Co-Offending and Criminal Careers

Understanding co-offending is central to understanding the etiology of crime and the effects of intervention strategies. The ratio of individual to co-offenders varies among crimes. Solo offending criminal careers are less common than those of exclusively co-offending but the typical criminal career is a mix of offenses committed alone and with others. Co-offending is more characteristic of juvenile than of adult criminality. Distinctions must be made between gangs, groups, and networks. Most delinquent groups are unstable. Desistance from co-offending results from transience, from the maturing of group members, and from the effects of interventions. Accomplice relationships are short lived, and active co-offenders thus tend to have many accomplices. Individuals who are both high-rate offenders and active recruiters to delinquent groups and to specific crimes may play an especially important role in co-offending and offer a potentially important target for intervention efforts. An increased understanding of co-offending, recruitment, and desistance and the implications of these for crime control policies can be gained from prospective longitudinal cohort studies that will include the experience of co-offenders of cohort members.