NCJ Number
221362
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 24 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2007 Pages: 582-599
Date Published
December 2007
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Drawing on the RAND Survey of Inmates and a replication of it, this study developed an integrated model of offending frequency that contained measures from the rational choice, criminal identity, and criminal careers literatures.
Abstract
Significant and consistent support was found for the perception that crime is rewarding (leading to high living, money, and owning things) on frequency of offending. Offenders seemed to gauge the attractiveness of crime based on these things in a way that increased their frequency of offending. Results also indicate that criminal self concepts played an important part in predicting the frequency of offending. Replication is rare in criminology. Repeated examinations were seldom conducted with the same variables, measures, or data resulting in the findings and measures open for skepticism. The Rand Survey of California Prison Inmates is one of the few survey instruments that contains an array of important criminological variables and has been administered to multiple samples of offenders. Drawing on the original study and a replication, this current research purpose was to examine a theoretical model with an eye toward confirming findings and exploring differences across samples. Specifically, it assessed the relationship between background risk factors on offending frequency and the extent that both criminal self-concept and perceptions of the costs and benefits of crime mediate it. Figures, table, references