Low recidivism rates of child sex offenders in a Finnish 7-year follow-up |
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| Authors: | Taina Laajasalo Noora Ellonen Julia Korkman Tom Pakkanen Olli-Pekka Aaltonen |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki , Helsinki, Finland;2. Forensic Psychology Center for Children and Adolescents , Helsinki, Finland taina.laajasalo@helsinki.fi;4. Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki , Helsinki, Finland;5. Faculty of Social Science, Tampere University , Tampere, Finland;6. Forensic Psychology Center for Children and Adolescents , Helsinki, Finland;7. Department of Psychology, ?bo Akademi University , Turku, Finland;8. Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki , Helsinki, Finland |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT This study examines the recidivism rates of Finnish child sex offenders convicted in 2010 (n = 361) over a follow-up period of seven years. The results indicate that while reoffending for other types of offences was common (34%), offenders had very low sexual crime recidivism rates (1%). In terms of more persistent criminal careers, less than a quarter of the offenders had both a previous criminal history and at least one subsequent offence during the follow-up period. Offenders with child sexual abuse material-related crimes reoffended more rarely than did others. Study limitations and implications for policymaking, media and rehabilitation are discussed. |
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| Keywords: | Child sexual abuse recidivism reoffending reconviction |
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