ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors provide an investigation of the pattern of crime specialization over time and aims to determine whether crime specialization is a dynamic process. They examine patterns of versatility and specialization during the adolescence–adulthood transition. The authors determine the number, shape, and prevalence of different trajectories of versatility and specialization during that time period and inspect the crime types most likely to be associated with patterns of versatility and specialization. They contribute to second-generation studies on crime specialization by examining patterns of within-individual changes in versatility and specialization over time. The authors focus on a sample of incarcerated youth who are in the deep-end of the juvenile justice system. They also provide valuable policy information to practitioners and program managers about the unfolding of offending over time and the nature and shape that offending may take for this group of individuals as a whole.
