Low recidivism rates of child sex offenders in a Finnish 7-year follow-up

Taina Laajasalo, Noora Ellonen, Julia Korkman, Tom Pakkanen, Olli-Pekka Aaltonen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study examines the recidivism rates of Finnish child sex offenders convicted in 2010 (n = 361) over a follow-up period of seven years. The results indicate that while reoffending for other types of offences was common (34%), offenders had very low sexual crime recidivism rates (1%). In terms of more persistent criminal careers, less than a quarter of the offenders had both a previous criminal history and at least one subsequent offence during the follow-up period. Offenders with child sexual abuse material-related crimes reoffended more rarely than did others. Study limitations and implications for policymaking, media and rehabilitation are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)103-111
JournalNordic Journal of Criminology
Volume21
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Child sexual abuse
  • reconviction
  • recidivism
  • reoffending

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