NCJ Number
91122
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1983) Pages: 263-269
Date Published
1983
Length
7 pages
Annotation
An analysis of serious offenses committed by members of 13 Swedish birth cohorts (1951 to 1963) reveals a stable level of criminal activity and fails to support the contention that young people have been engaging in more and more criminal behavior.
Abstract
This study focuses on the criminal activities of birth cohort members during the 7 years from their 15th to their 22nd birthdays. Data were taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics and thus include only Swedish citizens and do not control for death, emigration, or naturalization. The statistics are based on serious offenses only, those resulting in sanctions other than fines or minor waivers of prosecution, and the principal offense involved in each criminal proceeding. In spite of the overall increase in offenses known to the police since 1966, the frequency of being found guilty for the first time remained constant for all cohorts except the middle cohorts' youngest age brackets. Theft offenses among the youngest cohorts returned to a lower level close to that recorded for the oldest cohorts, following a peak reached in the late 1960's and early 1970's by the middle cohorts. Violent offenses remained at a slightly higher level among younger cohorts, but drug offenses declined. The number of findings of guilty per cohort remained constant. The proportion of 21-year-olds with at least one prison sentence behind them dropped by about 20 percent. While these statistics have definite limitations, their consistent stability cautions against assumptions based on statistics that do not consider the proportion of offenders with varying lengths of criminal records. Tables and six references are included. (Author abstract modified)