Co-Offender Ties and the Criminal Career: The Relationship between Co-Offender Group Structure and the Individual Offender. (August 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lantz, Brendan; Hutchison, Robert
• Is Part Of: Journal of research in crime and delinquency. Volume 52:Number 5(2015:Aug.)
• Page Start: 658
• Page End: 690
• Publication Date: 2015-08
• Subjects: co-offending -- persistence -- desistance -- networks -- burglary; Crime -- Research -- Periodicals; 364
• DOI: 10.1177/0022427815576754
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-4278

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to assess three related aspects of co-offending networks: (1) the characteristics of co-offending groups and the duration of group offending careers, (2) the impact of membership in co-offending groups on total offending and the length of individual offending careers, and (3) the impact of offender arrest (or changes in co-offending group structure) on the offending patterns of connected co-offenders. Methods: Data on sentenced burglary offenders ( N = 270) in one county in Pennsylvania from 2001 to 2010 are used to examine the impact of co-offending group membership, as well as the relationship between the changing network structure and the offending patterns of connected co-offenders, within a two-level modeling framework. Results: Larger groups with more dispersed offending structures offend over the longest span. Additionally, membership in co-offending groups is associated with more total offending and a longer individual offending career. Finally, the arrest of structurally important offenders, compared to more peripheral offenders, is significantly associated with the decreased offending of connected co-offenders. Conclusions: The removal of a highly central "instigator" or "recruiter" is associated with desistance among connected co-offenders. Future research should examine the mechanisms behind these effects, and why the arrest of co-offending partners is associated with desistance.