Co-Offending and the Role of Accomplices
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 July 2021
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 July 2021
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0302
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 July 2021
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 July 2021
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0302
Introduction
The social nature of crime is one of the most well-recognized and established features of offending. Accomplices come in many forms, ranging from informal co-offenders drawn from available pools of offenders (i.e., friends, acquaintances) to more formal gang-related associates. For the purposes of this review, an accomplice will be considered anyone an individual has engaged in crime or participated in a criminal enterprise with. This broad definition (as opposed to its strict legal definition) enables an exhaustive and theoretically meaningful assessment of the group nature of crime to include collective spontaneous crime, co-offending, gang-related, and organized crime. Even within various accomplice relationships, individuals occupy various roles and positions that contribute to the diffusion of information within accomplice networks, commission of crime, and consequences. The study of accomplices has led to descriptive patterns of group-based offending, theoretical development aimed at understanding the decision to engage in crime with others, and a consideration of how such involvement impacts subsequent behavior. The following entry overviews key areas related to accomplices and references scholarship that explores this important dimension of crime.
General Overviews and Classical Texts
Given the breadth of whom can be considered an accomplice, there is a wide array of scholarship that provides strong overviews of types and implications of various accomplices. Breckenridge and Abbott 1912 (p. 35) acknowledges that “there is scarcely a type of delinquent boy who is not associated with others in his wrongdoing.” Shaw and McKay 1942 is among one of the first sources to identify the prevalence of engaging in group offending among juveniles in the Cook County Juvenile Court. The seminal depiction of gangs in Thrasher 1927 provides insight into the nature and development of gangs. Short and Strodtbeck 1965 offers one of the first theoretical considerations of the social processes that facilitate youth involvement in gang and group delinquency. Building on these earlier works, a number of sources have reinvigorated the study of accomplices. Nearly fifty years after Shaw and McKay 1942, Reiss 1986 and Reiss 1988 (cited under Policy Implications of Accomplices) reintroduced the study of co-offending by examining patterns of co-offending across criminal careers and highlighted the need for more rigorous research in this area. Klein and Maxson 2006 and Decker and Pyrooz 2015 similarly explore the state of knowledge on the study of gangs. In a much broader consideration of the role of accomplices and peers, Warr 2002 provides a strong review of the theoretical mechanisms and implications associated with the group nature of crime. Morselli 2009 presents several case studies demonstrating the applicability of social network analysis to studying criminal organizations and groups. Most recently, van Mastrigt and Carrington 2019 offers an extensive review of co-offending from a developmental and life-course perspective. It should be noted that the majority of research on accomplices is derived from American, Canadian, and UK samples and therefore should be contextualized when considering how these findings extend to other societies or cultures.
Breckenridge, S. P., and E. Abbott. 1912. The delinquent child and the home. New York: Russell Sage Foundation Charities Publication Committee.
Provides one of the earliest studies of the Cook County, Illinois, juvenile court and case studies of the youth who were processed through this court.
Decker, S., and D. Pyrooz, eds. 2015. Handbook of gangs. Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell.
A contemporary review of issues pertaining to the study of gangs, theories of delinquency and gang behaviors and interventions, and a discussion of international approaches to gangs.
Klein, M. W., and C. L. Maxson. 2006. Gang structures, crime patterns, and police responses. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195163445.001.0001
Comprehensive description of street gangs and current gang-control programs. Seeks to dispel common myths about street gangs and why people join them with a focus on policy implications.
Morselli, C. 2009. Inside criminal networks. New York: Springer.
DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-09526-4
Explains how social network analysis can be used to study illegal enterprises by presenting different case studies and describing useful analytical methods for the study of criminal networks.
Reiss, A. J. 1986. Co-offender influences on criminal careers. In Criminal careers and “career criminals.” Vol. 2. Edited by National Research Council, 121–160. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Analysis of literature on co-offending throughout juvenile and adult criminal careers with a major focus on policy implications to reduce crime rates.
Shaw, C. R., and H. D. McKay. 1942. Juvenile delinquency and urban areas. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
Presents and tests the concept of social disorganization in twenty-one American cities. Findings emphasize the importance of studying delinquency at the community rather than the individual level.
Short, J. F., and F. L. Strodtbeck. 1965. Group process and gang delinquency. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
Comprehensive account of a study on Chicago gangs using different types of data, including field reports, interviews, and laboratory assessments. Offered insight into the importance of different gang theories popular at the time, such as opportunity theory, status deprivation theory, and lower-class culture theory.
Thrasher, F. M. 1927. The gang: A study of 1,313 gangs in Chicago. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
One of the earliest studies on gangs. Includes an in-depth analysis of early-20th-century gangs in Chicago and concludes that gangs are more likely to exist in neighborhoods in transition.
van Mastrigt, S., and P. Carrington. 2019. Co-offending. In Handbook on developmental and life course criminology. Edited by D. P. Farrington, L. Kazemian, and A. J. Piquero, 126–148. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
One of the most up-to-date reviews of the literature on co-offending which emphasizes the importance of studying co-offending over the life course.
