Prison as a (Re)turning Point: Exploring the Patterns of Criminal Justice Involvement Before and After Incarceration

• In Event: Longitudinal Examinations of Criminal Behavior

Abstract

Turning points are a central focus of life course criminology. Indeed, numerous studies have identified a variety of life events that can serve as turning points in an individual's criminal career. Certainly, the experience of incarceration is a likely candidate to be a turning point in the life-course of criminally involved individuals. While it is likely a quagmire to identify the role of incarceration experiences in the life-course, the patterns of arrest surrounding periods of incarceration are descriptively interesting in and of themselves. We extend the work of Tahamont et al (2016) by looking at the patterns of arrest leading up to and moving away from a period of incarceration in a sample of inmates from prisons in a single state. Different patterns pre- and post-incarceration might be suggestive that prison constitutes a turning point. We include a theoretical discussion of turning points as inducing criminal escalation in addition to desistance.

Authors

• Nicole Frisch, University of Maryland

• Sarah Tahamont, University of Maryland