Hoe ‘anders’ zijn de criminele carrières van seksuele delinquenten? Een vergelijking van seksuele met nietseksuele delinquenten op basis van nationale veroordelingsdata in België en Nederland

Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, accountability, and effectivit

Differentiating Individuals Convicted of Sexual Offenses: A Two-Country Latent Class Analysis

Sexual offenses are often part of a larger criminal career also encompassing nonsexual crimes. However, most sexual offending typologies focus on an individual’s most recent sexual offense. We compare data from Belgian and Dutch national conviction cohorts and use latent class analysis to distinguish groups of individuals based on their history of sexual and nonsexual offenses, considering continuity and variety. The resulting classification is compared between individuals convicted of sexual offenses and individuals convicted of nonsexual offenses. Results show that four latent classes can be distinguished based on continuity and variety in criminal histories of individuals convicted of sexual offenses, and that some of these classes resemble those distinguished among individuals convicted of nonsexual offenses. We find limited overlap between these latent classes and typologies based solely on the index offense. Results show marked similarities across countries. These results challenge theories of sexual offending to incorporate patterns of nonsexual offending

Differentiating individuals convicted of sexual offenses : a two-country latent class analysis

Sexual offenses are often part of a larger criminal career also encompassing nonsexual crimes. However, most sexual offending typologies focus on an individual’s most recent sexual offense. We compare data from Belgian and Dutch national conviction cohorts and use latent class analysis to distinguish groups of individuals based on their history of sexual and nonsexual offenses, considering continuity and variety. The resulting classification is compared between individuals convicted of sexual offenses and individuals convicted of nonsexual offenses. Results show that four latent classes can be distinguished based on continuity and variety in criminal histories of individuals convicted of sexual offenses, and that some of these classes resemble those distinguished among individuals convicted of nonsexual offenses. We find limited overlap between these latent classes and typologies based solely on the index offense. Results show marked similarities across countries. These results challenge theories of sexual offending to incorporate patterns of nonsexual offending

Naar een empirisch gefundeerde typologie van personen veroordeeld voor een zedendelict : een latente klasse analyse op Belgische en Nederlandse veroordeeldencohorten

Daders van zedendelicten worden vaak getypeerd op basis van een specifiek delict, bijvoorbeeld het laatst door hen gepleegde zedendelict. Het is onduidelijk of typologieën van deze daders op basis van hun criminele voorgeschiedenis hierbij aansluiten of tot nieuwe inzichten leiden. Deze studie identificeert verschillende typen criminele carrièrepatronen onder personen die werden veroordeeld voor een zedendelict en vergelijkt die patronen tussen België en Nederland. We gebruikten hiervoor recent beschikbaar gekomen veroordelingsdata over de criminele voorgeschiedenis van personen die in 1995 in België en in 1997 in Nederland voor een zedendelict werden veroordeeld. In beide datasets konden vier criminele carrièrepatronen worden onderscheiden waarvan er drie in beide landen voorkwamen: het ‘persistent gewelddadige generalistische’, ‘jeugdig delinquente’ en het ‘volwassen start’ patroon. Een indeling op basis van criminele carrièrepatronen vertoonde weinig overlap met een indeling gebaseerd op het specifieke zedendelict in 1995/1997. Typologieën gebaseerd op het criminele verleden van daders kunnen tot nieuwe inzichten leiden aangaande de etiologie van zedendelinquentie. De implicaties hiervan voor theorie en praktijk worden besproken

Criminal Careers of Individuals Convicted for a Sexual Offence: an International Comparison

By comparing criminal careers of individuals who have sexually offended to those who have not sexually offended, the current study examines whether their criminal career parameters and trajectories differ. National conviction records (entire criminal history and about 18 years of follow-up after index offence) from Belgium and the Netherlands are used to describe and compare the criminal careers of individuals involved in sexual or non-sexual offending. Group-based trajectory models are estimated for each offender class per country. The results show no substantive differences between individuals convicted for sexual offences and individuals convicted for non-sexual offences on age of onset and termination, duration, frequency, and crime mix. Group-based trajectory modeling results in a four-group model with a low-level offending (± 65%), late onset offending (± 12.5%), adolescent and young adult offending (± 17.5%), and persistent offending (± 5%) group. Trajectory patterns are similar across offender class and between countries. ANOVA comparisons between trajectory groups show few differences in criminal career parameters and many similarities. Only small differences could be established between criminal careers of persons convicted for sexual offences and those convicted for non-sexual offences. This leads us to question assumptions about persons convicted for sexual offences as offenders with unique trajectories