Contagious Criminal Career Models Showing Backward Bifurcations: Implications for Crime Control Policies

Figure 4

Breaking point and forward bifurcation diagrams for proportion of reoffenders () for model (1), where is chosen as a bifurcation parameter ( fixed with increasing). The higher solution corresponds to the stable equilibrium (solid curve); the smaller solution corresponds to the unstable equilibrium (dashed curve). The phenomenon of the breaking point for (a) , , and ; (b) , , and ; and (c) , , and ; forward bifurcation for , , and . For and , such that system (1) has a unique positive high-criminality equilibrium . Parameters’ values used are as given in Table 3.