Age Patterns in Criminal Involvement

Abstract

Age patterns in criminality have been the subject of considerable criminological attention in recent years. Although most of the research has been concerned with offenders who begin and terminate their careers in crime at a relatively early age, other age-crime careers can be identified. This article centers attention on persons who desist from lawbreaking after having been involved in it for an extensive period of time, or what is often referred to as "maturational reform." Adult development theory was employed in a research study comparing two groups of Oregon offenders. The article discusses the crime pattern in which career offenders continue lawbreaking after middle age, as well as instances in which persons become involvedfor the first time in crime in late adulthood.