Young people who begin offending early tend to have long delinquent careers; and at least some youthful offenders progress to increasingly serious forms of delinquency, with a handful of youthful offenders going on to become career offenders.

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Research in criminology has consistently shown that early onset of delinquent behavior is a strong predictor of a long and serious criminal career. This phenomenon is often described through the concept of the "developmental trajectory" of offending, which suggests that early starters are more likely to persist in their criminal behavior into adulthood, with a subset escalating their offenses in severity.

Young People Who Begin Offending Early Tend to Have Long