Exploring Patterns of Offending by Juvenile Offenders in Australia: What Is the Evidence for a Specialist Violent Offender?

Abstract

The question of whether there are offenders who specialise in violent offences is one that has been of considerable interest to life course developmental criminology as well as policy makers and the public. The current study investigated this using an administrative dataset of juvenile offenders from New South Wales, Australia. Specifically, it asked whether offenders convicted of a serious violent offence differed in their demographic, criminal history and reoffending profiles and whether there were further differences in these factors across gender and cultural identity. Overall, the findings indicated that violence is more likely to occur in the context of an extensive criminal career. Indigenous male individuals were the most frequent and chronic offenders in the sample. The policy and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Does Violence in Adolescence Differentially Predict Offending Patterns in Early Adulthood?

“…To assess this relationship, we study the relationship between violence at baseline and rearrests 7 years later and compare whether early violence and risk factors for violent offending distinguish between various offending trajectories. Based upon recent research (DeLisi et al, 2015;Harris, 2013;Mazerolle et al, 2010;McGrath, 2015), we expect early violent offending in adolescence will not be associated with more chronic patterns of offending in adulthood. However, we do expect that such offenders will engage in more diverse forms of offending in early adulthood.…”

“…Some studies have shown that violent offending in adolescence might be an indicator of either heterogeneous patterns of offending (Elliott et al, 1986;Farrington, 1989;Fontaine et al, 2014) or chronic offending (Elliott, 1994;Laubacher et al, 2014;Nash & Kim, 2005;Svensson, 2002), throughout the life course. In contrast, more recent research has shown that early violence may be a poor predictor of particular criminal career patterns and/or dimensions (DeLisi et al, 2015;Harris, 2013;Mazerolle et al, 2010;McGrath, 2015).…”

“…Thus, youth who reside in such areas may be more likely to engage in violence. Furthermore, other work in a variety of samples shows that many serious adolescent offenders reside in disadvantaged communities (see Chung & Steinberg, 2006;Lynam et al, 2000;McGrath, 2015).…”

“…Furthermore, adolescent drug use was associated with all criminal career outcomes. Finally, McGrath (2015) assessed whether engaging in violence as a juvenile was associated with later violent offending in an Australian sample. Data were collected among respondents who committed a serious violent offense before the age of 21 during 2007-2008.…”

“…However, engaging in violence prior to being convicted of a violent offense at baseline was significantly related to violent recidivism. McGrath (2015) hypothesized that violent offense charges during the initial study period could have been isolated incidents; rather, repeated violence might better explain specific criminal career dimensions.…”