There is known to be considerable overlap among the victims and perpetrators of crime. However, the extent of this overlap early in life among children and young adolescents is not clear. We examined the sociodemographic profiles of young people who had early contact with police regarding a criminal incident as a person of interest, victim and/or witness, as well as the patterns of multiple police contact types from birth to 13 years of age. Data were drawn from a longitudinal, population-based sample of 91,631 young people from New South Wales, Australia. Among the 10.6% (n = 9677) of young people who had contact with police, 14.4% (n = 1393) had contact as a person of interest and as a victim and/or witness on two or more separate occasions. The most common first contact type was as a victim/witness, but those children with a first contact as a person of interest were most likely to have at least one further contact. Young people with both types of police contact were younger at first police contact, were more likely to reside in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area, and to be recorded as having an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background. Our findings demonstrate that, by 13 years of age, 1 in 10 young people had been in early contact with police and that a minority have contact with the police as both a person of interest and a victim/witness. These young people may represent a particularly disadvantaged group in the community who are likely to be at risk of future adversity, including repeated contact with the criminal justice system.

众所周知，犯罪的受害者和肇事者之间存在相当大的重叠。然而，儿童和青少年在生命早期的这种重叠程度尚不清楚。我们检查了在犯罪事件中作为感兴趣的人、受害者和/或证人早期与警察接触的年轻人的社会人口统计资料，以及从出生到 13 岁的多种警察接触类型的模式。数据来自澳大利亚新南威尔士州 91,631 名年轻人的纵向、基于人口的样本。在与警察有过接触的 10.6% (n = 9677) 年轻人中，14.4% (n = 1393) 在两个或多个不同的场合作为感兴趣的人和受害者和/或证人有过接触。最常见的第一次接触类型是作为受害者/证人，但那些作为感兴趣的人第一次接触的孩子最有可能至少有一次进一步的接触。与这两种警察接触的年轻人在第一次接触警察时更年轻，更有可能居住在社会经济弱势地区，并被记录为具有土著和/或托雷斯海峡岛民背景。我们的调查结果表明，到 13 岁时，十分之一的年轻人曾与警察有过早期接触，并且少数人既作为感兴趣的人又作为受害者/证人与警察接触。这些年轻人可能代表了社区中一个特别弱势的群体，他们很可能面临未来逆境的风险，包括反复接触刑事司法系统。与这两种警察接触的年轻人在第一次接触警察时更年轻，更有可能居住在社会经济弱势地区，并被记录为具有土著和/或托雷斯海峡岛民背景。我们的调查结果表明，到 13 岁时，十分之一的年轻人曾与警察有过早期接触，并且少数人既作为感兴趣的人又作为受害者/证人与警察接触。这些年轻人可能代表了社区中一个特别弱势的群体，他们很可能面临未来逆境的风险，包括反复接触刑事司法系统。与这两种警察接触的年轻人在第一次接触警察时更年轻，更有可能居住在社会经济弱势地区，并被记录为具有土著和/或托雷斯海峡岛民背景。我们的调查结果表明，到 13 岁时，十分之一的年轻人曾与警察有过早期接触，并且少数人既作为感兴趣的人又作为受害者/证人与警察接触。这些年轻人可能代表了社区中一个特别弱势的群体，他们很可能面临未来逆境的风险，包括反复接触刑事司法系统。并被记录为具有土著和/或托雷斯海峡岛民背景。我们的调查结果表明，到 13 岁时，十分之一的年轻人曾与警察有过早期接触，并且少数人既作为感兴趣的人又作为受害者/证人与警察接触。这些年轻人可能代表了社区中一个特别弱势的群体，他们很可能面临未来逆境的风险，包括反复接触刑事司法系统。并被记录为具有土著和/或托雷斯海峡岛民背景。我们的调查结果表明，到 13 岁时，十分之一的年轻人曾与警察有过早期接触，并且少数人既作为感兴趣的人又作为受害者/证人与警察接触。这些年轻人可能代表了社区中一个特别弱势的群体，他们很可能面临未来逆境的风险，包括反复接触刑事司法系统。