Frequency of Arrest of the Young, Chronic, Serious Offender Using Two Male Cohorts Paroled by the California Youth Authority, 1981-1982 and 1986-1987 (ICPSR 2588)
Version Date: Nov 4, 2005 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Richard L. Linster, United States Department of Justice. National Institute of Justice;
Pamela K. Lattimore, United States Department of Justice. National Institute of Justice;
John M. MacDonald, United States Department of Justice. National Institute of Justice;
Christy A. Visher, United States Department of Justice. National Institute of Justice
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02588.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study investigated the ways in which active offenders and their behavior patterns are related to individual characteristics. Data were collected to explore topics such as the nature of individual offending behavior, including offense mix and specialization, the frequency of offending, and the characterization of offender types. To address these issues, the post-release arrest patterns of two cohorts of male youths paroled by the California Youth Authority in 1981-1982 and 1986-1987 were examined. The project focused on modeling the frequency of recidivism and the correlates of arrest frequency. The frequency of arrest was measured during two periods: the first year following release and years two and three following release. Criminal justice variables in this collection provide information on county-level crime and clearance rates for violent and property crimes known to the police. Measures of parolees' criminal history include length of incarceration prior to current commitment, frequency of arrest, age at first arrest, and calculated criminal history scores. Personal and family characteristics include previous violent behavior, alcohol and drug abuse, family violence, neglect or abuse, degree of parental supervision, parental criminality, education, and school disciplinary problems. Demographic variables include age and race of the subjects.
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Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
Much attention has been devoted to developing appropriate analytical models of criminal careers. However, much less attention has been given to studies of the nature of offending behavior, especially among active offenders. Greater knowledge about the patterns of criminal behavior might lead to new insights about the appropriate specification of theoretical models. This study sought to address topics that had been largely ignored in previous research, such as the nature of individual offending behavior, including offense mix and specialization, the frequency of offending, and the characterization of offender types. These issues were addressed in this data collection by examining the post-release arrest patterns of two cohorts of young male parolees released from the California Youth Authority in 1981-1982 and 1986-1987. Specifically, the study focused on modeling the frequency of arrest and the correlates of arrest frequency. The study did not model the entire criminal career from onset to termination. Instead, the more limited objective was to model the arrest frequency over a relatively limited time interval.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Random samples were drawn from two cohorts -- those paroled between July 1, 1981, and June 30, 1982, and those paroled between July 1, 1986, and June 30, 1987. Data were collected on these subjects from the administrative records of the California Youth Authority and from police records. The dependent variables were the number of arrests accumulated during the first year following release and the number of arrests accumulated during the second and third years following release, correcting for time free. Additional information was collected from administrative records on the criminal histories of the subjects and their personal characteristics and those of their families. Supplemental data on county-level crime and clearance rates were taken from the Uniform Crime Reports.
Sample View help for Sample
Random sample
Universe View help for Universe
Male youths paroled from the California Youth Authority in 1981-1982 and 1986-1987.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
California Youth Authority institutional files, police records, and the Uniform Crime Reports
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
Criminal justice variables in this collection provide information on county-level crime and clearance rates for violent and property crimes known to the police. Measures of parolees' criminal history include length of incarceration prior to current commitment, frequency of arrest, age at first arrest, and calculated criminal history scores. Personal and family characteristics include previous violent behavior, alcohol and drug abuse, family violence, neglect or abuse, degree of parental supervision, parental criminality, education, and school disciplinary problems. Demographic variables include age and race of the subjects.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Not applicable
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
None
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
1999-06-16
Version History View help for Version History
- Linster, Richard L., Pamela K. Lattimore, John M. MacDonald, and Christy A. Visher. Frequency of Arrest of the Young, Chronic, Serious Offender Using Two Male Cohorts Paroled by the California Youth Authority, 1981-1982 and 1986-1987. ICPSR02588-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02588.v1
2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.
1999-06-16 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Standardized missing values.
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.