Sexual crime and place: The impact of the environmental context on sexual assault outcomes

Purpose

Using the rational choice perspective, the current study investigates the impact that the environment and offending behavior have on serial sexual crime event outcomes.

Methods

The effects of time and place factors, as well as offender modus operandi strategies, on sexual crime event outcomes are tested using Generalized Estimating Equations on a sample of 361 crime events committed by 72 serial sex offenders.

Results

Time and place do impact serial stranger sexual offenders’ modus operandi strategies, but the place characteristics of the crime have more of an effect on the offender’s behavior than do the temporal conditions during which the event occurs. Subsequent analyses indicate that temporal and place factors, as well as offender modus operandi strategies, predict whether the offender completes the rape, his reaction to victim resistance, and the level of physical force that he inflicts on the victim, but not whether the victim is forced to commit sexual acts on the offender.

Conclusions

Serial stranger sexual offenders are effective decision-makers who adapt their strategies to the physical environment in which they commit their crimes, but their degree of rationality can vary as some outcomes are more dependent on the context than the offender and his actions.     

Employing mixed methods to explore motivational patterns of repeat sex offenders

PurposeUnderstanding the motivation of sex offenders plays a key role in societal perception of victim culpability and offender responsibility. This study identified patterns of offender motivation, assessed motivation stability across offenses, and estimated the influence of offense/victim specific factors on motivation in comparison to offender factors.MethodsEmploying mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design, the study utilized confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to identify motivational factors underlying 346 crime events. Second, motivation stability was assessed across offenses committed by 69 offenders. Finally, interview data were reviewed to assess whether offender types emerged corresponding to CFA results.ResultsA motivational typology was identified comprised of five offender groupings built upon two underlying constructs, one driven by sexual gratification and the other linked to anger/aggression. Minimal change in motivation was observed across offenses committed by the same offender against different victims. Offense/victim specific influence (22-23%) and offender related influence (77-78%) were similarly distributed with both sexual and anger-driven motivation.ConclusionsMotivation plays a key role in offending. Offense/victim specific factors have similar proportional influence on crime motivation in comparison to offender factors irrespective of the type of motivation. Contrary to popular public perception, victim blame is not warranted regardless of what motivates offenders.     

The Motivation Behind Serial Sexual Homicide: Is It Sex,Power, and Control,or Anger?*

Controversy exists in the literature and society regarding what motivates serial sexual killers to commit their crimes. Hypotheses range from the seeking of sexual gratification to the achievement of power and control to the expression of anger. The authors provide theoretical, empirical, evolutionary, and physiological support for the argument that serial sexual murderers above all commit their crimes in pursuit of sadistic pleasure. The seeking of power and control over victims is believed to serve the two secondary purposes of heightening sexual arousal and ensuring victim presence for the crime. Anger is not considered a key component of these offenders' motivation due to its inhibitory physiological effect on sexual functioning. On the contrary, criminal investigations into serial sexual killings consistently reveal erotically charged crimes, with sexual motivation expressed either overtly or symbolically. Although anger may be correlated with serial sexual homicide offenders, as it is with criminal offenders in general, it is not causative. The authors further believe serial sexual murderers should be considered sex offenders. A significant proportion of them appear to have paraphilic disorders within the spectrum of sexual sadism. "sexual sadism, homicidal type" is proposed as a diagnostic subtype of sexual sadism applicable to many of these offenders, and a suggested modification of DSM criteria is presented.     

The measurement of concern about victims: Empathy,victim advocacy and the Victim Concern Scale (VCS)

