Creating the Global Criminal Justice Survey: A Questionnaire Designed to Gather Perspectives from the Autism Community and Criminal Justice Professionals.

Autistic people's perceptions of their interactions with criminal justice professionals are predominantly negative; however, little is known about the state of interactions on a global scale. To further understanding, a comprehensive stakeholder questionnaire was created. Aspects of reliability and validity including evidence for test content and internal structure were gathered using expert reviews, cognitive interviewing, pilot data collection, and a larger data collection effort (N = 1618). Data was gathered from the autism community through perspectives of parents/caregivers as well as from self-reported autistic adults. Criminal justice professionals included law enforcement officers, corrections professionals, probation and parole officers, forensic psychologists and legal professionals. The scale development process was detailed in order to sufficiently document the initial psychometric evidence and share the steps taken to gain diverse stakeholder input. This study is a critical first step in generating further information to facilitate policy and program development with wide applicability.

Sex Offender Mobility: An Application of Crime Pattern Theory Among Child Sex Offenders.

Sex offenders are a heterogeneous group and exhibit various offense patterns. Often the location where the offender committed the offense is different from where the offender encountered their victim. Applying crime pattern theory, this study sought to understand if the type of location, victim, and situational characteristics could predict whether an offender would commit the sexual offense in a different and more secluded location than where he first encountered the victim. Among a sample of 114 incarcerated sex offenders, the results showed that offenders who contacted their victims in locations where children are known to congregate were more than 4 times more likely to travel to a more secluded location to complete the sexual offense. Those who used noncoercive strategies (e.g., bribes, seduction) during the offense process were approximately 7 times more likely to travel to a more secluded location that those who did not. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.