Why the Term "First Offender" Is Often Wrong

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In my experience, I have found that the term “first offender” is generally a misnomer. When asked to evaluate a person who is so designated, I often discover that the person is anything but. The alleged perpetrator has finally been apprehended, but he has engaged in criminal conduct before the immediate crime at issue. In most instances, he has not only committed a similar crime, but other types of offenses as well.

Of course, there is a first time for everything. Ralph’s* mother realized that her 4-year-old was unusually quiet as he rode in his car seat. At a traffic light, she turned around and saw him engrossed by a toy that she had not purchased during their stop at a variety store. Asking him a quick question or two, she learned that he had picked it up as they were leaving.

After briefly admonishing him, she reversed course and marched Ralph with the newly acquired toy into the store. Searching out the manager, she directed her son to hand him the toy and apologize for what he had done. The manager thanked the mother and explained to Ralph that people must pay for items from the store.

She never experienced a similar problem with Ralph again. His single theft did not morph into a pattern. Ralph’s picking up that toy constituted a true “first offense” that was not a prelude to a life of crime.

Ralph is very different from 21-year-old Norah, who was nabbed by a security guard as she emerged from a department store with one shopping bag containing proof of payment for one item. Security cameras had recorded her pilfering jewelry and stuffing other items into her purse. She claimed to have no memory of trying to conceal the merchandise and explained that she was just having a very bad day after a stormy breakup with her boyfriend.

With the value of the stolen merchandise exceeding $1,500, she was charged with grand larceny. Her attorney referred her to me for a psychological evaluation. Norah blamed the demise of her romantic relationship entirely on her boyfriend who, as it turned out, discovered that she had been dating another man.

Norah blamed others for most of her problems. I asked Nora to consider what else a film of her life would show with respect to dishonesty in relationships and with regard to illegal activities for which she had not been caught. I told her I did not want her to provide names, dates, or specific details (so that she would understand that I was not working as a crime solver for law enforcement). My interest was only in the type of behavior that would have spelled trouble if others knew about it.

Norah launched into a discussion of how distraught her mother was by her truancy, staying out late, lying about money, and using her credit card without permission. Norah acknowledged that she began stealing long before difficulties with her most recent boyfriend. She went through a period of hanging out with girls who wandered into stores, diverted the attention of the merchants, and made off with various items. With respect to the present offense, she had shopped many times in that particular store, cased it out, and figured that stealing would be easy.

My questions about what a hypothetical film of a defendant’s life might reveal not only elicited offenses similar to the one at issue but also resulted in the disclosure of different types of criminal conduct.

Frank, age 31, was drinking with a 15-year-old girl who he thought was at least 18. He told me, “Before I knew it, I did what I did,” and that was to digitally penetrate her, or, as he put it, “I stuck my hand inside her.” When the girl became upset, Frank at first refused to stop, then offered to drop her at a hospital: “She said to take her home. The next day, the cops got me.” Frank was prosecuted for sexual assault of a minor, but because he seemed suicidal, he was committed to a hybrid corrections/treatment facility. Due to the nature of his offense, he was placed in a sex offender treatment program.

I spoke with Frank about what a 31-year film of his life would show in terms other types of crimes. Not only did he disclose additional sexual offenses, such as exhibitionism, but he also acknowledged committing other types of crimes that started early in adolescence: physical assaults, stealing cars, slashing tires, using cocaine and other drugs, breaking and entering, and detonating explosive devices.

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Providing Frank with sex offender treatment was similar to repairing a broken windshield wiper for a car that needed a new engine. My approach to Frank and others like him is to say that there must be more to the story in terms of offending behavior. The reaction I usually receive is that the person expresses surprise, if not astonishment, that I seem to know him so well. It is part of an overall approach in which, rather than ask a bunch of open-ended questions, I am making statements based on experience. This often helps overcome denial and obfuscation.

Usually, the immediate crime at issue is by no means a “first offense.” Rather, it is the first time the person has been caught.

*Fictional first names have been provided to protect confidentiality.