Scaling Behaviour in the Number of Criminal Acts Committed by Individuals

TL;DR

This paper investigates the distribution of criminal acts per individual, revealing deviations from power law behavior and emphasizing the significance of the first crime in criminal progression.

Contribution

It identifies subtle deviations from power law in criminal activity data and highlights the importance of the initial criminal act in individual criminal behavior.

Findings

Deviations from power law in crime data.

The first criminal act is a crucial step in criminal progression.

Data description varies with inclusion or exclusion of zero-crime individuals.

Abstract

We find subtle deviations from power law behaviour in the number of crimes committed by individuals, analysing the two main criminology databases which track this behaviour, the Pittsburgh Young Offenders survey and the Cambridge UK Study in Delinquent Development. The description of the data when the number of boys committing or reporting zero crimes are excluded is different from that when they are included. The crucial step in the criminal progress of an individual appears to be committing the first act. Once this is done, the number of criminal acts committed by an individual can take place on all scales.