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Victims' routine activities and sex offenders' target selection scripts: a latent class analysis
Nadine Deslauriers-Varin1, Eric Beauregard
1Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. nadined@sfu.ca
Serial sex offenders utilize distinct target selection scripts, including Home, Outdoor, and Social patterns, often switching between them. These findings inform crime prevention strategies for stranger sexual offenses.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Forensic Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Serial sex offending involves complex offender behaviors.
- Understanding target selection is crucial for crime prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and describe target selection scripts used by serial sex offenders.
- To examine script usage across different victim types and crime contexts.
Main Methods:
- Latent class analysis applied to data from 72 serial sex offenders.
- Analysis of 361 sex crimes committed against stranger victims.
Main Results:
- Three distinct target selection scripts were identified: Home, Outdoor, and Social.
- Each script comprised two specific tracks (e.g., Home: intrusion/invited).
- Offenders frequently switched between scripts, with half switching at least once.
Conclusions:
- Identified scripts are applicable to offenses against both child and adult victims.
- Script switching highlights offender adaptability and challenges in prediction.
- Findings have implications for developing targeted situational crime prevention strategies.
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