NCJ Number
103157
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1986) Pages: 219-236
Date Published
1986
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the interaction between juvenile crime and employment is based on data for 300 youths (aged 13-18 years) enrolled between January 1975 and November 1978 in the Youth Services Center, a crime prevention program in Philadelphia.
Abstract
The study presupposes an economic model of crime, which hypothesizes that an economic agent selects a mix of legal and illegal activities which maximize expected benefits over a given time. The subjects were inner city youths, typically from low-income families, who had been identified as delinquency prone. Data on criminal records, employment, family life, and demography were collected for each youth. Employment data consisted of dates on which youths sought jobs, were newly hired, were rejected from jobs, or were terminated from jobs. A simultaneous probit model was used in the analysis. During employment or activities to increase employability, crime by the youths decreased. Extensive police records significantly reduced employability, which in turn increased criminal behavior. The cycle of unemployability and crime can be broken, however, if a youth's employability is enhanced through job and academic training. Simultaneous efforts to reduce youths' criminal tendencies and increase employability will improve the long-term probability of their participation in legal income-producing activities. Mathematical equations, 2 tables, and 47 references.