Patterns of offending behaviour : a new approach (Full report)

This study focuses on developing a typology of criminal activity. It aims to identify a fixed number of types of criminal behaviour separately for males and females. Age profiles for each type of criminal activity are also constructed. Finally, the study probes the notion of criminal pathways. What proportion of offenders are specialists within one sphere of activity? How many tend to migrate from one sphere to another as they become older? The distinguishing feature of the analysis is that it attempts to describe criminal activity over a five-year period rather than the conventional approach of summarising a 'life-time' of crime. The five-year summaries of criminal activity are likely to have a greater practical use, for they will help practitioners, such as the police and probation officers, to understand a recent criminal history.