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The comparative examination of different groups of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) is currently limited. To expand our understanding of Chinese sexual homicides, this study aimed to distinguish between the modus operandi (MO) characteristics of repeat (i.e., with previous arrest and/or conviction) and nonrepeat (i.e., without previous arrest and/or conviction) offenders. Data were gathered from police arrest records, court documents, and published case reports in mainland China, covering a 31‐year period (1988–2018). A sample of 86 male SHOs (31 repeat and 55 nonrepeat offenders) was identified and the offenders' MO characteristics were examined. Compared with nonrepeat offenders, repeat offenders were significantly more likely to commit sexual murder in outdoor locations, approach their victims initially using a non‐surprise approach, engage in nonvaginal penetration of their victims, use a personal weapon to kill their victims, and move their victims' bodies away from the crime scene. However, repeat offenders were less likely to be arrested immediately after committing the murder. The findings have practical implications for police investigative strategies, such as suspect prioritization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of psychopathy in Asian samples has not been well reported. This study tests the ability of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) to predict sexual recidivists compared to nonsexual recidivists. A total of 451 Korean male high-risk offenders were assessed by the PCL-R in 2005, and 445 offenders recidivated by 2016. Factor 1 (interpersonal-affective) and facet 2 (affective) showed the highest effect size of 0.53 in a comparison between sexual recidivists (n = 201) and nonsexual recidivists (n = 244). We further tested four facets for different forms of recidivism using one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Sexual recidivists scored significantly higher in facet 2 than misdemeanors (n = 59, d = 0.79), robbers (n = 31, d = 0.58), burglars (n = 33, d = 0.57), and murderers (n = 65, d = 0.54). The highest effect sizes were found in facet 2 (d = 0.79) to separate sex offenders from misdemeanors, followed by Factor 1 (d = 0.75) and facet 1 (d = 0.73) to separate sex offenders from burglars. Finally, hierarchical binary logistic regression revealed that only facet 2 (27.3%) predicted sexual recidivism, indicating the importance of personality traits over behavioral traits in predicting sexual violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early twentieth century, European criminal justice systems started to discuss new security measures for dealing with persistent habitual criminals and mentally disordered offenders. New preventive institutions were established in the Nordics in the shift of the 1920–1930s. Indeterminate confinement came to cover both persistent property offenders, and repeat serious violent and sexual offenders. The success of these measures and the effectiveness of institutional treatment more generally, came to be questioned in the Nordic countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Disappointment about treatment effectiveness, combined with increased stress on legal safeguards, predictability and proportionality in the administration of criminal justice, undermined professional support for indeterminate sanctions and compulsory care. The use of preventive detention was either restricted, as in Denmark and Norway, or abolished altogether, as in Finland and Sweden. However, there were other arrangements in the latter countries, which partly served the same purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dearth of official, accurate reoffending data and empirical insight into the factors associated with recidivism in South Africa, including the overrepresentation of violent and sexual offending in the recidivism literature can be argued to negatively impact the development of effective interventions and associated policies. The current study therefore explored the differences between recidivists (N = 202) from different offending categories with respect to cognitive-behavioral, victimogenic, social, environmental, substance use and employment variables. The findings indicated a significant comparative difference in deviant decision-making patterns by sexual offenders, justification of offending behavior by narcotic offenders and involvement in gangsterism and substance use by aggressive offenders. Economic offenses were also significantly more frequently committed by the participants. The study provides new insight into the socio-psychological understanding of recidivism and recommends that future research be sensitive to the local context but is also aware of the changing nature of African ideologies globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study provides further insight into the experiences of five men who have committed sexual offences, with intellectual disabilities and have been recalled back to prison. The purpose of this paper is to increase professional knowledge to assist with improving working practices that support the reintegration of individuals convicted of sexual offences and with intellectual disabilities, back into the community. Design/methodology/approach: Interview data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, to identify the key issues associated with criminal justice services. Findings: The following superordinate themes were identified: "The label that sticks" and "Probation officer dependency". Research limitations/implications: The key implications of the findings were the high level of dependency individuals had on their probation officers and the impact that this relationship had on the overall experience of recall. The stigma of the label "sex offender" was also found to have a profound impact on individuals' feelings of safety and their future progression. Originality/value: Research exploring the experiences of individuals convicted for sexual offences and with intellectual disabilities, being recalled back to prison, is limited. Future recommendations of how practice could be improved to better support responsivity needs of this group and to create a more positive self-identity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the discrimination and calibration properties of Violence Risk Scale–Sexual Offense version (VRS-SO) risk and change scores for sexual and violent recidivism as a function of age at release, on a combined sample of 1,287 men who had attended sexual offense-specific treatment services. The key aim was to examine to what extent VRS-SO scores can accurately discriminate recidivists from nonrecidivists among older cohorts, and if the existing age-related adjustments in the instrument adequately correct for increasing age. VRS-SO risk and