The Group Context of Delinquent Behavior

Cumulative empirical evidence suggests that the majority of offenses for which juveniles are apprehended involved more than one offender. Evidence supporting this claim has generally been interpreted as support for the theoretical assertion that “delinquency is predominantly a group phenomenon.” However, most of the studies reported in the literature are based exclusively on official records (either police or juvenile court records), and thus the question arises whether the proportion of offenses committed by groups would also be high if other sources of data were utilized. This paper reports the results of a study of “self-reported” delinquent behavior with specific emphasis on the extent to which offenses that individuals report having committed took place in a “group context.” The relationship between “group violation rates” (proportion of self-reported offenses that were committed in a group context) and other characteristics of offenses are examined. An analysis is made of the relationships between group violation rates, seriousness of offense, frequency of violation, frequency of arrest, and arrest rates.