NCJ Number
143076
Date Published
1991
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on a study of sexual offenders to determine their distinguishing crime patterns and implications for the treatment of sex offenders.
Abstract
Using police data, this study identified all male adult inmates discharged from prisons in England and Wales in 1980 after having served a sentence of at least 4 years for a sexual offense. Their conviction records up to September 1990 were abstracted. This information covered all their previous convictions, their current convictions (those for which the prison sentence was being served), as well as any reconvictions that occurred in the follow-up period, which encompassed approximately 10 years (depending on when in 1980 they were released). The sample size was 313. Data were analyzed by means of variables that categorized both their sexual and nonsexual offending. Offense categories were sex with children, rape, other sexual offenses, assault, robbery, theft, motor vehicle theft, and fraud. At the theoretical level, the most interesting finding was the coalescence of rape with nonsexual forms of violence and the distinction between rapists and other, less violent forms of sexual offending. This distinction between general violence and less violent paraphilic forms of sexual offending emerged from factor analysis of both previous and subsequent convictions and was reinforced by the distinct risk groups that emerged in relation to these different outcomes. The findings suggest that, at least in terms of the psychology of the offender, there is a significant difference between explicitly violent coercion and coercion of other kinds. This result is consistent with the many studies that have found marked differences between rapists and child molesters. This study also found differences between rapists and nonviolent offenders such as habitual thieves. Implications for treatment and the prediction of risk for sex offenders are discussed. 10 tables and 8 references