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Online Sex Offending and Risk Management

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Book cover Contemporary Sex Offender Risk Management, Volume II

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society ((PSRCS))

Abstract

Investigations, arrests, and convictions for online sex offending have risen exponentially in recent years, creating new challenges and demands at all stages of the criminal justice system. The most prevalent issue for psychological assessment concerns the reliability and validity of an assessment of risk of reoffending, both within online and offline spaces. The chapter will review the current knowledge on different types of online sex offending behaviour, including use of child sexual exploitation material, online solicitation behaviour, and use of the Internet for international perpetrators of sexual abuse, with a particular focus on young offenders. A key consideration is the availability and use of specific risk assessment/management tools in relation to risk appraisal and case prioritisation. A second key consideration is the online environment and its role as a potential facilitator of offending behaviour. The chapter will explore how these findings inform future treatment and prevention approaches.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The International Workgroup for Best Practice in the Management of Online Sex Offending (IWG) is facilitating the development and distribution of a framework for evidence-led practice in the management and prevention of online sex offending behaviour as well as professional knowledge exchange and collaboration across key stakeholders from academic and clinical research, practitioners, and policymakers concerned with the management of online sexual offending.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    M. Brennan

  2. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    H. L. Merdian

  3. Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK

    D. Perkins

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  1. M. Brennan
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  2. H. L. Merdian
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  3. D. Perkins
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Community and Criminal Justice, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom

    Hazel Kemshall

  2. Dept of Criminology, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom

    Kieran McCartan

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Brennan, M., Merdian, H.L., Perkins, D. (2017). Online Sex Offending and Risk Management. In: Kemshall, H., McCartan, K. (eds) Contemporary Sex Offender Risk Management, Volume II. Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63573-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63573-6_5

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