From prison peers to co-offenders

Julian Vedeler Johnsen and Laura Khoury
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Julian Vedeler Johnsen: UiB - University of Bergen

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Abstract: This paper provides direct evidence that shared incarceration can facilitate the formation of post-release criminal partnerships. Using Norwegian administrative data linking prison spells to police case identifiers, we measure network ties through subsequent co-offending. We exploit time-based variation in exposure within facilities by comparing inmate pairs in the same facility who differ only in whether their spells overlapped. Overlap is associated with a 37% increase in five-year co-offending relative to comparable non-overlapping pairs, robust to extensive controls and timing-based restrictions. Effects are stronger in environments and for pairs where interaction is plausibly more intense, highlighting network formation as a plausible mechanism.

Keywords: Criminal networks; Criminal experience; Co-offending; Recidivism; Criminal behavior; Incarceration; Prison inmates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05726614v1
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Published in Journal of Public Economics, 2026, 262, pp.105756. ⟨10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105756⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05726614

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105756

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