change scores showed consistent properties of discrimination for sexual recidivism across the age cohorts, via area under the curve and Cox regression survival analysis, as demonstrated through fixed effects meta-analysis. Calibration analyses, employing logistic regression, demonstrated that age at release was consistently incrementally predictive of violent, but not sexual, recidivism after controlling for individual differences on static and dynamic risk factors. E/O index analyses demonstrated that predicted rates of sexual recidivism from VRS-SO scores, particularly when employed with Static-99R, were not significantly different from those observed among age cohorts; however, calibration was weaker for general violence. Implications for use of the VRS-SO in sexual recidivism risk assessment with older offenders are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. The purpose of the study was to examine if cognitive distortions of various content presented by sexual offenders against children are related with sexual recidivism risk and actual recidivism. To extend the reliability of the interpretation of its results, differences in the number of cognitive distortions exhibited by sexual offenders against children and controls and relation between cognitive distortions measured explicitly and implicitly are also examined. Method. 64 sexual offenders against children, 46 sexual offenders against adults, 74 nonsexual violent offenders, and 68 non-offending males participated in the study. Explicit and implicit cognitive distortions were measured by two newly created instruments. Sexual recidivism risk were assessed using Static-99. Data on conviction and actual recidivism were drawn from penitentiary files. Results. Implicit and explicit cognitive distortions were mostly unrelated. offenders showed more cognitive distortions than non-offending males. Cognitive distortions were not associated with static sexual recidivism risk. In explicit measurement sexual recidivists showed more cognitive distortions of all types with sexual content than non-recidivists. Conclusion. Results of the study suggests that cognitive distortions with sexual content are criminogenic need. Thus, tackling them in treatment shall be contemplated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex-offenders are at risk of criminal recidivism. For the treatment to be truly effective, it must be individualized. For this purpose, an accurate assessment should focus on criminological, psychological, and psychopathological features. The present study compared sex offenders with other offenders on historical experiences (i.e., problems with violence, anti-social behaviors, problems with personal relationships, problems with substance use, traumatic experiences, and parenting style). In addition, given the association between life events and psychopathy, we explored whether the relation between life events and crime type (sexual crime vs. other types of crime) might be moderated by psychopathy traits (interpersonal and affective deficits and antisocial behavior). Eighty-eight sex offenders (76% of whom child molesters) and 102 other offenders were included. The Historical, Clinical and Risk Management - 20 item Version 3 (HCR-20V3) and Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) were administered. The scores of the HCR-20V3 Historical scale items were computed to assess life events. The scores of the PCL-R factors, F1 Interpersonal affective deficits and F2 Antisocial behavior, were recorded. The presence of a history of problems with non-intimate relationships was the only significant risk factor for sexual crime compared with other crimes. Interpersonal and affective deficits provided an increased likelihood of being sex offenders as compared with other offenders when problems with non-intimate relationships were possibly/partially or certainly present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited information regarding the use of risk assessment tools with aging offender populations. It is known that the likelihood of offending behaviour decreases with age, a small group of men either continue or begin to offend sexually in the later decades of life. The current study investigated the predictive validity of the Static-99 and the Static-99R, in a sample of convicted Australian sex offenders aged 50 and older. A sample of 118 participants was identified, of which 17 (14.4%) re-offended within a follow-up period ranging from four months to 20 years (M = 9.07 years). There were seven recidivists (13.46%) above the age of 60 years (n = 52) and 10 aged 40 to 59.9 years (n = 66). Both the Static-99 and Static-99R demonstrated moderate predictive validity with both age groups. The limitations of this study are discussed as well as recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'The Static-99R is one of the most commonly used risk assessment instruments for individuals convicted of sexual offenses. It has been validated for use on many populations, but few studies specifically target and describe individuals with mental disorders. Additionally, research on the discriminative properties (how well the instrument separates recidivists from non-recidivists) of the instrument over longer follow-up periods is scarce. This article evaluated the validity of the Static-99R using a cohort of individuals with mental disorders convicted of sexual offenses in Sweden (N = 146) with fixed 5-year (n = 100), 10-year (n = 91), 15-year (n = 79), and 20-year (n = 36) follow-up periods. A Static-99R cut score of 6 demonstrated the highest Youden index, maximizing sensitivity (72.7%) and specificity (74.2%), with 25.8% of recidivists correctly assumed to reoffend sexually and 95.7% of non-recidivists correctly assumed not to. The Static-99R instrument demonstrated adequate discrimination (AUC = 0.79, CI 95% = 0.70–0.87, and OR = 1.45, CI 95% = 1.14–1.84, p < 0.001, 5-year fixed follow-up), with only marginal differences for 10-, 15-, and 20-year fixed follow-up (AUC = 0.73, 0.74, and 0.74 and OR = 1.31, 1.36, and 1.40, respectively). Calibration (quantifying risk and correspondence with the instrument's norms) was acceptable (Brier = 0.088, P/E = 0.70, E/O = 1.43), with the routine sample norms displaying a decisively better fit to the study cohort compared to the high-risk/high-need sample norms. The results affirm the recommendation that, when in doubt and where there is no recent local norm group large enough available, the Static-99R routine sample found in the evaluators' workbook should be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have indicated that most crimes occur close to an offender's home. However, recent studies demonstrated that substantial Journey-to-crime Distance (JtcD) variation was observed at the inter-offender level. This study aimed to examine whether the relationship between a central point