Warr, M. 2002. Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Reviews the literature on peer influence and discusses how co-offending develops over the life course. Proposes different mechanisms of peer influence.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Active Offender Research
- Actus Reus
- Adler, Freda
- Adversarial System of Justice
- Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Aging Prison Population, The
- Airport and Airline Security
- Alcohol and Drug Prohibition
- Alcohol Use, Policy and Crime
- Alt-Right Gangs and White Power Youth Groups
- Animals, Crimes Against
- Anomie
- Arson
- Art Crime
- Back-End Sentencing and Parole Revocation
- Bail and Pretrial Detention
- Batterer Intervention Programs
- Bentham, Jeremy
- Big Data and Communities and Crime
- Biosocial Criminology
- Blackmail
- Black's Theory of Law and Social Control
- Blumstein, Alfred
- Boot Camps and Shock Incarceration Programs
- Burglary, Residential
- Bystander Intervention
- Capital Punishment
- Chambliss, William
- Chicago School of Criminology, The
- Child Maltreatment
- Chinese Triad Society
- Civil Protection Orders
- Collateral Consequences of Felony Conviction and Imprisonm...
- Collective Efficacy
- Commercial and Bank Robbery
- Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
- Communicating Scientific Findings in the Courtroom
- Community Change and Crime
- Community Corrections
- Community Disadvantage and Crime
- Community-Based Justice Systems
- Community-Based Substance Use Prevention
- Comparative Criminal Justice Systems
- CompStat Models of Police Performance Management
- Confessions, False and Coerced
- Conservation Criminology
- Consumer Fraud
- Contextual Analysis of Crime
- Control Balance Theory
- Convict Criminology
- Co-Offending and the Role of Accomplices
- Corporate Crime
- Costs of Crime and Justice
- Courts, Drug
- Courts, Juvenile
- Courts, Mental Health
- Courts, Problem-Solving
- Crime and Justice in Latin America
- Crime, Campus
- Crime Control Policy
- Crime Control, Politics of
- Crime, (In)Security, and Islam
- Crime Prevention, Delinquency and
- Crime Prevention, Situational
- Crime Prevention, Voluntary Organizations and
- Crime Trends
- Crime Victims' Rights Movement
- Criminal Career Research
- Criminal Decision Making, Emotions in
- Criminal Justice Data Sources
- Criminal Justice Ethics
- Criminal Justice Fines and Fees
- Criminal Justice Reform, Politics of
- Criminal Justice System, Discretion in the
- Criminal Records
- Criminal Retaliation
- Criminal Talk
- Criminology and Political Science
- Criminology of Genocide, The
- Critical Criminology
- Cross-National Crime
- Cross-Sectional Research Designs in Criminology and Crimin...
- Cultural Criminology
- Cultural Theories
- Cybercrime
- Cybercrime Investigations and Prosecutions
- Cycle of Violence
- Day Fines
- Deadly Force
- Defense Counsel
- Defining "Success" in Corrections and Reentry
- Desistance
- Deterrence
- Developmental and Life-Course Criminology
- Digital Piracy
- Driving and Traffic Offenses
- Drug Control
- Drug Trafficking, International
- Drugs and Crime
- Elder Abuse
- Electronically Monitored Home Confinement
- Employee Theft
- Environmental Crime and Justice
- Experimental Criminology
- Extortion
- Family Violence
- Fear of Crime and Perceived Risk
- Felon Disenfranchisement
- Femicide
- Feminist Theories
- Feminist Victimization Theories
- Fencing and Stolen Goods Markets
- Firearms and Violence
- Forensic Science
- For-Profit Private Prisons and the Criminal Justice–Indust...
- Fraud
- Gambling
- Gangs, Peers, and Co-offending
- Gender and Crime
- Gendered Crime Pathways
- General Opportunity Victimization Theories
- Genetics, Environment, and Crime
- Green Criminology
- Halfway Houses
- Harm Reduction and Risky Behaviors
- Hate Crime
- Hate Crime Legislation
- Healthcare Fraud
- Hirschi, Travis
- History of Crime in the United Kingdom
- History of Criminology
- Homelessness and Crime
- Homicide
- Homicide Victimization
- Honor Cultures and Violence
- Hot Spots Policing
- Human Rights
- Human Trafficking
- Identity Theft
- Immigration, Crime, and Justice
- Incarceration, Mass
- Incarceration, Public Health Effects of
- Income Tax Evasion
- Indigenous Criminology
- Institutional Anomie Theory
- Integrated Theory
- Intermediate Sanctions
- Interpersonal Violence, Historical Patterns of
- Interrogation
- Intimate Partner Violence, Criminological Perspectives on
- Intimate Partner Violence, Police Responses to
- Investigation, Criminal
- Juvenile Delinquency
- Juvenile Justice System, The
- Juvenile Waivers
- Kidnapping
- Kornhauser, Ruth Rosner
- Labeling Theory
- Labor Markets and Crime
- Land Use and Crime
- Lead and Crime
- Legitimacy
- LGBTQ Intimate Partner Violence
- LGBTQ People in Prison
- Life Without Parole Sentencing
- Local Institutions and Neighborhood Crime
- Lombroso, Cesare
- Longitudinal Research in Criminology
- Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
- Mapping and Spatial Analysis of Crime, The
- Mass Media, Crime, and Justice
- Measuring Crime
- Mediation and Dispute Resolution Programs
- Mental Health and Crime
- Merton, Robert K.
