Life-Course Criminal Trajectories of Mafia Members. (January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Campedelli, Gian Maria; Calderoni, Francesco; Comunale, Tommaso; Meneghini, Cecilia
• Is Part Of: Crime and delinquency. Volume 67:Number 1(2021)
• Page Start: 111
• Page End: 141
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Subjects: criminal careers -- developmental trajectories -- life course -- organized crime; Crime -- United States -- Periodicals; Juvenile delinquency -- United States -- Periodicals; 364.05
• DOI: 10.1177/0011128719860834
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0011-1287

Abstract

Through a novel data set comprising the criminal records of 11, 138 convicted mafia offenders, we compute criminal career parameters and trajectories through group-based trajectory modeling. Mafia offenders report prolific and persistent careers (16.1 crimes over 16.5 years on average), with five distinct trajectories (low frequency, high frequency, early starter, moderate persistence, high persistence). While showing some similarities with general offenders, the trajectories of mafia offenders also exhibit significant differences, with several groups offending well into their middle and late adulthood, notwithstanding intense criminal justice sanctions. These patterns suggest that several mafia offenders are life-course persisters and career criminals and that the involvement in the mafias is a negative turning point extending the criminal careers beyond those observed in general offenders.