect of the unemployment rate on crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the early/late start typology of offenders with schizophrenia, a third type, first offenders (FO), has been proposed. The aim of this study was to examine the justification of this first offender type. Retrospective file study consisted of 97 early starters (ES), 100 late starters, and 26 FO. Variables in different domains were scored. There were significant differences between the groups within the domains life functioning, abuse and family-related problems, psychiatric functioning, substance misuse, antisocial personality, and offense characteristics. Most differences were between the ES and FO. The existence of the first offender type is justified by the present findings. These findings underscore the importance of offender subtyping for better offender treatment interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although structured assessments have helped standardize juvenile court processes by systematically measuring risk for recidivism, it has been argued that some assessments lack the ability to perform as a brief screener. This study explored the potential for the original 42-item Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) risk assessment to perform as a brief screener for a sample of first-time juvenile offenders in a Midwestern, industrialized county. Results indicated that the original and shortened version of the YLS/CMI significantly predicted 2-year recidivism for male and female offenders. Implications for situationally targeted forms of risk assessment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Employing feminist institutionalism as an analytic framework, this article considers the First Offender Prostitution Program in San Francisco. The program allows men arrested for their first prostitution offense to pay a fine and to attend a day of classes about the consequences of participation in prostitution, in lieu of prosecution. Other jurisdictions in the United States and internationally have replicated First Offender, and supporters (particularly feminists) praise it for promoting gender equality. However, the findings in this article suggest that First Offender both replicates and contests competing and often contradictory gender ideologies and patterns of power. Specifically, the program's enrollment practices and most of its content imply that men who purchase sexual services are rational sexual agents, while women who sell these services are (mainly) victims. Presentations by former sex workers complicate the program's lessons about gender by demonstrating women's capacity to exercise agency in sex work. The program thus illustrates the contested and contradictory ideological dynamics of gender-sensitive institutional reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the normative position and theoretical justifications for sentencing first-time offenders more leniently than repeat offenders, and examines whether such a practice is defensible. Those justifications include a lack of awareness of the gravity of criminal behaviour, a single lapse, that no censure has previously been communicated by the criminal justice system to that person, adolescent-limited offending, the impact of being in a minority group, and non-uniform impact. It examines whether various sentencing philosophies support sentence reductions for first-time offenders, and whether the justifiability of such practices depends on the theoretical basis and aims of sentencing, for instance the role of proportionality and deterrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On July 14, 2011, in Nunez-Reyes v. Holder, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit filed an en banc opinion overruling Lujan-Armendariz v. INS in holding that, for immigration purposes, constitutional equal protection did not require treating state drug crime convictions that are expunged under state law the same as federal convictions expunged under the Federal First Offender Act. The court also overruled Rice v. Holder, holding that being under the influence of a drug is not a lesser offense than simple possession. In so doing, the Ninth Circuit frustrated Congress's intent in enacting the Federal First Offender Act, and hindered courts' ability to ensure equal protection of similarly situated aliens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic analyses of criminal law are frequently and heavily criticized for being unable to explain many criminal law rules and doctrines people find intuitively just. Existing economic models cannot properly explain, for instance, why criminal law distinguishes between (1) repeat offenders and first-time offenders, (2) murder and voluntary manslaughter, and (3) remorseful and non-remorseful offenders. This Article proposes a richer economic theory of crime that captures the rationales behind these practices and potentially behind many other important criminal law principles and doctrines. Unlike an overwhelming majority of previous economic analyses, my theory accounts not only for the deterrent effect of criminal punishment, but also for its incapacitative effect. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, it acknowledges the fact that people have fluctuating, rather than constant, criminal tendencies. That is, it recognizes that some people who ordinarily would not consider committing a wrongful act can, in rare circumstances, lapse into committing a crime. Surprisingly, these two simple but critical concepts have never to my knowledge been jointly considered in an economic analysis of crime, even though their inclusion appears to be an obvious extension of the standard crime and deterrence model formalized almost half a century ago by Gary Becker. The threat of imprisonment deters crime, but even when deterrence fails and a crime is committed, imprisonment benefits society by preventing the criminal from committing further wrongs outside prison for the duration of the sentence. The more dangerous the criminal, the stronger the rationale for imprisonment because these incapacitative benefits exist only if the offender would commit more crimes if left at large. Since people have