Terrorist Age-Crime Curve: An Analysis of American Islamist Terrorist Offenders and Age-Specific Propensity for Participation in Violent and Nonviolent Incidents

• NCJ Number: 250058
• Journal: Social Science Quarterly Volume: 97 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2016 Pages: 19-32
• Author(s): J. Klausen; T. Morrill; R. Libretti
• Date Published: March 2016
• Length: 14 pages
• DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12249
• Grant Number(s): 2013-ZA-BX-0005
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: Prisoner Recollections: The Role of Internet Use and Real-Life Networks in the Early Radicalization of Islamist Terrorist Offenders

Annotation

This study examined the age-crime relationship among terrorist offenders, using a data set of over 600 American terrorism offenders inspired by one of three Islamist groups: Hamas, Hezbollah, or Al Qaeda.

Abstract

The study found that the pattern of violent Islamist crime in the United States departs from the standard age-crime curve in significant ways. Violent action among terrorist offenders peaks at a later age and occurs across a broader age range than is the case for ordinary violent crimes. (Publisher abstract modified)