Jesse Cale

Objectives: Evidence pertaining to the effectiveness of specialized interventions for young people who commit harmful sexual behaviours is equivocal and sparse. The current study used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of a specialized treatment program for harmful sexual behaviours in adolescence. Methods: Participants included 284 young people referred for serious sexual offences who were screened and accepted for treatment, and a comparison group of 370 untreated adolescents also adjudicated for serious sexual offences. This study builds on a previous evaluation that followed participants to age 18 by extending the follow up to age 25, thereby providing evidence on the program’s effectiveness during the transition to adulthood. Cox survival models estimated the rate of subsequent any, sexual, violent, and non-violent offending, using covariate balancing propensity score weighting and stabilised inverse probability of treatment weighting. Results: Treatment was associated with a significantly lower rate of any and sexual reoffending, but not violent and non-violent offending. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the benefits of specialized treatment in adolescence extend into adulthood. The findings are discussed in terms of cost effectiveness of specialized treatment for harmful sexual behaviours and methodological implications for evaluating low-base rate phenomenon such as sexual recidivism.

Researchers have increasingly explored the negative consequences of Non-Consensual Sharing of Intimate Images (NCSII) for victims, though less work has considered the factors associated with offending, particularly among youth populations. Few have explored offending using criminological frameworks, calling to question how well existing models of offending may account for this behaviour. This study attempted to address this gap in the literature through an assessment of youth participation in non-consensual sharing of images in a sample of 864 South Australian youth. Using binary logistic regression modelling, this study examined the relationship between self-control, opportunity and youth involvement in NCSII. The implications for our understanding of both image abuse and criminological theory were examined in detail.

This study synthesises the prevalence of self-reported child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) perpetration by adults from the general population. We conducted a systematic review and proportional meta-analysis, searching eight electronic databases and grey literature sources up to August 1, 2025, supplemented by citation tracking. Inclusion criteria specified quantitative observational studies in English that sampled community-based adults (aged 18 and older) and reported primary, self-report data (numerator and denominator) on CSEA perpetration (contact or noncontact) against children (under 18). Studies using clinical, forensic, or specialised samples were excluded. Thirty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Proportional meta-analysis using random-effects models (with Hartung–Knapp adjustment to account for sparse data) yielded a sex-standardised prevalence for contact offending of 4.5% (any child age), 2.0% (pubescent), and 1.5% (prepubescent). Noncontact offending prevalence was 6.5% (any age), 6.2% (pubescent), and 1.7% (prepubescent). Subsequent analysis of sex-separated estimates, excluding influential outliers, found the prevalence of contact and noncontact offending against prepubescent children to be 1.6% and 2.5% for men and 1.0% and 0.5% for women, respectively. Among men, noncontact offending was approximately twice as prevalent as contact offending, whereas for women, contact and noncontact prevalences were similar. These findings are the first attempt to provide population-level benchmarks for self-reported CSEA perpetration, though results should be interpreted cautiously due to high heterogeneity and reliance on non-representative samples.

Research exploring online fraud has largely focused on victim characteristics, limiting our knowledge of the factors influencing individuals’ risk of engaging in fraud offenses. It is essential that researchers understand the early-onset risk factors for fraud offending to develop better strategies to prevent behavior and reduce victimization. To address this gap in the literature, this study explored the relationship between self-control, opportunity, and two forms of online fraud in a sample of youth. The results illustrated that self-control and deviant peer associations increase the risk of acquiring personal information and funds from victims, though different online behaviors were associated with each offense. The implications of this study for our understanding of both criminological theory and policy are discussed in detail.

A disproportionally large number of adolescents engage in cyber-deviance. However, it is unclear if distinct patterns of adolescent cyber-deviance are evident, and if so, whether and to what extent low self-control is associated with different patterns of cyber-deviance. The current study addressed this research gap by examining the relationship between self-control and distinct latent classes of adolescent cyber-deviance net of potential confounders among a cross-sectional sample of 1793 South Australian adolescents. Four latent classes were identified, each characterized by varying probabilities of involvement in six types of cyber-deviance that were measured. The versatile class ( n = 413) had the lowest average level of self-control, followed by the harmful content users ( n = 439) and digital piracy ( n = 356) classes, with the abstainer class ( n = 585) characterized by the highest self-control. Analysis of covariance indicated that the abstainer group had significantly higher self-control than other classes of cyber-deviance. Although the versatile class had noticeably lower average self-control scores than the harmful content users and digital piracy groups, this difference was not significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Collectively, these findings suggest that self-control appears to distinguish between those who do and do not engage in cyber-deviance but may not distinguish between distinct patterns of cyber-deviance net of other factors.

This study provides an evaluation of recidivism outcomes for a specialized, field-based treatment program for youth who perpetrate sexual offenses in an Australian jurisdiction. Using survival analyses, recidivism outcomes for the treatment group ( n = 200), who were followed for an average of 5.07 years ( SD = 3.13), were contrasted with a sample of sexually offending youth who were either referred but not accepted or not referred to the program ( n = 295). Rates of sexual recidivism were low and not significantly different between the groups (9.5% for treated and 10.8% for untreated). Unadjusted Cox regression results indicated that the treated group were less likely to violently recidivate compared to the untreated group (HR = 1.41, 95% CI [1.01, 1.96]), but this effect became nonsignificant when controlling for offense history covariates (HR = 1.22, 95% CI [0.87, 1.72]). Both groups exhibited high rates of nonsexual offending during the follow-up period, and treatment factors including clinician-rated success, were found to be associated with a lower frequency of reoffending after treatment. Findings highlight important considerations for both practice and research. First, findings suggest the need for specialized programs to ensure factors associated with general recidivism are also addressed in treatment; second, findings reinforce potential utility for clinician-rated and structured assessments to inform treatment planning and outcomes. Finally, the findings raise the importance of appropriate comparison groups when designing evaluation studies, to accurately inform policy and practice.

This study provides an evaluation of recidivism outcomes for a specialized, field-based treatment program for youth who perpetrate sexual offenses in an Australian jurisdiction. Using survival analyses, recidivism outcomes for the treatment group (n=200), who were followed for an average of 5.07 years (SD = 3.13), were contrasted with a sample of sexually offending youth who were either referred but not accepted or not referred to the program (n=295). Rates of sexual recidivism were low and not significantly different between the groups (9.5% for treated and 10.8% for untreated). Unadjusted Cox regression results indicated that the treated group were less likely to violently recidivate compared to the untreated group (HR=1.41, 95% CI=1.01-1.96), but this effect became nonsignificant when controlling for offense history covariates (HR=1.22, 95% CI=0.87-1.72). Both groups exhibited high rates of nonsexual offending during the follow-up period, and treatment factors including clinician-rated success, were found to be associated with a lower frequency of reoffending after treatment. Findings highlight important considerations for both practice and research. First, findings suggest the need for specialized programs to ensure factors associated with general recidivism are also addressed in treatment; second, findings reinforce potential utility for clinician-rated and structured assessments to inform treatment planning and outcomes. Finally, the findings raise the importance of appropriate comparison groups when designing evaluation studies, to accurately inform policy and practice.

Crime rates in Australia have declined or been steady over the past decade yet prison populations are at all-time highs. Similarly, unemployment rates have been low but unemployment for those ex-prisoners seeking work is very high. In this paper, we draw on the findings of an Australia-wide survey of government-funded employment service providers who support working-aged Australians including ex-prisoners in their search for work. We find that the heterogeneity of the needs of ex-prisoners coupled with the frugality and inflexibility of government policies and practices frustrates the abilities of these agencies to provide services to this target group.