Background

The 2017 American Community Survey reported young adults, ages 18-24 account for 23% of all arrests yet they only represent 9.5% of the U.S. population. As such, it is critical to better understand the current state of individuals in the criminal justice system who have a delinquency history in order to mitigate offending trajectories on the juvenile justice level.

The literature on desistance from crime indicates that as individuals get older, they begin to naturally desist from criminal behavior.1 Specifically, in one study, the author found that over 90% of youth involved in their study reported decreased criminal behavior during the first three years following their court involvement.2



Although adult offending may still occur, the research indicates criminality peaks around ages 15-18, and the amount of offending significantly decreases as an individual ages.3 Of those who continue on to have contact with the criminal justice system, the literature have found several factors to be associated with adult offending and these include:


juvenile justice system involvement4



earlier age at first offense5


childhood risk factors6



violent offenses7



In a gender specific study, the authors found that for men, juvenile court referrals predicted risk of any first adult arrest, specifically a felony arrest and each additional juvenile court referral increased the risk by 9% and 8% respectively. For women, the significant predictors of arrest do not include juvenile court referrals but rather family violence, parental divorce and cumulative childhood risk factors were predictors. Women who experienced parental divorce were nearly three times more likely to be arrested as an adult, and those who experienced family violence 2.5 times more so than those without such experiences.8

Understanding the high costs associated with criminal justice involvement, including costs accrued by law enforcement, jails, courts, corrections, prisons, and social and treatment services, scholars have looked into the factors that may foster desistance from crime. These factors may include:


diversion programming9



financial independence10


stable employment11



steady routines12



For example, a study looked at the impact of diversion from the juvenile justice system and its relation with adult offending. The authors found that completion of juvenile justice diversion programming led to significantly reduced odds of recidivism in early adulthood and for those who did recidivate, delay the time to a new adulthood charge.13 Further, adult milestones such as gaining financial independence from parents, maintaining stable employment, and developing steady routines have been found to aid in desisting from criminal behavior.14

In addition to monetary costs, there are societal costs on the individual, family, and community once a person does have contact with the justice system such as barriers to educational attainment, lost earnings, adverse health effects, damage to the families of the incarcerated, and impact on victims.15 While we may not be able to focus on the entire juvenile to criminal justice trajectory, there may be value in concentrating efforts on the juvenile justice system.

Endnotes


  1. Farrington DP (1986) Age and crime. In Tonry M, Morris N (Eds) Crime and Justice: An Annual Review of Research. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press 7: pp. 189–250.; Piquero AR, Farrington DP, Blumstein A (2007) Key Issues in Criminal Career Research: New Analyses of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.; Mulvey, E. P.( 2011). Highlights from Pathways to Desistance: A Longitudinal Study of Serious Adolescent Offenders. Juvenile Justice Fact Sheet. Washington, DC: Department of Justice.↩︎

  2. Mulvey, E. P.( 2011). Highlights from Pathways to Desistance: A Longitudinal Study of Serious Adolescent Offenders. Juvenile Justice Fact Sheet. Washington, DC: Department of Justice.↩︎

  3. Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2003). Shared beginnings, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Harvard University Press.↩︎

  4. Benda BB, Corwyn RF, Toombs NJ. (2001). Recidivism among adolescent serious offenders: Prediction of entry into the correctional system for adults. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 28:588–613; Patterson GR, Yoerger K. (1999). Intraindividual growth in covert antisocial behavior: A necessary precursor to chronic juvenile and adult arrests. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 9:24–38.; Piquero AR, Buka SL. (2002). Linking juvenile and adult patterns of criminal activity in the Providence cohort of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project. Journal of Criminal Justice, 30:259–272.↩︎

  5. Benda BB, Corwyn RF, Toombs NJ. (2001). Recidivism among adolescent serious offenders: Prediction of entry into the correctional system for adults. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 28:588–613.↩︎

  6. Barrett, D., & Katsiyannis, A. (2016). Juvenile Offending and Crime in Early Adulthood: A Large Sample Analysis. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 25(4), 1086–1097. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0304-6; Rhoades, K. A., Leve, L. D., Eddy, J. M., & Chamberlain, P. (2016). Predicting the transition from juvenile delinquency to adult criminality: Gender-specific influences in two high-risk samples. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 26(5), 336–351. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.1957↩︎

  7. Loeber, R., & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.). (1998). Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.; Hawkins, J. D., Herrenkohl, T. I., Farrington, D. P., Brewer, D., Catalano, R. F., Harachi, T. W., Cothern, L. (2000). Predictors of youth violence. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/people/academic_research/david_farrington/predviol.pdf; Loeber, R., & Farrington, D. P. (2011). Young homicide offenders and victims: Risk factors, prediction, and prevention from childhood. New York: Springer↩︎

  8. Rhoades, K. A., Leve, L. D., Eddy, J. M., & Chamberlain, P. (2016). Predicting the transition from juvenile delinquency to adult criminality: Gender-specific influences in two high-risk samples. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 26(5), 336–351. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.1957↩︎

  9. Kretschmar, J. M., Tossone, K., Butcher, F., & Marsh, B. (2018). Examining the impact of a juvenile justice diversion program for youth with behavioral health concerns on early adulthood recidivism. Children and Youth Services Review, 91, 168–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.010↩︎

  10. Villeneuve, M.-P., F.-Dufour, I., & Turcotte, D. (2019). The Transition Towards Desistance from Crime Among Serious Juvenile Offenders: A Scoping Review. Australian Social Work, 72(4), 473–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2019.1586967↩︎

  11. Villeneuve, M.-P., F.-Dufour, I., & Turcotte, D. (2019). The Transition Towards Desistance from Crime Among Serious Juvenile Offenders: A Scoping Review. Australian Social Work, 72(4), 473–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2019.1586967↩︎

  12. Villeneuve, M.-P., F.-Dufour, I., & Turcotte, D. (2019). The Transition Towards Desistance from Crime Among Serious Juvenile Offenders: A Scoping Review. Australian Social Work, 72(4), 473–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2019.1586967↩︎

  13. Kretschmar, J. M., Tossone, K., Butcher, F., & Marsh, B. (2018). Examining the impact of a juvenile justice diversion program for youth with behavioral health concerns on early adulthood recidivism. Children and Youth Services Review, 91, 168–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.010↩︎

  14. Villeneuve, M.-P., F.-Dufour, I., & Turcotte, D. (2019). The Transition Towards Desistance from Crime Among Serious Juvenile Offenders: A Scoping Review. Australian Social Work, 72(4), 473–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2019.1586967↩︎

  15. Piquero, Alex R., J. David Hawkins, and Lila Kazemian. (2012). “Criminal Career Patterns,” in From Juvenile Delinquency to Adult Crime: Criminal Careers, Justice Policy, and Prevention, eds. Rolf Loeber and David P. Farrington, New York: Oxford University Press, 2012: 14-46.↩︎