The Meaning of “Intermittency” in Criminal Careers
Abstract Background Van Koppen, Rodermund, and Blokland recently published an article in this journal entitled “Waxing and waning: periods of intermittency in criminal careers.” We are concerned that this article will cause confusion in criminal career research because they use the word “intermi...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer International Publishing
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131929 |
| _version_ | 1826204017442684928 |
|---|---|
| author | Farrington, David P Barnett, Arnold Blumstein, Alfred |
| author_facet | Farrington, David P Barnett, Arnold Blumstein, Alfred |
| author_sort | Farrington, David P |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Abstract
Background
Van Koppen, Rodermund, and Blokland recently published an article in this journal entitled “Waxing and waning: periods of intermittency in criminal careers.” We are concerned that this article will cause confusion in criminal career research because they use the word “intermittency” to refer to time intervals between convictions.
Purpose
We are happy to recognise that their article contributes to knowledge about time intervals between convictions, but we believe that the term “intermittency” should refer to time intervals between two criminal careers when the underlying rate of offending—termed the underlying “criminal inclination” by Van Koppen et al.—is zero.
Method
In order to study intermittency, it is important to test probabilistic models of criminal careers.
Conclusion
To the extent that there is intermittency, it is desirable to investigate why individuals stop offending, why they maintain a zero-rate of offending for some time, and why they restart offending. We believe that it is also important to study the possibility of waxing and waning in criminal careers, by testing whether the underlying rate of offending during the active criminal career stays constant or varies over time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:47:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/131929 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:47:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Springer International Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1319292021-09-21T03:33:56Z The Meaning of “Intermittency” in Criminal Careers Farrington, David P Barnett, Arnold Blumstein, Alfred Abstract Background Van Koppen, Rodermund, and Blokland recently published an article in this journal entitled “Waxing and waning: periods of intermittency in criminal careers.” We are concerned that this article will cause confusion in criminal career research because they use the word “intermittency” to refer to time intervals between convictions. Purpose We are happy to recognise that their article contributes to knowledge about time intervals between convictions, but we believe that the term “intermittency” should refer to time intervals between two criminal careers when the underlying rate of offending—termed the underlying “criminal inclination” by Van Koppen et al.—is zero. Method In order to study intermittency, it is important to test probabilistic models of criminal careers. Conclusion To the extent that there is intermittency, it is desirable to investigate why individuals stop offending, why they maintain a zero-rate of offending for some time, and why they restart offending. We believe that it is also important to study the possibility of waxing and waning in criminal careers, by testing whether the underlying rate of offending during the active criminal career stays constant or varies over time. 2021-09-20T17:30:58Z 2021-09-20T17:30:58Z 2020-07-10 2020-11-11T04:20:39Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131929 en https://doi.org/10.1007/s40865-020-00147-3 Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Springer Nature Switzerland AG application/pdf Springer International Publishing Springer International Publishing |
| spellingShingle | Farrington, David P Barnett, Arnold Blumstein, Alfred The Meaning of “Intermittency” in Criminal Careers |
| title | The Meaning of “Intermittency” in Criminal Careers |
| title_full | The Meaning of “Intermittency” in Criminal Careers |
| title_fullStr | The Meaning of “Intermittency” in Criminal Careers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Meaning of “Intermittency” in Criminal Careers |
| title_short | The Meaning of “Intermittency” in Criminal Careers |
| title_sort | meaning of intermittency in criminal careers |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131929 |
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