Purpose . In a series of studies, the authors developed the Victim Concern Scale (VCS) to assess levels of concern for diverse types of crime victims. The goal was to derive a psychometrically sound instrument and to assess victim concern in relation to other crime‐related attitudes and victim advocacy endorsements. Methods . Through several scale iterations, participant responses to the VCS were examined. Participants also completed measures of empathy and provided judgments about specific victim/crime scenarios. In addition, in two large samples (college [N = 276] and community [N = 478]), victim concern was compared with other attitudes, attributions and participant demographics. Results . Participants readily distinguished among different victims. Four factors emerged from the VCS. Raters endorsed the highest levels of concern for victims of violent crimes and the lowest level for ‘culpable’ victims. Women and older respondents showed higher levels of concern across all categories of victims. Both victim concern and emotional empathy influenced advocacy responses to victimization. Victim concern was unrelated to such traits and attitudes as authoritarianism, political ideology or punishment goals; moreover, a high level of concern for victims did not preclude endorsement of rehabilitative goals for offenders. Conclusions . The VCS appears to be a valid instrument for assessing levels of concern for victims. It differs meaningfully from measures of general empathy. The VCS could be used to assess differential attitudes across demographic groups or as a measure of change following exposure to educational or other persuasive intervention.     

Sexual and violent recidivism by offender type and actuarial risk: reoffending rates for rapists,child molesters and mixed-victim offenders

Abstract

The current study examines sexual and violent reoffence rates for a sample of 2474 sexual offenders over an average of 15 years following release from prison. Reoffence rates are reported as a function of the offenders' victim type and level of risk as assessed by the Automated Sexual Recidivism Scale, a computer scored measure of relevant historical risk factors. Observed sexual recidivism rates for offenders with child victims, adult victims, and mixed victims were quite similar. Results indicate that offenders with exclusively female child victims not only showed a lower rate of sexual reoffending, but that the reoffence rates were relatively low across all levels of actuarial risk. In contrast, those with male child victims and adult victims showed a pronounced escalation of reoffence rates as actuarial risk increased. Results also indicated that adult victim offenders are less consistent in the victim type of their reoffences, with 37% sexually reoffending against child victims. Finally, combined rates of sexual and violent reoffending were particularly high for those with adult victim sexual offence histories. Risk assessment and public policy implications are discussed.     

Sexual offenders’ treatment experience: a qualitative and quantitative investigation

Abstract

This research investigates the where and when of sexual assaults to determine what types of sexual crimes are committed at different time and place classifications. Exhaustive CHAID (chi-squared automatic interaction detection) analyses are conducted, examining factors associated with crimes that were committed indoors or outdoors, in private or public places, during the day or at night, and during the week or on the weekend. These methods are applied to a sample of 361 sexual crime events committed by 72 serial sex offenders. The results are strikingly different dependent on which spatial or temporal aspect of the crime is examined, which implies the complexity of sexual crime events and their situational components. This research brings to light possible policy implications with respect to situational crime prevention.     

Cross‐Cultural Comparison of Two Serial Sexual Murder Series in Italy and the United States

Abstract: There have been few documented comparisons of serial murder cases committed in the United States with cases occurring internationally. The authors contrasted two unique serial murder series: one in Italy and one in the United States by examining the details of both series, including the M.O., motivation, crime scene interactions, sexual acts performed, and the general backgrounds of both offenders. The comparison revealed a number of similarities. Both offenders specifically targeted elderly women, who were attacked in their residences. The two series involved sexually motivated crimes, although the sexual interactions were different. Both offenders stole objects from their victims after the murders and each kept newspaper accounts of their crimes. In addition, both offenders claimed to have abusive upbringings, including sexual abuse.     

Remorse and neutralization among violent male offenders

Expression of remorse by an offender to his or her victim represents healing in the aftermath of a crime. Thus, it is important to consider what may influence or impede remorse. This article analyzes interviews with 27 men who committed serious violent crimes to examine their talk about victims, responsibility, and remorse. Most of the men excused or justified their crimes using cultural discourses about violence and blameworthy victims. They spoke of feeling sorry for themselves, not for their victims. Men who expressed remorse perceived their victims as morally blameless. They humanized their victims, and their victims humanized them.     

Assessing the public's demand for hate crime penalties

In this article, we analyze responses from a nationally representative sample of American adults to determine public attitudes toward punishment for hate crimes. While attitudinal polls find strong support for hate crime laws, criminological research provides reasons to believe that this support may be weaker than assumed. Our findings suggest that, while there is minimal public support for harsher penalties for offenders who commit hate crimes, attitudes toward punishment, treatment, and minority rights are predictive of preferences for differential treatment of hate crime offenders. We discuss possible implications of these results in our conclusion.     