calculated from a distribution of crime sites (Center of Minimum Distance: CMD) and each crime site and the crime scene characteristics (students vs. other victims and indoor vs. outdoor settings) could explain the variation in JtcD at the inter- and intra-offender level. The data comprised 222 serial sexual offenders who committed seven or more offenses from 2003 to 2015 in Japan. The analyses of generalized linear mixed modeling showed that the CMD model constructed from the relationship between CMD and each crime site accounted for 47.9% of intra-of-fender variance in JtcD compared to the random intercept model. Additionally, when crime scene characteristics are included in the CMD model, the model accounted for 35.6% inter-offender variance in JtcD compared to the random intercept model. These findings indicated that the substantial variation in JtcD was explained by the relationship between CMD and each crime site and the crime scene characteristics, but the extent of this influence varied between offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex offenders commonly exhibit some degree of denial of their offending. Past research has shown that denial conflicts with treatment completion, but does not necessarily increase sexual reoffending risk. This study explores whether the impact of denial upon the treatment of sex offenders is unequivocal or influenced by other factors, such as criminal career variables and dynamic risk. Thirty-five convicted male sex offenders in Italy were assessed for criminal career characteristics (e.g., heterogeneous versus specialized offending), for the nature of denial, and for dynamic risk factors. Interventions for sex offenders may be more effective if they are designed to differentiate between heterogeneous offenders who are difficult to engage in treatment, and specialized sex offenders who are more likely to engage in and complete treatment, regardless of their level of denial. Heterogeneous and specialized sex offenders pose different risks and these differences need to be taken into account in treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Most sexual assaults that are reported to the criminal justice system will not be prosecuted. Researchers and policymakers have expressed concern that this long-standing practice allows offenders to commit additional sexual assaults. Determining whether reported sex offenders commit other sexual assaults requires establishing reliable linkages between two (or more) cases. Typically, criminal history records are used to identify repeat sexual offenders, but biological evidence in sexual assault kits (SAKs; also termed rape kits) provides an another way to study how often reported sexual offenders commit additional sexual assaults by linking DNA across multiple cases to the same perpetrator. Method: This study examined the forensic DNA testing results from a large sample of SAKs from Detroit, Michigan (N = 7,287). We assessed how many SAKs yielded a DNA match to a reference sample in the federal criminal database CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). We then ascertained whether the matching case was related to another sexual assault incident documented by state criminal history records. Results: Approximately one third (35.7%) of the unique perpetrators in this sample had two or more sexual assaults linked via DNA, which is higher than what is typically documented in recidivism studies using court records (8–15%). Three case studies are presented that highlight how forensic DNA evidence can link multiple sexual assaults to the same perpetrator. Conclusion: Forensic DNA testing of SAKs reveals a more complete picture of the scope of offenders' sexual perpetration behaviors than what is documented in criminal history records alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cross-sectional and retrospective offence data are often used to classify sex offenders in epidemiological and survey research, but little empirical evidence exists regarding the practical implications of this for applied research. This study describes the classification of sex offenders from a cohort of prisoners recruited as part of an Australian inmate health survey and the implications for reporting results.Methods: Data-linkage was used to join the New South Wales (NSW) Inmate Health Surveys to the states re-offending database to identify men with histories of sexual offending. Sex offenders were classified into men who sexually offended against children only (ChildSOs), against adults only (AdultSOs), and men who sexually offended against both children and adults (Age-PolySOs).Results: Using historical offending data rather than the current offence information only, an additional 35.4% of men with histories of sexual offences were identified. Differences were found between the three sex offender subgroups in terms of demographic characteristics, health, and criminal careers. Age-PolySOs reported higher educational attainment, were less likely to report being self-employed, single marital status, and having children. Half the ChildSOs self-reported a mental health issue and half of the ChildSOs and Age-PolySOs reported four or more chronic health conditions. Age-PolySOs were older than the other sex offender groups when committing their first non-sexual, non-violent crime (M = 43.2 years, SD = 13.8); violent crime (M = 39.5 years, SD = 11.1); and sexual crime (M = 47.8 years, SD = 11.2). Age-PolySOs also committed more sexual offences (M = 5.91, SD = 11.2) compared to those who only offended against one victim age group.Conclusion: These findings suggested that historical offending records should be used to more accurately identify sex offender subgroups and that differences in demographic, health, and criminal careers exist for the different sex offender subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the validity of the Static-99 and Static-99R in assessing sexual recidivism in Switzerland, based on a sample of 142 male sex offenders. Both tools showed predictive validity, but the Static-99R had better discrimination (OR = 1.82, AUC = .81) and calibration (Brier = .078, P/E = 0.96) than the Static-99. A cut score of four on the Static-99R maximized sensitivity (92.9%) and specificity (60.2%). However, although most offenders (98.7%) with a score < 4 did not commit sexual offenses in the 5-year follow-up period, only one in five (20.3%) offenders with a score ≥ 4 actually recidivated. Furthermore, the predicted number of recidivists in the well above average risk category (Static-99R ≥ 6) was 24% higher than expected in routine samples. The results suggest that the Static-99R may be a useful screening tool to identify low-risk individuals but offenders with scores ≥ 4 should be subjected to a more thorough assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental victimology theory suggests that developmental features of risk and impact stemming from various types of victimization depend on the age of the child or adolescent. A next step is studying the developmental victimization trajectories of individuals involved in sexual crimes by focusing on traumatic events occurring during childhood and adolescence respectively. Building on the developmental victimology perspective, the study's specific aims encompass two key objectives: 1) exploring the diverse trajectories of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) within a sample of individuals involved in sexual crimes, and 2) assessing whether these ACEs trajectories influence the emergence of distinct high-risk behaviors. 