Static-2002 coding rules (2009) - Static-99

Category 4: Relationship to Victims
9. Any Stranger Victim
Background: Research shows that having a stranger victim is related to
increased risk of sexual recidivism (Hanson & Bussière,1998, Table 1 – Item
“Victim Stranger (versus acquaintance)”).
Information Required to Score this Item: To score this item use all available
credible information. “Credible Information” includes but is not limited to police
reports, child welfare reports, victim impact statements or discussions with
victims, collateral contacts, and offender self-report.
This item is scored based on all available credible information except that
specifically derived from a polygraph interview. The offender need not have been
criminally charged for victims to be counted for this item.
The Basic Rule: If the offender has at least one victim of a sexual offence who
was a stranger at the time of the offence, score the offender a “1” on this item. If
the offender was known to all victims for at least 24 hours prior to their
victimization, score the offender a “0” on this item. If the offender has a stranger
victim then “Any Unrelated Victim” is always scored as well.
A victim is considered a stranger if either the victim did not know the offender at
least 24 hours before the initial offence and/or the offender did not know the
victim for at least 24 hours before the initial offence. Victims contacted over the
internet are not normally considered strangers unless a meeting was planned for
a time less than 24 hours after initial communication.
The criteria for being a stranger are very high. Even a slight degree of knowing is
enough for a victim not to be a stranger. If the victim knows the offender at all for
more than 24 hours, the victim is not a stranger. For example, if the victim was a
convenience store clerk and recognized the perpetrator as someone who had
been in on several occasions to buy cigarettes, the victim would no longer be a
stranger victim. If a child victim can say she/he recognizes the offender from
around the neighbourhood and the perpetrator has said “Hi” on occasion, the
child is no longer a stranger victim. The evaluator must determine whether the
victim “knew” the offender twenty-four hours (24 hours) before the assault took
place.
The criteria for “know/knew” is quite low but does involve some level of
interaction. They need not know each other’s names or addresses. However,
simply knowing of someone but never having verbally interacted with them would
not be enough for the victim to count as “known.” Similarly, an individual with
whom the offender “danced with” at a night club (without speaking) would still be
a stranger.
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