Murder and Serious Sexual Assault - Lancaster EPrints - Lancaster ...

Executive summary
Improving our understanding of criminal careers and how they relate to very serious
offences is important in order to improve both preventative and investigative
responses. The primary aim of this study was to identify the presence of risk factors
within a prior criminal history that might have some potential application in
appropriate interventions for serious offenders. It explores the previous criminal
histories of those who had been convicted of murder or serious sexual assault (SSA).
The study explores the relationship between the previous criminal history of an
individual and the risk of subsequent conviction for murder, on the one hand, and
SSA of an adult female, on the other.
The study used a matched case-control approach, using data taken from two existing
Home Office datasets: the Offenders Index (OI) and the Homicide Index (HI). For
murderers, the analysis was based on 569 males aged under 45 years, convicted of
murder for the first time in 1995-97. The study focused on those with previous
convictions (386), who were matched to two sets of control groups: a group of offenders
with a general criminal history; and a group of offenders with a criminal history
including a violent offence. The basic sample for those convicted of SSA consisted of
1,057 males aged under 45 years, convicted for the first time in 1995-97 of rape or
serious indecent assault of an adult female. The study focused on those with previous
convictions (678) who were matched to a control group of offenders with a general
criminal history.
Murders and serious sexual offenders – general characteristics
Analysis of the two groups of offenders revealed the following characteristics:
● 32 per cent of the first-time murderers and 36 per cent of the serious sexual
offenders had no previous convictions.
● The mean age of first-time murderers in the study was 27.6 years. The serious
sexual offenders tended to be older, with a mean age of 29.1 years.
● Of those murderers with previous convictions, 57 per cent had a conviction for
violence, five per cent had a conviction for sexual offences and 20 per cent had
convictions for robbery. The most common convictions were for theft and
handling stolen goods (72%) and burglary (61%).
● Of those serious sexual offenders with previous convictions, only seven per cent
had convictions for sexual offences while 50 per cent had convictions for violence
offences. As with convicted murderers, the most common previous convictions
were for theft and handling stolen goods (73%) and burglary (53%).
● Comparing murderers with previous convictions and those without revealed little
variation. Both groups seemed to use similar methods of killing, and the
circumstances of the murder, as assessed using the HI codes, were similar.
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