This study investigates the variations in characteristics that exist among youths who sexually harm (YSH). Three conceptually distinct sets of background characteristics are hypothesized from the literature relating to whether the YSH was abused, delinquent or impaired. Forty-one characteristics were drawn from an extensive and detailed review of the files of 300 cases. The pattern of co-occurrence of the presence or absence of these characteristics was revealed by a non-metric multidimensional scaling procedure, smallest space analysis (SSA). The results provide empirical support for three distinct background themes as 215 (71%) of the youths could be assigned to one dominant background theme (abused, delinquent or impaired). The findings have implications for the ways in which practitioners differentiate between young people who sexually harm.

The concept of the female sex offender (FSO) is a relatively new phenomenon within the social research literature. Studies of female rape, male rape, pedophilia, and juvenile sex offenders have suggested that different styles of offending are reflected in the different types of behaviors committed by offenders at the crime scene. These studies suggest that there are three distinct themes of behavior: Hostility, Impersonal, and Involvement. Multidimensional analysis is carried out on 35 crime scene behaviors of 73 FSOs from U.K. and U.S. law reports. The proposed framework was found to be a useful way of classifying FSOs with 84% displaying a dominant theme. These resulted in 52% classified as displaying Involvement, 17% as Control, and 15% as Hostility. Finally, the implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore risk factors contained in the existing UK domestic abuse (DA) risk assessment tool: domestic abuse, stalking and harassment and honour-based violence (DASH) for individual predictive validity of DA recidivism using data from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 1,441 DA perpetrators were monitored over a 12-month period, and 270 (18.7 per cent) went on to commit a further DA offence. The individual risk factors which were associated and predictive of increased risk of recidivism were identified. Findings: Only four of the individual risk factors were significantly associated with an increased risk of DA recidivism: “criminal history”, “problems with alcohol”, “separation” and “frightened”. Therefore, 21 of the risk factor items analysed could not discriminate between non-recidivist and recidivist perpetrators. Only two risk factors were able to significantly predict the recidivist group when compared to the non-recidivist group. These were identified as “criminal history” and “separated”. Of those who did commit a further DA offence in the following 12 months, 133 were violent and 137 were non-violent. The risk factors associated with these types of recidivism are identified. Practical implications: The implications for UK police practice and the DASH risk assessment tool are discussed. By identifying key individual factors that can prioritise those individuals likely to recidivate and the severity of that recidivism, this could assist police decision making regarding the response and further prevention of DA incidents. The validation of association between individual factors and DA recidivism should improve the accuracy of risk levels. Originality/value: This is the first large-scale validation of the individual risk factors contained within the UK’s DA risk assessment tool. It should be noted that the validity of the DASH tool itself was not examined within the current study.

While the concept of male victimization is not a new phenomenon, the sexual assault of a male is a relatively new notion, emerging over the last 30 years in social research literature. Studies of female rape, pedophilia, and juvenile sex offenders have suggested that different styles of offending are reflected in the different types of behaviors committed by offenders at the crime scene. These studies suggest that there are three distinct themes of behavior: Control, Hostility, and Involvement. Using the crime scene actions of 305 male-on-male sexual assault from a U.K. national police database, multidimensional analysis was carried out. The proposed framework was found to be a useful way of classifying male-on-male sexual assaulters with 74% displaying a dominant theme. These resulted in 42% classified as displaying hostility, 23% as control, and 9% as involvement. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.