Victim empathy in young sex offenders in the emergent adulthood developmental phase

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a study which focused on young sex offenders’ empathy levels for sexual abuse victims in general as portrayed in a case study, as well as empathy for the offenders’ own specific victims. Beckett and Fisher’s Victim Empathy Distortion Scale (1994) was used to measure and compare 96 young sex offenders’ empathy levels. The quantitative research results indicated that research participants displayed significantly less empathy towards their own victims when compared to the empathy displayed towards a general sexual abuse victim in a case study. Following the completion of the questionnaires, in-depth, qualitative data was obtained regarding the young sex offenders’ thoughts prior to, during and directly after committing the offence. In addition, they also explained their current thoughts and feelings for the victims in their case. The divergent responses which were given by the participants is a clear indication of the heterogeneous nature of youth sex offending.     

Online victimization risk and self-protective strategies: developing police-led cyber fraud prevention programs

ABSTRACT

The prevalence and impact of cyber fraud continues to increase exponentially with new and more innovative methods developed by offenders to target and exploit victims for their own financial reward. Traditional crime reaction methods used by police have proved largely ineffective in this context, with offenders typically located outside of the police jurisdiction of their victims. Given this, some police agencies have begun to adopt a victim focused, crime prevention approach to cyber fraud. The current research explores with a sample of two hundred and eighteen potential cyber fraud victims, the relationship between online victimization risk, knowledge and use of crime prevention strategies. The study found those most at risk of cyber fraud victimization despite accurate perceptions of risk and knowledge of self-protective behaviors in the online environment underutilise online prevention strategies. This research has important implications for police agencies who are designing and delivering cyber fraud education. It provides guidance for the development of effective prevention programs based on practical skills development.     

The Successful Onset of Sex Offending: Determining the Correlates of Actual and Official Onset of Sex Offending

PurposeThe current study investigates the covariates of age of onset (actual and official) and cost avoidance of sex offending in first-time convicted sex offenders.MethodsThe current study utilized a large sample (n = 332) of federally sentenced first-time convicted adult male sex offenders. Actual onset was measured using self-report, victim statements, and police investigation notes. Official onset was measured using age at first conviction. Cost avoidance was measured as the time gap between actual and official onset.ResultsFirst, while most offenders initiated their sexual criminal career in their early adult years (25–35 years) they were typically not arrested until middle adulthood. Second, the covariates for official onset are in line with cost avoidance, but not actual onset. Third, offenders best able to avoid costs were early starters with a conventional background (i.e., employed, absence of a conviction for a non-sex crime), targeting prepubescent children within the family context.ConclusionsWhile early actual onset offenders were more likely to target stranger victims, early official starters exhibited an unconventional background, prior criminal record, more extensive sexual criminal career, and targeted strangers. Thus, official, but not actual onset revealed a profile in line with prior research.     

RACIAL ANIMOSITY AND INTERRACIAL CRIME*

The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of a victim's race on the likelihood of him or her being seriously injured during the commission of an interracial crime. We also assess the probability of a homicide occurring during an interracial crime. A multilevel city analysis shows that black offenders are no more apt than white offenders to injure their victims seriously during an interracial robbery or rape. A black offender also does not have a greater proclivity to kill his or her victim during the commission of an interracial crime. Some evidence suggests that white victims are more likely than black victims to suffer serious physical harm during an aggravated assault. Results also reveal that contextual factors related to racial animosity, such as residential segregation, white‐to‐black economic inequality, and black‐to‐white unemployment, fail to have any moderating effect on either the severity of victim injury or the likelihood of a homicide occurring during an interracial crime. Overall, the results generated in this study tend to cast doubt on the validity of racial animosity theory. Our findings also lead us to question the veracity of the oftenmade claim that black‐on‐white crimes are punished more severely because these types of offenses are somehow more heinous in circumstance. At least in regard to serious victim injury and victim death, black‐on‐white crime is no more violent than white‐on‐black crime.     

