Purpose

Serial offenders have been described as more forensically aware, better able to control their victim, and ultimately, more adept at eluding detection. Despite these assertions, there is a lack of research examining differences in “criminal expertise” (i.e. offense-related skills and competencies) between serial and non-serial offenders. The purpose of the current study is to address this empirical research gap.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study uses binary logistic regression to examine a sample of 83 serial offenses and 322 offenses involving “novices” (i.e. offenders without a previous criminal history) to determine whether criminal expertise is a distinctive feature of the crime-commission process of serial offenders, compared to novices.

Findings

Binary logistic regression findings indicated that offenders who did not verbally reassure their victim, who brought a weapon to the offense and who selected a victim who was walking were more likely to be serial. Taken together, these behaviors do not suggest that serial offenders are “experts” at avoiding detection, but rather, indicate some general offense competencies and skills related to violent offending.

Originality/value

The current study offers the first direct application of the criminal expertise framework to serial sexual offending. The findings offer new insights for the treatment and management of offenders who possess offense-related competencies and skills, which can offer a complementary view to more deficit-based models.

中文翻译：

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刑事专业知识在连环性犯罪中的作用：与“新手”的比较

目的

连环犯罪者被描述为更有法医意识，能够更好地控制受害者，最终更善于躲避侦查。尽管有这些断言，但缺乏对连续和非连续犯罪者之间“犯罪专业知识”（即与犯罪相关的技能和能力）差异的研究。当前研究的目的是解决这一实证研究差距。

设计/方法/方法

目前的研究使用二元逻辑回归来检查涉及“新手”（即没有以前犯罪历史的罪犯）的 83 起连环犯罪和 322 起犯罪的样本，以确定犯罪专业知识是否是连环犯犯罪过程的一个显着特征，与新手相比。

发现

二元逻辑回归结果表明，没有口头安抚受害者、携带武器进行犯罪以及选择走路的受害者的罪犯更有可能是连续的。综上所述，这些行为并不表明连环犯罪者是避免被发现的“专家”，而是表明一些与暴力犯罪相关的一般犯罪能力和技能。

原创性/价值

目前的研究首次将刑事专业知识框架直接应用于连环性犯罪。研究结果为处理和管理拥有犯罪相关能力和技能的罪犯提供了新的见解，这可以为更多基于缺陷的模型提供补充观点。