- Meta-analysis in Criminology
- Middle-Class Crime and Criminality
- Migrant Detention and Incarceration
- Mixed Methods Research in Criminology
- Money Laundering
- Motor Vehicle Theft
- Multi-Level Marketing Scams
- Murder, Serial
- Narrative Criminology
- National Deviancy Symposia, The
- Nature Versus Nurture
- Neighborhood Disorder
- Neutralization Theory
- New Penology, The
- Offender Decision-Making and Motivation
- Offense Specialization/Expertise
- Organized Crime
- Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs
- Panel Methods in Criminology
- Peacemaking Criminology
- Peer Networks and Delinquency
- Perceptions of Youth, Juvenile Justice Professionals'
- Performance Measurement and Accountability Systems
- Personality and Trait Theories of Crime
- Persons with a Mental Illness, Police Encounters with
- Phenomenological Theories of Crime
- Plea Bargaining
- Poaching
- Police Administration
- Police Cooperation, International
- Police Discretion
- Police Effectiveness
- Police History
- Police Militarization
- Police Misconduct
- Police, Race and the
- Police Use of Force
- Police, Violence against the
- Policing and Law Enforcement
- Policing, Body-Worn Cameras and
- Policing, Broken Windows
- Policing, Community and Problem-Oriented
- Policing Cybercrime
- Policing, Evidence-Based
- Policing, Intelligence-Led
- Policing, Privatization of
- Policing, Proactive
- Policing, School
- Policing, Stop-and-Frisk
- Policing, Third Party
- Polyvictimization
- Positivist Criminology
- Pretrial Detention, Alternatives to
- Pretrial Diversion
- Prison Administration
- Prison Classification
- Prison, Disciplinary Segregation in
- Prison Education Exchange Programs
- Prison Gangs and Subculture
- Prison History
- Prison Labor
- Prison Visitation
- Prisoner Reentry
- Prisons and Jails
- Prisons, HIV in
- Private Security
- Probation Revocation
- Procedural Justice
- Property Crime
- Prosecution and Courts
- Prostitution
- Psychiatry, Psychology, and Crime: Historical and Current ...
- Psychology and Crime
- Public Criminology
- Public Opinion, Crime and Justice
- Public Order Crimes
- Public Social Control and Neighborhood Crime
- Punishment Justification and Goals
- Qualitative Methods in Criminology
- Queer Criminology
- Race and Sentencing Research Advancements
- Race, Ethnicity, Crime, and Justice
- Racial Threat Hypothesis
- Racial Profiling
- Rape and Sexual Assault
- Rape, Fear of
- Rational Choice Theories
- Rehabilitation
- Religion and Crime
- Restorative Justice
- Risk Assessment
- Routine Activity Theories
- School Bullying
- School Crime and Violence
- School Safety, Security, and Discipline
- Search Warrants
- Seasonality and Crime
- Self-Control, The General Theory:
- Self-Report Crime Surveys
- Sentencing Enhancements
- Sentencing, Evidence-Based
- Sentencing Guidelines
- Sentencing Policy
- Sex Crimes
- Sex Offender Policies and Legislation
- Sex Trafficking
- Sexual Revictimization
- Situational Action Theory
- Snitching and Use of Criminal Informants
- Social and Intellectual Context of Criminology, The
- Social Construction of Crime, The
- Social Control of Tobacco Use
- Social Control Theory
- Social Disorganization
- Social Ecology of Crime
- Social Learning Theory
- Social Networks
- Social Threat and Social Control
- Solitary Confinement
- South Africa, Crime and Justice in
- Sport Mega-Events Security
- Stalking and Harassment
- State Crime
- State Dependence and Population Heterogeneity in Theories ...
- Strain Theories
- Street Code
- Street Robbery
- Substance Use and Abuse
- Surveillance, Public and Private
- Sutherland, Edwin H.
- Technology and the Criminal Justice System
- Technology, Criminal Use of
- Terrorism
- Terrorism and Hate Crime
- Terrorism, Criminological Explanations for
- Testimony, Eyewitness
- Therapeutic Jurisprudence
- Trajectory Methods in Criminology
- Transnational Crime
- Truth-In-Sentencing
- Urban Politics and Crime
- US War on Terrorism, Legal Perspectives on the
- Victim Impact Statements
- Victimization, Adolescent
- Victimization, Biosocial Theories of
- Victimization Patterns and Trends
- Victimization, Repeat
- Victimization, Vicarious and Related Forms of Secondary Tr...
- Victimless Crime
- Victim-Offender Overlap, The
- Violence Against Women
- Violence, Youth
- Violent Crime
- White-Collar Crime
- White-Collar Crime, The Global Financial Crisis and
- White-Collar Crime, Women and
- Wilson, James Q.
- Wolfgang, Marvin
- Women, Girls, and Reentry
- Wrongful Conviction