fluctuating criminal tendencies, however, the mere fact that a person committed a crime reveals imperfect information regarding his likelihood of recidivating. As such, the offender' criminal history and the circumstances surrounding the crime reveal important pieces of information that can be used to update our beliefs concerning the offender's expected dangerousness--that is, to distinguish those who have made an uncharacteristic mistake from the dangerous and reckless criminals. Capturing the interaction between the incapacitation function of imprisonment and potential offenders' fluctuating criminal tendencies allows the model to supply specific, consequentialist justifications for repeat offender laws, voluntary manslaughter laws, and the treatment of remorse in criminal law. Going forward, this more nuanced approach will provide a clearer lens through which to view other pervasive elements of criminal law, such as the mens rea requirement, and to revisit the normative prescriptions of the previous generation of economic analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and policy makers have long been troubled by the potential for some youth to receive disparate sanctioning as a function of extralegal factors, especially against the backdrop of ethnic/racial minority group overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system as a whole. Beginning in the late 1990s, many states began to adopt a graduated sanctions model in response to the emerging 'get tough' zeitgeist of the day. Originally intended by the federal government to reinforce juvenile accountability and to ensure equitable treatment of all youth in custody, some stakeholders began to note concerns about uneven outcomes in the use of graduated sanctioning schemes. Specifically, data across multiple jurisdictions suggested that racial and ethnic minority youth were receiving more restrictive than expected sanctions. The current study in one large urban jurisdiction explored this issue in a group of 2,786 racially and ethnically diverse first-time juvenile male offenders (ages 10-17). Results indicated that race/ethnicity was not a predictor of receiving a more restrictive than expected sanction; however, variables related to offending (offense severity, history of violence), age (older), and parental supervision (inadequate) were significant predictors of such departures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that determines the persistence of addictive disorders in a first-offender driving while impaired with a general population sample. The study conducted interviews to first offenders using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. It reveals that high rates of addictive disorders are observed over 10 years among first offenders and greatly exceeded those found in a general population sample.

A primary goal of forensic rehabilitation programming for incarcerated offenders is to eliminate or, at the very least, decrease rates of recidivism. However, repeat offending continues to occur, and studies suggest that reductions in recidivism brought about by programs are modest. Indeed, a series of studies suggests decreases in recidivism ranging between only 7% and 14%. While several factors have been identified as potential contributors to criminal behaviour, one notion that has garnered much attention is that an individual may be predisposed to criminality if s/he has deficits in executive cognitive functioning. At this time, the link between executive functioning and antisocial behaviour is largely unquestioned. However, it remains uncertain whether executive deficits may be even more profound in offenders who have served multiple terms of imprisonment. Using a cross sectional design, 93 Canadian federal inmates, categorized as either first timers (n=56) or return inmates (n=37) were tested on a battery of executive cognitive-functioning measures. In keeping with our hypotheses, return inmates showed more severe and pervasive patterns of executive dysfunction. These results suggest that improved focus on ameliorating ECF deficits of offenders may further assist in decreasing recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preoccupation of criminologists with juvenile-onset criminal careers overshadows the fact that offenders who begin their criminal careers in adulthood comprise a substantial portion of adult offender populations. Little is known about adult-onset offenders, generally, and even less about first-time adult-onset offenders. Using a large sample of adult felons on probation supervision, this study explores differences between first and repeat offenders. With respect to risk factors at intake, timing of rearrest, and frequency and nature of supervision failures over 3 years, first-time adult-onset participants exhibited statistically significant differences in relation to both repeat adult-onset and juvenile persistent offenders, with largest differences occurring in analyses involving the latter. With respect to risk factors at intake and rearrest, events in adulthood played a more dominant role among first-time adult-onset offenders compared with other groups, where criminal lifestyle factors were in greater evidence. The article concludes with a discussion of community supervision practices to prevent the progression of the first-time adult-onset offender’s criminal career, social reforms to assist this group, and avenues for relevant future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the increasing number of older prisoners in Australia. It cites a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which reveals that inmates aged 50 and up comprise 11.2% of Australia's prison population in 2010. It presents the four main groups of older prisoners in Australia including, first-time prisoners, old recidivist offenders, and those who grow old while in prison while serving long sentences. It also discusses the implication of the increasing rate of older prisoners in policy, planning, and service delivery in the correctional system. It also calls for Australian research to be systematic regarding domestic older prisoners in order to formulate strategies to manage such a population in Australia.