252 individuals convicted of sexual crimes were selected from a federal penitentiary in Quebec, Canada. Semi-structured interviews with a computerized questionnaire produced data on numerous aspects of the participant's life history, criminal career, and victimization experiences that were analyzed via latent class modeling. Four classes (no ACEs trajectory, poly exposure and victimization trajectory, childhood exposure trajectory, and poly victimization trajectory) were identified. Consistent with hypotheses, developmental ACEs trajectories are heterogeneous and associated with the criminal careers, adolescent problematic behaviors, substance use disorders, and violence history among individuals involved in sexual offending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine recidivism in a cohort of 471 registered, adult female sexual offenders for an average follow-up of 18.83 years. About half (52%) of the female sexual offenders were re-arrested for a subsequent offense during the follow-up period. Nine percent were re-arrested for a violent offense, and 7 % were re-arrested for a sexual offense. Recidivists for any offense, compared to non-recidivists, were younger, had more extensive criminal histories, and were more likely to have a sexual assault as an index offense. Recidivists for violent (non-sexual) offenses, compared to non-recidivists, were younger, had more extensive criminal histories, and were more likely to have a male victim for an index offense. Recidivists for sexual offenses, compared to non-recidivists, had more prior arrests for any offense, more prior arrests for alcohol/drug offenses, and were more likely to have an acquaintance victim for an index offense. These results are compared to prior studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of U.S. law enforcement agencies have disclosed that they have large numbers of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs; also called “rape kits”) in police property storage. Whether previously untested SAKs should be tested for DNA evidence has been the subject of considerable public debate. To inform policy and practice regarding rape kit testing, the current study tested a sample of 900 previously unsubmitted SAKs from Detroit, Michigan, and documented the DNA forensic testing outcomes associated with those kits. We assessed how many SAKs yielded DNA profiles eligible for upload into CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), the federal DNA criminal database; how many resulted in a DNA match (termed a “CODIS hit”); and how many of those hits were associated to other sexual assault crimes (i.e., serial sexual assault hits). Overall, there were 259 CODIS hits, 69 of which had DNA matches to another sexual assault case. The potential utility of a DNA profile and CODIS hit may vary depending on whether offender was known or unknown to the victim, so we examined these outcomes separately for SAKs associated with stranger- and non-stranger-perpetrated sexual assaults. We also present six case study examples of how DNA testing and CODIS hits helped identify serial sexual assaults in both stranger and non-stranger sexual assault cases. Implications for rape kit testing policies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to explore the factors associated with a lethal outcome in cases of intimate partner violence. We used four hypotheses – offender characteristics, victim vulnerabilities, environmental context, and crime escalation – to theoretically frame this study. The sample used in this study consists of 1485 cases of attempted or completed intimate partner homicide that occurred in the province of Quebec, Canada. Bivariate analysis as well as sequential binary regressions and conjunctive analysis of case configurations were computed. Findings showed that all four of these hypotheses were valid in explaining the lethal outcome of IPV, and they interacted with each other in complex ways. Results also revealed that the overall theoretical pattern held true, but there were some specific differences. From a theoretical standpoint, this study offers an initial empirical examination of the role and interplay of different theoretical approaches in explaining cases of completed intimate partner homicide. • offender characteristics, victim vulnerabilities, environmental context, and crime escalation hypotheses are valid for IPH • Men were significantly more likely to use a firearm. • women were more likely to use physical violence to assault a same-sex or vulnerable partner. • Individuals who are less likely to have a criminal career exhibit a lower propensity to use physical violence during IPH. • Same-sex couples or ex-couples were more likely to be involved in IPH regardless of the offender's sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a dynamic measure of sexual offence risk, the STABLE-2007 is designed to assess for recidivism risk as well as track change in risk across specific domains. To date, limited studies suggest adequate construct validity and promising predictive validity with general and specific failure outcomes. The current study explored the predictive validity of the STABLE-2007 with 245 male sex offenders. Offender risk details revealed generally low static risk for general offending and largely medium-low risk for static sexual offence risk, with most scoring in the moderate and high STABLE-2007 categories. Nearly half (44.5%) committed a new offence with a greater proportion of recidivists scoring within the high STABLE-2007 score band -- suggesting the measure is sensitive to general offending. However, the Sexual self-regulation dimension of the STABLE-2007 was found to have no significant relationship with any failure, with risk variables more strongly correlated with an all-inclusive category (i.e., 'any offence') than with specific failure outcomes (sexual or violent offending). Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) analyses revealed greater predictive accuracy (Area Under the Curve (AUC) = 0.78) for reimprisonment than the other study measures which were static in nature. Survival curve analyses indicated that the STABLE-2007 discriminates higher and lower rated offenders over time, but not those with mid-range scores. Furthermore, discriminant function analysis of recidivism revealed that age (when released) and STABLE-2007 total scores had a significant ability to predict group membership based on failure/non-failure. Similarly, STABLE-2007 total scores and the RoC*RoI were able to predict failure group membership with regard to reimprisonment. Although the utility of the STABLE- 2007 shows some promise with regard to risk prediction, the point of difference may present in its ability as a dynamic risk measure to (1) demonstrate incremental validity, and (2) inform an individual's risk picture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: It is assumed that juvenile sex offenders (JSO) are tomorrow's adult sex offenders (ASO) and ASO were previously JSO. The current study tests these two assumptions using prospective longitudinal data. Methods: Using data from the 1984 Dutch Birth Cohort study, the study examines the criminal career of JSO and the continuity of sex offending into early adulthood. Results: The study findings show much heterogeneity in the criminal careers of JSO suggesting several criminal career outcomes in adulthood. Put differently, the vast majority of JSO do not become ASO while adult sex offending does not require juvenile sex offending. Against the backdrop of this principle, the study found a small group of JSO recidivist at-risk of persisting into adulthood and a group of chronic juvenile offenders who are at-risk of escalating their offending to sex crimes in adulthood. Conclusions: For the most part, JSO and ASO are two distinct phenomenon. The vast majority of JSO desist from sex offending while the vast majority of ASO started sexually offending in adulthood. As the frequency of general nonsexual offending increases during adolescence, so is the risk of becoming ASO. This group of youth warrants closer scrutiny for prevention programs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite societal perception that sex offenders will repeat their crimes, research indicates these offenders are more likely to be generalists than sex offense–specific offenders. Sex offender–specific legislation has reinforced this erroneous perception while contributing to the excessive labeling of sex offenders as sexual recidivists. Additionally troubling is the lack of research on the efficacy of generalized risk/needs assessments for sex offenders. The present study fills this void by evaluating the adequacy of the Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R) for use with a sexual offending population. The predictive accuracy of the LSI-R for sexual and nonsexual recidivism outcomes was explored using a sample of 21,298 individuals released from New Jersey correctional facilities from 2004 to 2006. Results indicate that while the LSI-R does not have predictive utility for sexual offenses, it has utility for sex offenders overall. Policy implications of the usefulness of the LSI-R for this offending population are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Serial rapists have the propensity to cause harm to a significant number of victims, meaning that they are of concern to the police as well as to treatment providers. Despite the serious nature of their offending, there are surprisingly few studies that provide information regarding their characteristics, the types of victim they target, or the nature of the sexual offenses they commit, and those studies that do exist are varied in their findings. This study provides a descriptive analysis of serial rape in South Africa. One hundred and nineteen sexual offenses committed by 22 serial rapists were sampled. Information regarding the victims, the offenders, and the crimes they had committed were extracted from police files. The characteristics of victims and offenders are reported as well as the frequencies for 114 different crime scene behaviors. When compared with samples of serial sex offenders from other countries, differences emerged in victim characteristics and crime scene behaviors, including how the victims were targeted, the sexual behaviors engaged in, and the incidence of physical violence. The implications of these observed differences for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several risk assessment tools, including the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-Il (Prentky & Righthand, 2003), the Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (Worling & Curwen, 2001), the Juvenile Sexual Offense Recidivism Risk Assessment Tool-II (Epperson, Ralston, Fowers, DeWitt, & Gore, 2006), and the Static-99 (Hanson & Thornton, 1999), have been used to assess reoffense risk among adolescents who have committed sexual offenses. Given that research on these tools has yielded somewhat mixed results, we empirically synthesized 33 published and unpublished studies involving 6,196 male adolescents who had committed a sexual offense. We conducted two separate meta-analyses, first with correlations and then with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs). Total scores on each of the tools significantly predicted sexual reoffending, with aggregated correlations ranging from .12 to .20 and aggregated AUC scores ranging from .64 to .67. However, in many cases heterogeneity across studies was moderate to high. There were no significant differences between tools, and although the Static-99 was developed for adults, it achieved similar results as the adolescent tools. Results are compared to other meta-analyses of risk tools used in the area of violence risk assessment and in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the criminal careers of female sex offenders. A meta-analysis by Cortoni, Hanson and Coache revealed that about 1.5% of female sex offenders re-offend sexually. Even less is known about the extent to which female sex offenders' criminal careers contain sex offences as well as other offences, i.e. the extent of specialisation in sex offending. This study examines the criminal careers of all female sex offenders prosecuted by the criminal justice authorities in the Netherlands in the period 1994-2005. A latent class analysis shows that three subgroups of women can be distinguished: once-only offenders (who commit just one sex offence and no other offence), generalists (who combine sex offending with relatively many serious other, often violent, offences) and specialists (who commit relatively many sex offences next to some minor offences). Women in these three criminal career types differ in characteristics such as victimisation history, alcohol abuse and the sex of the victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although females represent a small proportion of the sex offender population, they occasionally appear before the courts under the current generation of laws intended to protect the public from