ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the criminal career approach to perpetrators of sex crimes and sexual offending. Taking the longitudinal sequence of the individual’s offending as a vantage point, the criminal career approach entails, rather than merely differentiating between offenders and non-offenders, the distinction and meticulous study of several different criminal career dimensions, like participation, offending frequency, crime mix, and duration, in order to provide a much more detailed insight into the development of crime with age and across the course of the criminal career. These insights may aid researchers in further developing etiological theories of sexual offending, identifying different types of perpetrators, directing intervention efforts to those offenders representing the highest risk to public safety, and helping to predict the possible outcomes of policies specifically targeting those engaging in sex crimes.
