Offender Classifications and Treatment Effects in Developmental Criminology: A Propensity/Event Consideration

Developmental criminology has raised the prospect that empirical classifications of offenders based on variations in the age of offending will assist in the prediction of and explanation for crime and delinquency. Additionally, developmental criminology suggests that events late in the life course may alter offending propensities in significant ways. Recent empirical works provide compelling evidence about these claims and provide support for general theories of the causes of crime and delinquency. Some of this recent research is analyzed from the perspective of a propensity/event theory.