NCJ Number
231151
Journal
International Criminal Justice Review Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2010 Pages: 169-187
Date Published
June 2010
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article examines the criminal trajectories of the 432 women in the Criminal Career and Life-course Study (CCLS) a representative sample of Dutch offenders convicted in 1977.
Abstract
While a growing number of longitudinal studies contribute to our knowledge on the development of offending over the life span, the landscape of research on women's criminal careers remains sparsely populated. Consequently, relatively little is known about female criminal developmentespecially during the adult yearsand extant developmental and life-course theories generally are tailored to explain patterns in male offending. The CCLS includes information on registered criminal behavior spanning a period of up to 60 years. Trajectory analyses show that four developmental pathways can be distinguished among female offenders. The authors characterize these different pathways in terms of the type of crimes committed and the personal characteristics of women following them. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed. Tables, figures, notes, and references (Published Abstracts)