Where do sex crimes occur? How an examination of sex offense location can inform policy and prevention

Abstract

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.

Keywords:

• sex crimes
• sex crime prevention
• victim–offender relationship
• offense locations
• sex crime policies

Acknowledgment

The author would like to thank the New Jersey Department of Corrections and the New Jersey Department of Human Services for their support in providing access to data.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice [2007-IJ-CX-0037]. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Notes on contributors

Cynthia Calkins

Cynthia Calkins is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at John Jay College. Her work focuses broadly on sexual offenders and sexual violence policy and prevention.

Niki Colombino

Niki Colombino is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at the City University of New York Graduate Center and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is interested in the situational aspects of sexual offending as they relate to policy and prevention.

Taiki Matsuura

Taiki Matsuura is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at the City University of New York Graduate Center and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is interested in the consequences of social stigma, labeling theory, and placebo effects.

Elizabeth Jeglic

Elizabeth Jeglic is a professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Her research interests include sexual offender treatment and sex offender policy.