„So,what's a hate crime anyway?” young adults' perceptions of hate crimes,victims, and perpetrators

Male and female young adults provided responses to open-ended questions about hate crimes. Results indicated considerable variability in their definitions, with perceptions of hate crimes differing with regard to demographic characteristics of both victims and perceivers. Victims may experience hate crimes differently because of who they are, why they are victimized, and with whom they share their experiences. In a separate study, males and females each evaluated a scenario of a hate crime perpetrated upon a male or female victim. Whether the crime was described as motivated by racial or religious bigotry, heterosexism, or was ambiguous was systematically varied. The demographic status of the participant appeared to determine how disruptive they regarded the crime scenario, and the likelihood that they would report personal knowledge of a victim of a similar type of assault. None of the participants was likely to report knowledge of a victim of a heterosexist assault. Policy implications of results from both studies are discussed.     

The effect of police on crime,disorder and victim precaution. Evidence from a Dutch victimization survey

Using individual data from a large-scale Dutch crime victimization survey, we are able to expand the analysis of the effect of police on crime to crimes types that do not easily find their way into police statistics, and to public disorder and victim precaution. To address heterogeneity and simultaneity in the relation between police and crime, we model the police funding formula – used to distribute police resources across municipalities – to identify the endogenous variation in police levels. We use the remaining variation in police levels to identify the effect of police. We find significantly negative effects of higher police levels on property and violent crime, public disorder, and victim precaution. The effect on victim precaution is a hitherto largely ignored benefit of higher police levels not reflected in lower rates of crime and public disorder.     

Sex disparities in arrests by residence,race, and age: An assessment of the gender convergence/crime hypothesis

In this report we examine whether differences in sex disparities in crime exist by population subgroup (residence, race, and age), using arrest data from the Uniform Crime Reports. We assess the utility of the gender equality/crime position as an explanation of any differences that do exist, and we propose alternative interpretations of the data. The major finding is that for most offenses, the differences in the female percentage of arrests (FP/A) are borderline or negligible. In those few instances where differences in FP/A exist across the comparison groups, they appear to have little or no relation to levels of gender-role convergence from one subgroup to another. Instead, we conclude that the differences in FP/A can be explained better as due to differences in willingness to sanction female offenders, to variations in opportunities for traditional female-based consumer crimes, and/or to differing levels of economic vulnerability among some groups of females.     

Patterns of criminal achievement in sexual offending: Unravelling the “successful” sex offender

Purpose

The current study examines significant variations in criminal achievement across sex offenders. To examine the “successful” sex offender, the study proposes a concept of achievement in sexual offending defined as the ability to maximise the payoffs of a crime opportunity while minimizing the costs.

Methods

The study is based on a sample of convicted adult male sex offenders using retrospective longitudinal data.

Results

The study findings show a wide variation in criminal achievement, a variation that is not correlated with the severity of sentences meted out or the actuarial risk scores obtained by these offenders. Those offenders who specialize in sex crimes were shown to be the most productive and least detected offenders. Two types of successful offenders emerge, the first relying on his conventional background in targeting a victim that can be repeatedly abused for a long period without detection. The second is a younger offender that is successful in the sense of being able to complete aggressions on multiple victims.

Conclusions

Results suggest that the successful sex offender is not “detected” once he enters the criminal justice system, nor is he handled in a way that may deter him from sexually reoffending in the future.     

Beyond crime seriousness: Fitting the punishment to the crime

This paper presents an exposition of how the factorial survey approach may enhance empirical assessments of the complex judgment principles involved in public views of just punishments for convicted offenders. Ratings of the appropriateness of sentences given across 50 typical crimes obtained from a household sample (N=774) of the Boston SMSA and several special-interest samples in 1982 are examined in three alternative ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression equations. These analyses show there is not a one-to-one direct relationship between public perceptions of the seriousness of criminal acts and desired sanctions. Crime seriousness is modified by the characteristics of the offenders and victims and by the consequences of the crimes. Preferred punishments also vary in severity by demographic, experiential, and attitudinal characteristics of the persons who make the judgments.