Forensic Psychology (Research Paper Sample)

Types of Sex Offenders and Recidivism
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Types of Sex Offenders and Recidivism
1.0 Introduction
Sex crimes are severe and widespread across the world. Most sex offenders ultimately return to their communities after being convicted, and some of them may eventually re-offend. Sex offenders might re-offend following their imprisonment or conviction. This conduct is referred to as recidivism in the criminal justice. Sex crimes and sex offenders provoke a lot of anxiety in the community and the policy makers have established a number of policies to protect the society against sexual victimization (Levenson, Brannon, Fortney & Baker, 2007, p.1). In this case, while a number of policies have been passed to deal with sexual offenders, the challenge of sexual offender recidivism is yet to be resolved. Particularly, this is due to the fact that there are various methodological disparities in determining recidivism rates among sexual offenders. Similarly, the definition of recidivism among sexual offenders is still a controversial issue. Consequently, the various measures aimed at curbing recidivism have not gained much success. With this regard, this research paper seeks to critically examine the types of sexual offenders and recidivism.
2.0 Types of Sex Offenders
While studying recidivism among sex offenders, it is necessary to make a decision on how, and whether to classify sex offenders. In this case, it has been established that some researchers utilize the entire sex offenders group in reporting re-offended patterns. On the contrary, other studies report recidivism by classifying the sexual offenders depending on the type of crime committed. According to the a review conducted by Song & Lieb (2000), the most commonly used classification of sexual offenders is the one that separates sexual offenders according to the age preference of their victims. In this case, the two main categories of sexual offenders based on this classification are the pedophiles and rapists. In this regard, pedophiles refer to the classification of sexual offenders who "rape" or defile children. Most studies classify pedophiles as child molesters. However, some researchers contend that there is a distinct difference between pedophiles and child molesters. For instance, Lanning (2002) argues that there is no uniform definition of the term pedophile. This is a diagnostic term used to refer to individuals with intense, recurrent sexual arousing urges, behaviors or fantasies concerning prepubescent children. In technical terms, pedophilia is regarded to be a psychiatric diagnosis, which could be conducted by qualified psychiatrists or psychologists (Lanning, 2002).
In general, the terms pedophile and child molester are commonly used interchangeably by the media and the public in general. This implies that the majority of the people perceives the two terms to be synonymous. However, the terminology pedophilia is increasingly becoming popular among the prosecutors and the law enforcement, particularly, in cybercrime cases. According to Lanning (2002), pedophiles may not necessarily be child molesters. This is because an individual who is suffering from pedophilia may not physically engage in sexual acts with children. However, the pedophilia person can legally engage in the act of simply masturbating and fantasizing (Lanning, 2002). A child molester on the other hand is a person who molests children sexually. A pedophile may be having sexual preferences for the children and fantasize on engaging in sexual intercourse with children, but the person cannot be regarded as a child molester if he/she does not act. Similarly, according to Lanning (2002), "not all child molesters are pedophiles”. This is due to the fact that a person with a sexual preference for adults may decide to engage in sexual intercourse with children for various reasons. These reasons include the desire to hurt the molested child’s loved one, availability or curiosity (Lanning, 2002). Clearly, that person cannot be regarded to be a pedophile because a pedophile is a person who has a sexual preference for children and not adults. Therefore, it is confusing to label all child molesters as pedophiles.
On the other hand, other researchers have focused on classifying child sexual abusers into typologies or subgroups. For instance, according to Csom.org (2014) one of the most significant models of classifying persons who abuse children sexually proposes that these sexual offenders fall into two major subtypes: regressed or fixated. Basically, this model was developed to cluster these sexual offenders in accordance with their main sexual motivations and interests. However, the main challenge to this categorization of sexual offenders is that some sexual offenders might not perfectly fall into either category. According to Csom.org (2014), the sexual offenders in the fixated subtype represent persons who have their sexual care centered on children. In most cases, such interest among this subtype of sexual offenders might have begun during their adolescence. As a result, these individuals are not likely to engage in sexual intercourse with age-appropriate partners (Csom.org, 2014). In addition, the sexual offenders in this group are often preoccupied with the children and they have a tendency of being emotionally immature. Moreover, these persons tend to establish "relationships" with the children who are more vulnerable, mostly through pre-meditation and extensive grooming (Csom.org, 2014). Nevertheless, this category of sexual offenders has a tendency of targeting male children whom they are not related to. In other words, this fixated topology of sexual offenders could be thought of as pedophiles. Because of their sexual deviance of targeting male victims, these sexual offenders are associated with high risks of recidivism. On the other hand, the fixated group of sexual offenders entails persons with age-appropriate sexual interests, but may end up ending in sexual intercourse with children. These categories of sexual offenders could be thought of as child molesters.
Another category of sexual offenders is referred to as rapists. Just like child sexual abusers, rapists too are categorized into three subtypes. This classification is based on the patterns and characteristics of their acts as well as the various motivations instigating these acts. Again, it is argued that not all sexual offenders could perfectly fit into these subtypes. According to Csom.org (2014), rapists could be categorized into three subtypes, namely, anger rapists, power rapists, and sadistic rapists. With this regard, power rapists refer to the categories of sexual offenders who commit rape as a way of expressing their hostility and anger. Therefore, the motivating factor behind this category of sexual offenders is not sexual gratification, but rather a way of expressing their hostility and anger. Anger rapists are likely to use significant force and they are both verbally and physically aggressive towards their subjects (Csom.org, 2014). They also like subjecting their victims to humiliating and degrading sexual acts. Most researchers contend that anger rapists are often impulsive and spontaneous instead of carefully planned. On the other hand, the main motivating factor behind power rapists is power. This category of rapists is more interested in controlling or "possessing" their victims and harming them physically. They are often insecure regarding their masculinity and hence they rape as a way of feeling in control, more powerful or strong. However, it is argued that sadistic rapists are a category of rapists that is more dangerous than others. These rapists experience intense sexual arousal during their acts and they can cause physical harm to their victims (Csom.org, 2014). They often enjoy their victims’ suffering and fear and they could even kill them.
3.0 Definition of Recidivism
Recidivism is among the most primary concepts used in the criminal justice. The term recidivism refers to the relapse of an individual into the criminal behavior, after the person has received sanctions or undergone intervention for the previously committed crime. In this case, recidivism could be measured through the criminal acts that led to the reconviction, re-arrested or return to jail following the release of the prisoner. However, in order to measure recidivism, two conditions must be fulfilled. The first condition is that the person must be convicted of an offense in the criminal justice. Secondly, the individual convicted must have committed one or more crimes before being re-arrested. Therefore, for an individual to truly be convicted of recidivism, he/she must qualify and clarify both parts. According to Gelb (2007), the term recidivism refers to the reconviction, re-arrested or return to prison an individual. However, there have been arguments on how to determine recidivism among sex offenders. For instance, some researchers contend that recidivism could be defined through subsequent arrest (Csom.org, 2001). In this case, new arrests or charges are used as criteria for determining recidivism. This criterion is often unreliable owing to the fact that many persons are re-arrested but end up not being convicted for various reasons. Thus, using subsequent arrest in defining recidivism of sexual offenders unnecessarily leads to higher recidivism rate.
Another criteria used for measuring recidivism among sex offenders is the use of a subsequent conviction (Gelb, 2007). This criterion is more restrictive in that the suspect must be found guilty of the offense in which the person had been convicted of previously to truly fit this definition. Unlike subsequent arrest, this criterion results in lower recidivism rate. In general, more confidence is put in reconviction due to the fact that it en...