Specialization and Persistence in the Arrest Histories of Sex Offenders: A Comparative Analysis of Alternative Measures and Offense Types

National 2006: NCJ 214926

This study examined the arrest patterns and cycles of sex offenders to test the assumption that sex offenders are a highly specialized and persistent type of offender.

NCJRS Abstract:

Results indicated that as a group, sex offenders were neither particularly persistent nor specialized in their criminal activities. The majority of sex offenders (60 percent) had only one arrest for a sex crime in their criminal histories and only 5 percent of the sample had exclusively sex related arrests.

When the different types of sex offenders were examined, child molesters displayed the most specialization but the degree of specialization was still rather weak when compared to other types of offenders, such as property offenders. The findings suggest that contrary to their public perception as serial sexual predators, the arrest patterns of offenders arrested for rape and child molestation do not indicate specialization or persistence in sexual offending.

The results have implications for the numerous crime control policies that are premised on the assumption that sex offenders are persistent and specialized offenders. In particular, the authors note that sex offender registry and notification policies are unlikely to decrease sexual victimization.

Data on over 38,000 offenders, including approximately 10,000 male sex offenders, who were released from prisons in 15 States in 1994 were originally collected through the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics and are now available as a dataset from the Inter university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan.

Note: including approximately 10,000 male sex offenders, who were released from prisons in 15 States in 1994 that note is referring to "Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994"

Data include both State and Federal Bureau of Investigation records of arrests and prosecutions; data were collected for the three most serious charges at each arrest date and were statistically analyzed. Future studies should attempt to replicate the results using self-report and arrest data. Tables, notes, references. ..NCJRS Source.. by Terance D. Miethe ; Jodi Olson ; Ojmarrh Mitchell

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Sage Abstract:
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. ..Sage Source.. by Terance D. Miethe ; Jodi Olson ; Ojmarrh Mitchell (Brief Abstract as compared to NCJRS Abstract)

A n Exploration of the Sex Offender Specialization and Violence Nexus

Kentucky 2009:

Abstract

Two commonly researched topics surrounding sexual offending are recidivism and specialization. The widely-accepted belief that sex offenders recidivate at a higher rate than other offenders, in conjunction with the misconception that sex offenders specialize in purely sexual crimes and general criminality, has compelled policymakers to enact conservative legislation.

This study assesses the accuracy of these perceptions through an analysis of the non-sex crimes of a sample of 229 currently incarcerated registered sex offenders in Kentucky. The focus of the current study is to explore the heterogeneity among sex offenders as a whole by assessing differences in criminal behavior and offender characteristics of sex offenders who are currently incarcerated for non-sex violent and non-sex nonviolent offenses.

Bivariate results suggest that offender age, race, victim age, registration violation, multiple victims, and sex offense severity all significantly differ between sex offenders as conditioned by offense violence. Multivariate results suggest that sex offenders with a child victim and registration violation were less likely to be violent offenders and that offenders with multiple victims were also more likely to be violent. ..Source.. by Megan Magers, University of Central Florida and Wesley G. Jennings, University of Louisville and Richard Tewksbury, University of Louisville and J. Mitchell Miller, University of Texas San Antonio

Examining Specialization Among Sex Offenders Released From Prison

Colorado 2014:

Abstract:

A prevailing cultural stereotype about sex offenders is that they tend to specialize in sexual offending. Many recent policy developments—mainly aimed to restrict the liberties of sex offenders—are rooted in this idea.

i.e., Once a sex offender always a sex offender

We examined the correctional and arrest records of a sample of 312 sex offenders released on parole in Colorado to determine the prevalence of sexual specialization among these offenders, and to compare the legal and social characteristics of specialists and versatile sex offenders.

Overall we found that very few participants officially classified as sex offenders fit the specialist stereotype. Study participants generally displayed versatile histories of criminal offending.

We also found that specialists were distinguishable from versatile offenders on certain indices of social integration and mental health, and they were more likely to have had a history of offending against children. ..Source.. by Jeffrey Lin, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA --AND-- Walter Simon, Progressive Therapy Systems, Denver, CO, USA