This study examined a sample of 120 adult males convicted of offences involving indecent images of children (IIOC); 60 had a previous contact child sexual offence (dual offenders) and 60 had no evidence of an offence against a child. Analyses explored socio-demographic characteristics, previous convictions, and access to children. Of the 120 offenders, a subsample of 60 offenders (30 dual offenders and 30 non-contact) were further examined in terms of the quantity of IIOC, types of IIOC, and offending behavior. The study found the two offender groups could be discriminated by previous convictions, access to children, the number, proportion, and type of IIOC viewed. The IIOC preferences displayed within their possession differentiated dual offenders from non-contact IIOC offenders. Within group comparisons of the dual offenders differentiated sadistic rapists from sexual penetrative and sexual touching offenders. The paper suggests there may be a homology between IIOC possession, victim selection, and offending behavior. Implications for law enforcement are discussed in terms of likelihood of contact offending and assisting in investigative prioritization.

Paraphilias: definition, diagnosis and treatment

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.

Purpose: The challenges of transferring the theoretical requirements of an effective multi-agency partnership into everyday practices are often overlooked, particularly within safeguarding practices. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore practitioner perspectives of working within a multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) and those factors that encourage or hinder a multi-agency approach to safeguarding vulnerable individuals. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews with 23 practitioners from one MASH location in the North of England were conducted, with a thematic analysis being used to analyse findings. Findings: The interviews with practitioners illustrated the complexity of establishing a multi-agency approach to safeguarding. It was inferred that whilst information sharing and trust between agencies had improved, the absence of a common governance structure, unified management system, formalisation of practices and procedures and shared pool of resources limited the degree to which MASH could be considered a multi-agency approach to safeguarding. Practical implications: Establishing a multi-agency approach to safeguarding is complex and does not occur automatically. Rather, the transition to collaborative practices needs to be planned, with agreed practices and processes implemented from the beginning and reviewed regularly. Originality/value: Few studies have investigated the implementation of MASH into safeguarding practices, with this paper providing a unique insight into practitioner opinions regarding the transition to multi-agency practices. Whilst there is a focus on MASH, the challenges to arise from the research may be reflective of other multi-agency partnerships, providing a foundation for best practice to emerge.