Long-Term Follow-Ups of Criminological Experiments.

Ed Latessa's career was devoted to using evidence-based interventions to improve the lives of offenders. This article honors Ed by contributing to this line of inquiry. The main aim is to review criminological experiments with offending outcomes and a follow-up period of at least 10 years. Twenty major experiments are summarized, with intervention targets ranging from mothers in pregnancy to adult offenders. Follow-up periods ranged from 10 to 72 years. Effects of interventions were generally desirable and often persisted, but sometimes were undesirable and increased or decreased over time. In addition to offending, many other outcomes were often measured at different ages, and subgroup analyses were useful in identifying categories of participants associated with more or less desirable effects. It is concluded that more long-term follow-ups of criminological experiments should be carried out, preferably including cost-benefit analyses and measuring the prevalence, frequency, and seriousness of offending in different age ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]