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Changing Patterns of Delinquency and Crime: A Longitudinal Study in Racine
Changing Patterns of Delinquency and Crime A Longitudinal Study in Racine Author:Lyle W. Shannon This valuable study describes thirty-five years of research on juvenile delinquency and adult crime in Racine, Wisconsin. Lyle Shannon analyzes official police and court records for three Racine cohorts - people born in 1942, 1949, and 1955 - and reveals a wealth of information about spatial and temporal patterns of delinquency and crime... more ». Especially noteworthy is the focus on the relationship of social structure to delinquency and crime in urban neighborhoods. Individuals living within neighborhoods classified as more or less crime producing are shown to have proportionatly different justice system involvement. When we also consider race, ethnicity, and gender within these neighborhoods, we are better able to understand how individuals have quite different chains of experiences during socialization. Shannon examines the effectiveness of sanctions on young offenders as well as the connection between drugs and alcohol, delinquency and crime, and career continuity. The data suggest that for effective deterrence of crime we must reexamine the logic of current intervention and sanctioning practices, taking these new factors into account.« less