This study sought to provide a more recent and longitudinal examination of the effect of formal processing on status offenders' subsequent delinquency using data from a large sample of first-time referral status offenders in the state of Florida. Results from semi-parametric group-based trajectory models suggested that roughly half of the status offenders subsequently accumulated delinquent arrests in adolescence following their initial referral for a status offense. Furthermore, the number and type of trajectory groups were more similar than different across sex. Study limitations and policy implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Establishing an estimate of how many New Yorkers drink and drive and how often and determining what would influence drinking drivers to change their behavior. Methods: A random-digit-dialing telephone survey was conducted with 865 New York drivers ages 18 or older with a response rate of 86 percent. Focus groups with New York State convicted drinking drivers were held in 18 communities throughout the state. Results: An estimated 1.7 million drivers generate an estimated 31 million incidents of drinking and driving on New York's roadways each year. The probability of being arrested is approximately one out of 500 or .002. Information gathered from the focus groups indicates that the perception of risk of arrest for driving while intoxicated (DWI) is low, the penalties and sanctions are too lenient for both first-time and repeat offenders, treatment (if appropriate) should be mandatory, and public information and education efforts need to be changed. Conclusion: Although New York State has reduced the prevalence of drinking and driving over the last quarter of a century, reducing alcohol-related fatalities by 61 percent, the finding that an estimated 31 million impaired driving trips occur annually on its roadways is staggering. The general deterrence model that has been implemented in New York clearly has had an effect on changing the behavior of many drivers who understand and reject the risks of driving after drinking. At the same time, however, it has become increasingly apparent that this approach is not sufficient to change the behavior of all drivers. These remaining drivers need a different combination of penalties, rewards, and assistance than current programs provide. More consistency and follow-up in dealing with impaired drivers and support from within the existing legal and social networks are also critical to reducing drinking and driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Research demonstrates that punitive approaches to DWI employed by the judiciary have failed to significantly reduce recidivism. However, little is known about the deterrent effects of administrative and diversion sanctions. We examine whether such sanctions deter first-time DWI offenders. Methods: We grouped combinations of administrative, judicial, and diversion sanctions routinely employed in the state of Maryland for processing drivers arrested for DWI into one of eight mutually exclusive disposition sequences. We applied this classification to Maryland drivers who had been licensed in the state and had precisely one DWI on their record prior to January 1, 1999. We then used a proportional hazards model to estimate the probability of remaining free of a new DWI during a 6-year period (January 1, 1999 – December 31, 2004) as a function of the disposition of the index violation, and of selected factors that could affect that probability. Results: Drivers with a prior DWI were at relatively high risk of recidivating regardless of how they were sanctioned. Those who received administrative and alternative sanctions had a risk of recidivating similar to that of drivers who were convicted. Conclusion: All dispositions sequences, not just convictions, indicate that first-time DWI offenders are at high risk of recidivating. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: Despite the increased use of teen courts for first time, non-violent juvenile offenders, there has been little research examining the decision-making processes regarding which offenders are best suited for this type of intervention. The Teen Court Peer Influence Scale (TCPIS) was developed to assist juvenile justice officials in making these determinations. The purpose of the present research is to determine the predictive validity of the TCPIS. Methods: The TCPIS was administered to a nonprobability sample of teen court participants in Florida (N=404) between September 2006 and February 2007. Dependent measures for the validity analysis were developed from the Youth Self-administered Questionnaire and included social bonds, prosocial attitudes, delinquent peer associations, positive perceptions of teen court, and perceived delinquency. Results: All hypotheses were supported with the TCPIS global score accounting for a significant amount of variance among each of the delinquency measures strengthening the predictive validity of the measure. Conclusions: These preliminary findings are positive regarding the predictive validity of the TCPIS. With additional research, the TCPIS could be a useful tool for decision-makers regarding which juvenile offenders are the best fit for teen court diversion programs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a research which examines and identifies risk factors for frequency of self and parent reported offending in childhood first-time police arrestees from different neighborhoods, and ethnic origins in the Netherlands. As reported, family risk factors on the basis of ethnical differences are more prevalent among non-Western childhood offenders in the country. According to the research, there are chances that individual and parental risk factors may differ between ethnic groups.

