Rationale
To recap the main ideas from previous chapters, limitations of the Relapse Prevention Model (i.e., offenders following a single pathway to reoffending, and stress on deficiencies of offenders to meet their needs in more socially acceptable ways) prompted Ward and colleagues (through their own experience working with sexual offenders) to develop the Offence Process Model (1995) and finally the Self- Regulation Model of the offence and relapse process (Ward & Hudson, 1998 a, b). As a result of this theoretical and empirical work, they identified four pathways to offending, with two approach and two avoidant goals, representing an individual‟s trajectory towards committing a sexual offence. The two approach goals offer interesting potential for further study, and prompted further discussion as to the nature of these individuals‟ knowledge structure. On closer examination Ward (1999) postulated that those following approach pathways, and in particular approach-
explicit pathways, contain features not uncommon to those found in the expertise literature. Interestingly, approach pathways described offenders as planners, strategists, and effective decision-makers with goals aimed at the commission of a sexual offence. These individuals purposely and with effort integrate into their routines behaviours and actions to ready themselves for an offence.
Drawing from characteristics of expertise and expert performance the current research explores the possibility of conceptualising some child sexual offenders as „expert‟ decision-makers and problem-solvers. The area of chess for example provides a good theoretical and methodological basis from which to show the accumulation of knowledge structures (i.e., chunking) and the acquisition of proficiency in child sex offenders.
In the research on expert performance in sport there are studies indicating special skills that are displayed by the expert individual. Experts exhibit goal- oriented behaviour and are aware of techniques and strategies to improve their performance, and any failure in their performance can be specifically pinpointed. In the medical reasoning research specific attention is drawn to the medical expert‟s use of illness scripts as a method of reaching the correct diagnosis.
The significance of Baker et al‟s. (2003) research and their findings that participation in competitive games is rated as the most helpful form of developing perceptual and decision making skills, offers the suggestion that the act of
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committing a child sexual offence and the grooming process leading to it may be sufficient in the development of skills required to engage in child molestation. Due to the covert nature of sexual offending, it could be argued that fantasy and
masturbation may be considered additional practice outside of victim contact, with activities performed within actual offences deemed the largest contributing factor towards skill acquisition.
From work conducted on criminal expertise and decision making, Wright and Decker (1994) found that burglars possess rational and habit driven processes
(cognitive scripts) which enable them to successfully navigate their way around the inside of a property with minimal risk and maximum gain. Nee and Meenaghan (2006) also discovered that burglars used fixed patterns of behaviour based on prior learning of what had successfully worked in the past. Moreover, Nee and Meenaghan (2006) suggested that the cognitive mechanisms used by experienced burglars were similar to characteristics displayed by experts in other domains: the ability to make instantaneous decisions, unconsciously recognise cues, make quick systematic searches, and have the ability to multi-task (Nee, in press).
At present there is only the theoretical assumption (Ward, 1999) that sexual offenders learn and continue to evolve during their careers to a degree of
automaticity only seen in experts. The purpose of the current research is to
investigate the possibility that sexual offenders have deeply entrenched procedural and structural knowledge, which is evident in an individual‟s level of competency in continuing to successfully offend against children.
Therefore the major aim of the present study is to explore the possibility of using characteristics of expertise research as a guiding theoretical construct, in the hope of discovering the presence and depth of proficiency/competency in child sex offenders. Recent literature has begun to bridge cognitive and criminal psychology with script theory and decision making. However, in depth empirical research into sexual offenders as goal setters and strategists in this field has largely been
untouched. In particular, the aim of the current study is to investigate whether there are „expert‟ offenders within the child sexual offending domain who demonstrate high levels of competency in grooming techniques, target selection, interpretation and evaluation of environmental cues, and possess extensive offence scripts. Research on sex offenders suggests that they may possess knowledge structures
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which contain information relative to the facilitation of problem solving and decision-making during the offence process, in addition to levels of automaticity previously seen in experts across a variety of domains.
Research Questions
Both the expertise literature and work conducted by Ward (1999) aided in the overall conceptualisation of the current research (along with several other key areas of interest to the researcher) as a way of focusing the topic of study for the following research questions:
1. What are the key cognitive, behavioural, contextual and affective components involved in the commission of a sexual offence against a child? In an effort to identify key components the aim of the research was to construct a
descriptive competency based model of child sexual offenders.
2. What factors are salient to knowledge and skill acquisition of child sexual offenders and are those factors a function of experience? By using key characteristics derived from the expertise and expert performance literature it is hypothesised that specific skills and knowledge related to sexual offending can be identified. In addition, within this research question the current study also seeks to investigate whether child sexual offenders draw offence related scripts from their knowledge structures as identified in the SRM and modus operandi studies. Further, what role does deviant sexual fantasy play within script structure and mental rehearsal and simulation?
3. Do child sexual offenders display a variation of skills and knowledge as a function of their experience? This question targets participants‟ offending over time and across offences. The aim is to investigate whether child sexual offenders escalate in severity and frequency of offending over time, and if so, is this due to them acquiring and refining more complex skills and strategies? Embedded within this research question it was hoped that the research would be able to examine whether skills and techniques utilised by child sexual offenders (i.e., grooming strategies, victim management) may become automated with practice and/or experience.
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4. What roles do affect regulation and self-monitoring skills play in the maintenance of offending and does this enable child sexual offenders to appear to lead seemingly normal lives?
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