high-risk sex offenders. In this context, practitioners are called upon to provide assessment of the risk these women pose for sexual re-offending. The primary issues addressed in this paper are related to the validity of conducting such risk assessments and providing professional opinions as to the risk of further sexual offences that may be committed by female offenders. The approach taken is to summarize briefly the available professional literature regarding female sex offenders, and then to present the findings of the relatively few empirical studies that address sexual recidivism in females. The final section examines the positions taken in the published works of various international experts regarding risk assessment with females, followed by conclusions and recommendations in light of the standards typically prescribed by community protection laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A useful understanding of the relationship between age, actuarial scores, and sexual recidivism can be obtained by comparing the entries in equivalent cells from “agestratified” actuarial tables. This article reports the compilation of the first multisample age-stratified table of sexual recidivism rates, referred to as the “multisample age-stratified table of sexual recidivism rates (MATS-1),” from recent research on Static-99 and another actuarial known as the Automated Sexual Recidivism Scale. The MATS-1 validates the “age invariance effect” that the risk of sexual recidivism declines with advancing age and shows that age-restricted tables underestimate risk for younger offenders and overestimate risk for older offenders. Based on data from more than 9,000 sex offenders, our conclusion is that evaluators should report recidivism estimates from age-stratified tables when they are assessing sexual recidivism risk, particularly when evaluating the aging sex offender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical castration refers to the use of medication to reduce male testosterone to pre-pubertal levels. Since the mid-20th century, reports have detailed this practice in attempts to control pathological sexual behaviour. In 2006, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal ruled it constitutional for the National Parole Board to require that recidivist sex offenders, if found to be long-term offenders, be chemically castrated under their conditions of release. This paper examines the chemical castration of recidivist sex offenders in Canada through a review of long-term offender hearings reported between 1997 and 2009. The practice is analyzed from ethical, medical and legal perspectives. It is concluded that chemical castration of sex offenders is ethically problematic, that evidence for its effectiveness in preventing recidivism is limited and of poor quality and that judges should avoid excessive reliance on chemical castration when deciding to grant conditional release to recidivist sex offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General public sentiment and anecdotal evidence suggests that sex offenders are highly recidivistic. Furthermore, these similar beliefs have influenced a series of recent policy and legislative changes targeting sex offenders. This study examined the impact of sex offender registration and notification (SORN) on sex offender recidivism among a cohort of Iowa prisoners released prior to SORN and a cohort of Iowa prisoners released post-SORN. Results from semiparametric group-based trajectory models demonstrated that both sex offender samples had similar trajectory groups, that is, one group of nonrecidivist sex offenders, another group of very low-rate sex recidivists, and a small high-rate group of sex recidivists. Study limitations and implications for sex offender registration and community notification systems are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex offender registries (SORs) are a societal response to serious and presumably dangerous criminal offenders. Existing research on registries has focused on demographic overviews of registrants, assessments of registrants' recidivism, accuracy and completeness of listed information, and collateral consequences for registrants. The present research assesses the perceptions of registrants regarding the value of SORs as a tool to enhance community awareness and promote public safety. In addition, this study examines offenders' perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of registry format and structure and suggestions for improvement. Results show that registrants see significant potential for registries but seriously question the efficacy and efficiency of how registries are currently constructed and used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing research base supports the predictive validity of actuarial methods of risk assessment with sexual offenders. These methods use clearly defined variables with demonstrated empirical association with re-offending. The advantages of actuarial measures for screening large numbers of offenders quickly and economically are further enhanced when the variables used can be extracted from existing electronic databases. This study reports the results of applying a computerized set of historical variables with a sample of 1,133 male sexual offenders released from prison by the New Zealand Department of Corrections. Area under the curve figures of 0.70–0.78 were obtained over periods of 5 to 15 years, reflecting a significant level of association with sexual recidivism. Detected rates of re-offending across risk levels were comparable to those previously reported for the Static-99. Rates of sexual re-offending by child molesters for all sexual offences and offences against child victims are reported separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A basic assumption underlying current public policy and crime-control efforts is that sex offenders are highly specialized and persistent. Using national data on about 10,000 sex offenders released from prison in 1994, this study explored this assumption by comparing the arrest patterns and cycles of sex offenders and other offenders. As a group and across various measures, sex offenders had low levels of specialization and persistence in offending in absolute and relative terms. Similar conclusions were reached when specific types of sex offenders (e.g., rapists, child molesters) were compared with other particular offenders (e.g., robbers, burglars, drug offenders), but the results were more measure dependent. Even among persistent serial sex offenders, rapists and child molesters were found to specialize only within a more predominant pattern of versatility across their criminal careers. