%0 Journal Article
%T Sex Offenders: Specialists, Generalists--or Both?
%J British journal of criminology
%D 2000
%A Soothill, K.
%A Francis, Brian
%A Sanderson, B
%A Ackerley, Eizabeth
%V 40
%N 1
%P 56-67
%X Sexual offending is on the political agenda but there has been little research focus on the four offence categories--indecent assault against a female, indecent assault against a male, indecency between males and unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16--which together comprise the vast majority of convictions for sexual offences in England and Wales. We consider the criminal record (1963-94 inclusive) of the 6,097 males convicted of one of these offences in 1973. The results are discussed in terms of criminality, heterogeneity, dangerousness and specialization. By recognizing two levels of analysis--general crime level and sex crime level--we argue that sex offenders can be both generalists and specialists; they may range widely across a spectrum of offences but still specialize within sexual offending.<p />
%G 
%I Oxford University Press
%@ 0007-0955
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/40.1.56