Car crime as a developmental career: An analysis of young offenders in coventry

Abstract

The principal aims of the research were to focus on the extent of “car crime” in Coventry involving juveniles prosecuted in the youth courts over a six month period in 1993. Data were gathered from records of “car crime” offences for which the juveniles were prosecuted together with all other types of offences recorded for these juveniles. Evidence for a three stage career structure in “car crime” was investigated. The mean age for a first criminal offence was lower than the mean age for a car-related offence implying that criminal careers began in non car-related crime. The study showed evidence for a three stage progression from “Being Carried” to “Taking without Owner's Consent” (TWOC), and “Theft from a Motor Vehicle”. The vast majority of offenders (85 per cent) were of UK/European origin which matched the corresponding age-cohort for the population of Coventry (82 per cent), and less than 5 per cent of the participants were being accommodated by the local authority at the time of the offence. Nevertheless, the young offenders were three times more likely to have been involved with social services than juveniles of a similar age.

Key Words:

• car crime
• young offenders
• criminal careers