ABSTRACT
The concept of a ‘crimnal career’ is a useful means of characterizing the longitudinal sequences of individual criminal activity. It can be done for one particular individual or for a population of individuals who engage in crime. The career is assumed to begin at some age (denoted as ‘initiation’) and to end at some later age (denoted as ‘termination’ or ‘desistence’). The career characterization can focus on one particular kind of crime (e.g. a robbery career or a burglary career) or, more commonly, on the mixture of crimes that the individual engages in. It is important to maintain a distinction between the criminal career that can characterize anyone’s longitudinal crime pattern and those individuals designated as ‘career criminals’ because crime has become their main occupation choice (i.e. they have chosen to make criminal activity their career) or because their criminal activity is sufficiently severe or intense that they become a prime target of enforcement activity. In addition to these serious offenders, anyone can have a criminal career except for those who never commit any crimes – a rather limited population in any event.
