NCJ Number
99530
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1985) Pages: 385-398
Date Published
1985
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This analysis of 1 offender or lone assailant rapes reported to the San Diego Police (California) between 1971 to 1975, a total of 612 incidents, demonstrates the impact of serial offenders on crime data and reveals that such offenders tend to use the same geographical and ecological space repeatedly.
Abstract
Three categories of offender status emerge from this data set: (1) open -- the number of rapes committed by the same person is unknown because a specific suspect has not been apprehended, (2) single -an offender commits one reported rape and is apprehended, (3) series -- an offender commits two or more reported rapes and is apprehended. No offender classification throughout the study period showed any sense of data stability, indicating that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the number of offenders and the number of incidents. Analysis of the census tract distribution of rape during 1971 and 1974 showed that the highest rape tract was attributable to the series offender. While downtown San Diego and the central business district had the highest rape tracts, this was due to assaults performed by three different and independent series offenders. Analysis of socioeconomic, demographic, and land use variables yielded 16 different ecological areas of San Diego. During 1974, the area defined as being jointly occupied by older retired people and young renters had more rapes than any other area. Moreover, over half the rapes in this area were committed by serial offenders. In general, during 1974 and 1975, serial offenders operated in fewer ecological areas than did other offenders. The type of area experiencing the highest rape activity, however, shifted in 1975 to one characterized by small households in a mixture of houses and apartments. Tables, a map, and over 20 references are provided.