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and current public policy that are predicated on assumed specialization and persistence among sex offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Criminal Sentiments Scale (CSS) purports to measure attitudes and values pertaining to and in support of criminal conduct (Andrews & Bonta, 2003). A sample of 72 sex offenders treated in a high intensity sex offender program completed the CSS pre- and post-treatment and was followed up for approximately 3 years. The CSS demonstrated high internal consistency. Correlational and ROC analyses indicated that the CSS is a robust predictor of non-sexual violent and non-violent recidivism. The CSS also correlated significantly with the General Statistical Information on Recidivism Scale which assesses non-sexual recidivism risk. Similar analyses showed that the CSS did not predict sexual recidivism nor did it correlate with a tool that assesses sexual recidivism risk-the Static 99. The CSS scores changed significantly in the predicted direction following treatment. The present results suggest that the CSS is an internally consistent tool for the assessment of criminal sentiments among sex offenders and that it predicts non-sexual but not sexual recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses issues concerning crime, criminals and competitive crime control in the U.S. Views of author Doron Teichman on jurisdictional competition; Areas of criminal justice policy that lack jurisdictional competition including sex offender registration and recidivist enhancement laws; Doctrinal implications of external approach including democratic representatives and pluralism and competition.

Sexual offenders constitute a substantial proportion of the older male prison population. Recent research findings, with potential consequences for risk management, indicate that recidivism risk might be lower in older sexual offenders. We followed up all adult male sexual offenders released from prison in Sweden during 1993-1997 (N=1,303) for criminal reconviction for an average of 8.9 years. We studied rates of repeat offending (sexual and any violent) by four age bands (<25, 25-39, 40-54, and 55+years), and examined whether risk factors for recidivism remained stable across age groups. Results showed that recidivism rates decreased significantly in older age bands. In addition, the effect of certain risk factors varied by age band. These findings on recidivism rates in older sexual offenders concur with studies from the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada and may suggest some generalizability in Western settings. Further research is needed to address underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-analytic and multiple sample study findings indicate there is an overall inverse relationship between sexual offenders' age at the time of their release from incarceration and their sexual recidivism risk (Hanson, 2002; Hanson & Bussière, 1998). Very recent studies, however, document limits to the generalizability of that finding. This article attempts to integrate the new empirical results into a coherent picture concerning the relationship between aging and recidivism risk for sexual offenders. The purpose is to determine the extent to which empirically-based conclusions can be drawn about how to incorporate the issue of offender age in sexual recidivism risk assessments. Overall, instead of finding straightforward conclusions of a practical nature, a series of study-specific conclusions were found that were often mutually exclusive. Further analyses of existing data were conducted in an attempt to tease out meaningful hypotheses concerning the relationship between offender age and sexual recidivism. Numerous potentially interacting variables were uncovered including participation in treatment, type of risk measure used, type of sexual offender, jurisdiction, and even a different measure of offender age. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research examines the predictive validity of the Static-99 and the SORAG in predicting sexual and violent recidivism among a sample of 258 treated high-risk sexual offenders. While the SORAG was found to have moderate predictive accuracy for both sexual and violent recidivism over a 5-year follow-up period, the Static-99 was found to only predict sexual recidivism. As well, the actual recidivism rates in the current sample were compared to the published risk percentages for each of the instruments. For both the Static-99 and the SORAG the current sample re-offended at a lower rate than expected. Possible explanations for this finding are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-analysis (R. K. Hanson & M. T. Bussière, 1998) has indicated an overall negative correlation between age and sexual recidivism, but also found that the size of this inverse relationship varies significantly between samples. The present study examined the relationship between age on release and sexual recidivism in a large (N=752), nationally representative, sample of imprisoned male sexual offenders followed up for 10 years. Sexual offenders released at a younger age tended to be more general criminals while those released at an older age tended to be sexual specialists. Consistent with C. F. Roberts, D. M. Doren, and D. Thornton (2002), age on release was found to make a significant contribution to the prediction of sexual reconviction when two aspects of criminal history (sexual deviance and general criminality) were controlled. Overall, the odds of being sexually reconvicted declined by about 0.02 with each year of increasing age. In addition to this general decline in recidivism with increasing age, there was also a cubic effect of age for the offenders who had been sentenced for sexual offenses on at least two prior occasions. This group showed an exceptionally high sexual recidivism rate when released between the ages of 18-24 (80%). For those aged between 25 and 59 their sexual reconviction rate was consistently just under 50% regardless of age. Then for the small group aged 60+ no further sexual reconvictions were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Principal components analysis was conducted on items contained in actuarial instruments used with adult sex offenders, including: the Rapid Assessment of Sex Offender Risk for Recidivism (RASORR), the Static-99, the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG), the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide (SORAG), and the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool-Revised (MnSOST-R). In a data set that included child molesters and rapists (N = 311), six interpretable components were identified: Antisocial Behavior, Child Sexual Abuse, Persistence, Detached Predatory Behavior, Young and Single, and Male Victim(s). The RRASOR was highly correlated with Persistence, and the VRAG and SORAG were highly correlated with Antisocial Behavior. Antisocial Behavior was a significant predictor of violent recidivism, while Persistence and Child