Prisons, recidivism and the age-crime profile

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the economic and non-economic channels that led to a U-shaped trend in the average age of male convicts in 19th century London using detailed data from the Old Bailey central criminal court. In addition to discussing industrialization and changing attitudes towards juveniles as potential mechanisms underlying the initial decrease and subsequent increase in criminal age, we put forth a new explanation of the latter. Did the abolition of capital punishment and penal transportation, which led to the rise of the modern day prison system and the emergence of recidivism, lead to a mechanical increase in the average age of criminals?