ABSTRACT
Research demonstrates that a large number of sexual crimes against strangers are committed by a relatively small number of serial offenders (Abel et al. 1987; Hazelwood and Warren 1990; Grubin and Gunn 1990; Jackson et al. 1995). This observation, coupled with the potential for studying patterns of events in terms of their usefulness in predicting future events, has given rise to a growing interest in studying the behavior of serial or career criminals. The patterning of their criminal behavior over time in terms of the types of crime perpetrated, the modus operandi manifest in categorically similar crimes, and the temporal and geographical constellations created by a crime series allows for empirical and investigative inquiry not possible with crimes that are studied either individually or in the conglomerate.