The article presents case studies on the regulation of commercial sex work, community policing, and the concerns associated with the operation of diversion programs (John Schools) for first-time sex offenders who have been caught trying to purchase sex from street-based sex workers as of October 2010. The studies focus on two John Schools in San Francisco, California and Toronto, Ontario. Other topics include procedural due process, prostitution arrests, and the laws related to sex workers.

Participants rated hypothetical prisoners with respect to their suitability for a place on a British Home Office electronic monitoring (tagging) program. Five dichotomous variables (gender, race, previous criminal record, dependents, skill level) were combined in a factorial fashion to generate 32 descriptions. Females were favored over males; first-time offenders over those with a criminal record; individuals with dependents over those with no dependents; and the skilled over the unskilled. White participants favored White prisoners over Black, while the reverse was true for Black participants. Those with a negative attribute (criminal record) attracted lower priority ratings than did White prisoners with a record, but those with a positive attribute attracted higher ratings than did White first-time offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We sought to determine the statewide impact of having prior alcohol-impaired driving violations of any type on the rate of first occurrence or recidivism among drivers with 0, 1, 2, or 3 or more prior violations in Maryland. Methods. We analyzed more than 100 million driver records from 1973 to 2004 and classified all Maryland drivers into 4 groups: those with 0, 1, 2, or 3 or more prior violations. The violation rates for approximately 21 million drivers in these 4 groups were compared for the study period 1999 to 2004. Results. On average, there were 3.4, 24.3, 35.9, and 50.8 violations per 1000 drivers a year among those with 0, 1, 2, or 3 or more priors, respectively. The relative risks for men compared with women among these groups of drivers were 3.8, 1.2, 1.0, and 1.0, respectively. Conclusions. The recidivism rate among first offenders more closely resembles that of second offenders than of nonoffenders. Men and women are at equal risk of recidivating once they have had a first violation documented. Any alcohol-impaired driving violation, not just convictions, is a marker for future recidivism. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:919-924. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.154575) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Danish registers for a 1980 birth cohort of 29,944 males with parental information and following up these cases for 25 years, the study considers four paradigms of crime reduction (parental child rearing, structural factors around adolescence, locality and individual resources). Focusing on offenders with first-time convictions for shoplifting (n = 1,989), for burglary (n = 1,324) and for violence (n = 1,901), all four paradigms made a contribution to risk of first-time offending for all three crimes. The counter-factual analysis indicated that a focus on structural issues within a society may have more widespread benefits, but the assumed causal links need to be further explored. The use of population registers, under controlled conditions, provides an important window on criminal careers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: A first driving while impaired by alcohol (DWI) conviction is a key opportunity to identify offenders who are at high risk for recidivism. Detection of alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major target of current DWI assessments. However, offenders frequently underreport their alcohol consumption, and use of biomarkers has been proposed as a more objective indicator. Among the best established are aspartate aminotranferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), mean corpuscular red blood cell volume (MCV), carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), and thiamine. To our knowledge, no research has directly verified whether AUD biomarkers predict DWI recidivism status. Using a cross-sectional design, this study tested three hypotheses related to the utility of biomarkers in DWI assessment. Hypotheses: (1) DWI recidivists possess biomarkers indicative of greater prevalence of AUD compared to first-time offenders; (2) multiple biomarkers better differentiate first-time offenders from recidivists compared to individual biomarkers; and (3) biomarkers add significantly to the prediction of recidivism over and above psychosocial questionnaires. Methods: First-time offenders (n =49) and recidivists (n =95) participated in the study. In addition to self-reported information on sociodemographic and driving characteristics, data from several AUD questionnaires were gathered: Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Composite International Diagnostic Interview, and Timeline Follow-Back. Blood samples were collected to measure AST, ALT, GGT, MCV, CDT, and thiamine. Results: AUD biomarkers, taken individually or in combination, did not indicate that recidivists had more frequent AUD compared to first-time offenders. Also, they failed to significantly differentiate first-time offenders from recidivists or predict recidivism status. Finally, the superiority of biomarkers over psychosocial AUD questionnaires was not supported in the laboratory setting. