Duration of Adult Criminal Careers—Final Report
A Blumstein, J Cohen, P Hsieh - National Criminal Justice Reference Service …, 1982 - ojp.gov
The focus of the study was on predicting future criminal careers as a function of prior criminal
activity. Arrest data were used as a surrogate for crimes committed. To obtain the number of
arrestees, arrest data from Washington, DC, for 1974-77 was multiplied by the proportion of
unique arrests. Results indicate that criminal careers average about 3.3 years (for those
starting at 24 years) to 5.6 years (for those starting at 18 years). Property crime careers
average 4-5 years, while murder and aggravated assault careers average about 10 years …
activity. Arrest data were used as a surrogate for crimes committed. To obtain the number of
arrestees, arrest data from Washington, DC, for 1974-77 was multiplied by the proportion of
unique arrests. Results indicate that criminal careers average about 3.3 years (for those
starting at 24 years) to 5.6 years (for those starting at 18 years). Property crime careers
average 4-5 years, while murder and aggravated assault careers average about 10 years …