Late adolescent convictions patterns: Changes over time

This paper examines the nature and constancy of conviction patterns for a sample of over 25,000 males and females. We examine data over the period 1963-1999, and focus on six birth cohorts born in 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973 and 1978, examining samples of offenders who had been convicted at least once in a court in England and Wales. We demonstrate that latent class analysis supplemented by auxiliary testing can provide insight into this problem. We analyse males and females separately and show that both groups show substantial changes over time. Using age-and gender specific population estimates, we also examine participation rates of this age group in the criminal justice system. While it is not possible to separate out cohort effects from age effects, we present future directions for this work.