Sex Offenders

Legal interventions for sexual offenses are based on various assumptions about the criminal careers of sex offenders: that sex offenders are persistent offenders, that they offend at a high rate, and that they specialize in sexual offending. Despite this reliance, the empirical research on sex offenders' criminal careers is sparse, and the few studies that do exist give reason to question and further investigate these assumptions. Bringing together a group of internationally renowned scholars, this volume offers an authoritative overview of the criminal careers of sex offenders from youth to adulthood, while questioning our received ideas and pushing the boundaries of our current empirical knowledge. Bringing together original research on sex offenders and career criminals, and performing an in-depth investigation into existing policies, the articles offer a substantial basis from which to cultivate forward-looking policy approaches for those involved in criminology and psychology research, criminal justice, and social work.