Although ample evidence demonstrates that sex crime policies focused on “stranger danger” types of offenses that occur in public places do little, if anything, to reduce sex crime, we have much less data with which to inform primary prevention strategies. Using archival data collected from the files of 1468 sex offenders, this study provides empirical data on offense location and how it varies by victim–offender relationship. Though 4% of cases occurred in areas normally restricted by residence restrictions or child safety zone legislation, only 0.05% of the offenses were perpetrated by a stranger against a minor victim in a restricted location. By providing narrative descriptions of the types of sex crimes that occur in child-dense locations, this study provides a richer and more contextualized notion of the nature of risk in public-restricted locations. Given the infrequent occurrence of sex crimes in child-dense locations, it is argued that tertiary sex crime prevention efforts ought to focus on where sex crimes most frequently occur (i.e., in the home and by known perpetrators) and that resources be shifted to primary prevention.
(Publisher abstract provided.)
Downloads
Similar Publications
- Raman spectroscopic signature of vaginal fluid and its potential application in forensic body fluid identification
- Relationship Dynamics Associated With Dating Violence Among Adolescents and Young Adults: A Feminist Post-Structural Analysis
- Homicide as a Risk Factor for PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) Among Surviving Family Members