Sexual Abuse were significant predictors of sexual recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between recidivism and ratings of response to specialized cognitive behavioral treatment conducted in a prison setting among 418 sex offenders released to the community for an average follow-up period of over 5 years. As well as testing for a main effect for treatment ratings, the potential role of psychopathy assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R) as a moderator of response to treatment was investigated. Ratings of response to treatment failed to predict either serious (violent including sexual) or sexual recidivism. For the more inclusive outcome of serious recidivism, there was no significant interaction between psychopathy and treatment ratings; however, the ubiquitous effect of psychopathy on recidivism was found to be significant. For sexual recidivism, psychopathy was not significant as a main effect, but a significant interaction between psychopathy and treatment ratings was found. Among sex offenders with PCL-R scores of 25 or higher, those with ratings reflecting a more negative response to treatment recidivated sexually at a faster rate than others. This interaction effect was not significant when treatment noncompleters were removed from the data set. The results were discussed in terms of the methodology involved in the assessment of response to treatment among sex offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to determine whether combining the results of multiple actuarial risk scales increases accuracy in predicting sex offender recidivism. Multiple methods of combining 4 validated actuarial risk scales— the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide, the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide, the Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense Recidivism, and the Static-99—were evaluated in a sample of 215 adult male sex offenders. These included the intuitively appealing believe-the-negative and believe-the-positive rules, adapted from medical decision making; the combination of absolute decision thresholds across a range of cutoff scores; and the statistical optimization methods of logistic regression and principal components analyses. No combination method provided a statistically significant or consistent advantage over the predictive accuracy of the single best actuarial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty convicted male sex offenders were classified as non-contact or contact sex offence recidivists. Non-contact recidivists had a history of non-contact sex offending on two or more occasions. Contact recidivists had a history of non-contact sex offending and recidivated with a contact sex offence. Groups were compared on the Sexual Violence Risk-20 (SVR-20) and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV). Psychosexual variables, criminal history and clinical risk factors were also coded using a multi-variable assessment model. A retrospective-prospective comparison was performed between non-contact and contact recidivist groups. Significant differences between non-contact recidivists and contact recidivists were observed on a number of risk factors. Suggested revisions to the SVR-20 are reported. The research demonstrates that a progressive pattern of sex offending from non-contact sex offending to contact sex offending is reliably associated with a combination of risk factors. This study offers the potential for early detection of escalation in the severity of sex offending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship of age to sexual recidivism using data from 10 follow-up studies of adult male sexual offenders (combined sample of 4,673). Rapists were younger than child molesters, and the recidivism risk of rapists steadily decreased with age. In contrast, extra familial child molesters showed relatively little reduction in recidivism risk until after the age of50. The recidivism rate of intra familial child molesters was generally low (less than 10%), except for the intra familial offenders in the 18-to24-year-old age group, whose recidivism risk was comparable to that of rapists and extra familial child molesters. The results are discussed in terms of developmental changes in sexual drive, self-control, and opportunities to offend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study compared recidivism rates for alleged maltreatment perpetrators whose initial report was substantiated and those whose initial report was not substantiated, to determine whether they returned to the child welfare system at differing rates. Method: Statewide administrative child welfare services data over a period of 4 1/2 years was analyzed. The sample included 31,531 perpetrators of intrafamilial maltreatment. Separate analyses were conducted for each type of maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect). Results: Bivariate relationships (substantiation status and recidivism) were analyzed using survival curves, and the study found that recidivism patterns differed by type of maltreatment and by substantiation status at the index event. Multivariate analyses using Cox Proportional Hazards models found that bivariate relationships held true even when controlling for neighborhood mean income, ethnicity, and gender. Conclusions: The study's finding that perpetrators whose index event was not substantiated return to the child welfare system at a high rate suggests the need to learn how to discriminate those unsubstantiated alleged perpetrators who are most at risk for recidivism. The finding of frequent cross-type recidivism indicates that intervention should focus on common themes across maltreatment types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective intervention with sexual offenders requires the targeting of appropriate risk factors. In this study, information on dynamic (changeable) risk factors was collected through interviews with community supervision officers and file reviews of 208 sexual offense recidivists and 201 nonrecidivists. The recidivists were generally considered to have poor social supports, attitudes tolerant of sexual assault, antisocial lifestyles, poor self-management strategies, and difficulties cooperating with supervision. The overall mood of the recidivists and nonrecidivists was similar, but the recidivists showed increased anger and subjective distress just before reoffending. The dynamic risk factors reported by the officers continued to be strongly associated with recidivism, even after controlling for preexisting differences in static risk factors. The factors identified in the interview data were reflected (to a lesser extent) in the officers' contemporaneous case notes, which suggests that the interview findings cannot be completely attributed to retrospective recall bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]