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Crime Specialization, Progression, and Sequencing

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Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

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Overview

This entry describes what is known about three key dimensions of the active criminal career: frequency, specialization, and progression/sequencing. Each of these topics is considered in terms of its theoretical implications and the empirical research that has been conducted on it. A great deal has been learned about these topics since they emerged early in the discussion of criminal careers. There are some questions about the ability to measure and assess them and the implications of doing so, however, and those are reviewed here as well.

Background on Dimensions of Active Criminal Careers

The Study of Criminal Careers

Understanding the criminal career is important as it can offer insight into the nature of offending generally and help in explaining the behavioral paths of offenders over time. This can, in turn, inform policy and practice that relates to career criminals as well as those who offend for only a limited period of time. The idea of a criminal career was raised in...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, 600K Dyer Hall, 210389, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0389, USA

    Christopher J. Sullivan & Shaun M. Gann

Authors
  1. Christopher J. Sullivan
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  2. Shaun M. Gann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher J. Sullivan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  2. VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  3. Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    David Weisburd

  4. Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel

    David Weisburd

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Sullivan, C.J., Gann, S.M. (2014). Crime Specialization, Progression, and Sequencing. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_88

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_88

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5689-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5690-2

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