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Geographic Link Between Sex Offenders and Potential Victims: A Routine Activities Approach

NCJ Number
193236
Journal
Justice Research and Policy Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: Fall 2001 Pages: 15-33
Author(s)
Jeffrey T. Walker; James W. Golden; Amy C. VanHouten
Date Published
2001
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article examines the population of sex offenders who had children as victims and where they live in relation to a high concentration of children.
Abstract
The argument is that child sex offenders are largely incorrigible and they may attempt to live in areas with a high concentration of children. One of the most important characteristics of child sex offenders is that they generally have a method of gaining access to children. There are three ways of doing this: marriage, neighborhood, and occupation. The routine activities theory is that criminal behavior is a union of criminal, victim, time, and place. This theory is most applicable to “direct-contact predatory violations,” that is, when an offender has direct physical contact with a victim. This was extended to include locations that attract both potential offenders and victims. Public facilities such as parks and schools were among the areas mentioned. This research was extended from a larger project that examined the characteristics of all sex offenders in the State of Arkansas. The records from all the sex offenders who had a residency address in one metropolitan county were selected, and the locations of the potential target areas were collected. Findings supported the argument that there was a definite convergence of potentially motivated child sex offenders living in close proximity to concentrations of potential victims. The policy implications directly related to the resources and efforts of sex offender registration and notification. It appears imperative that more attention is given to community notification of the presence of sex offenders. In this way, all that live and work in these areas have the potential to become capable guardians to protect children. 7 figures, 15 references