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that biomarkers of chronic patterns of heavy drinking may not be adequate to capture the multiple processes that appear to promote recidivism (e.g., binge drinking, other risky behavioural and personality features). Despite their objectivity, caution is warranted in the interpretation of a positive score on these biomarkers in DWI assessment. Longitudinal research is needed to more comprehensively explore the relationship between positive biomarkers in first-time offenders and their risk of becoming recidivists. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Army data from 2000 to 2004 were used to compare two groups of married, male, Army soldier, first-time family violence offenders: 760 dual offenders (whose initial incident included both child maltreatment and spouse abuse) and 2,209 single offenders (whose initial incident included only child maltreatment). The majority (81%) of dual offenders perpetrated physical spouse abuse; however, dual offenders were less likely than single offenders to perpetrate physical child abuse (16% vs. 42%) or sexual child abuse (1% vs. 11%), but they were more likely to perpetrate emotional child abuse (45% vs. 12%). These findings may be, at least in part, explained in light of the Army Family Advocacy Program policy, which considers spouse offenders as also being emotional child abuse offenders since children may be traumatized by exposure to spouse abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the well-documented relationship between early initiation or onset of criminal behavior and a heightened risk of involvement in offending. Previous research examining this question conducted by Nagin and Farrington (Criminology 30:235–260, ; Criminology 30:501–523, ) used data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development and found that: (1) onset age was correlated with offending involvement; and (2) the correlation could be explained by stable individual differences in the propensity to offend rather than a causal effect of early onset age. In this study, similar analytic methods are applied to data from the Second Philadelphia Birth Cohort. This data set consists of all 13,160 males born in Philadelphia in 1958 who resided in the city continuously from ages 10 to 18, slightly more than half of whom were non-white. Information from each of the youths was collected from schools, juvenile justice agencies, other official sources and surveys. In a model that mimics previous analyses, we initially found that an early age of onset is associated with greater subsequent involvement in delinquent behavior. When unobserved criminal propensity was controlled, however, we found that a late rather than an early onset of delinquency was related to future offending. In finding a state dependent effect for age of onset, our findings are contrary to propensity theory in criminology. In finding that it is late rather early onset which puts youth at risk for future offending, our findings are contrary to developmental/life course theory. Our results are more compatible with traditional criminological theory that is friendly to state dependence processes, though they too have not to date articulated why a late onsetting of offending might be particularly criminogenic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a life-course perspective to examine the extent to which domestic violence is part of a criminal career. Offenders who commit domestic violence as their first criminal act are compared to offenders for whom domestic violence is merely a continuation of a criminal career and for whom the domestic violence relationship provides an opportunity for the commission of still another type of offense. In addition, there is an examination of patterns in offending and reoffending for males and females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increased scholarly and policy attention to prisoner reentry, much remains unknown about the factors that contribute to a successful transition from prison to society. The authors focused on a neglected but potentially critical factor, inmate visitation, that may reduce recidivism. The expectation of such an effect stems from prominent crime theories and an increasing body of work that stresses the importance of social ties to the reentry process. Using data from the Florida Department of Corrections, the authors tested hypotheses about the effects of visitation on recidivism. The measures of visitation included whether any visits occurred, the frequency and recency of visitation, and the type of visitor received (e.g., family member, friend). The authors also examined whether visitation effects varied by age, sex, race, type of instant offense, and prior incarceration. The findings indicate that visitation reduces and delays recidivism. Their implications for theory, research, and policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the Criminal Career and Life-course Study (CCLS) we examined the effect of first-time imprisonment between ages 26-28. Simply comparing recidivism rates of ex-prisoners with offenders who have not been incarcerated would lead to biased estimates since imprisonment is likely to be meted out disproportionately to those offenders most likely to recidivate. Our results show first-time imprisonment to have a criminogenic effect. The rise in conviction rates for ex-prisoners is largest when compared to offenders who had similar offending trajectories up to age 25, but were not convicted in the 26-28 period. Comparisons with offenders who were convicted but not imprisoned show a smaller, but still highly significant increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]