Abstract
Characteristics of male offenders arrested in Japan for exhibitionism (N = 414) and features of their offences were investigated. In analyses, their behavioral consistency was also examined by focusing on 87 repeat exhibitionists. The results indicated that many offenders were well-adjusted persons: 71% were employed, 30% were married, and 23% were graduates. Moreover, 66% of the offences were committed in daytime, and 64% targeted victims aged 10-20 years. In 24% of cases, the distances between offenders' residences and crime scenes were less than one kilometer, whereas 40% of offenders lived over 5 kilometers away. In terms of behavioral consistency, offences in “trains or buses” and public spaces were shown to be consistent for repeated arrests, even after taking the occurrence rate into consideration by measures of adjusted standardized residual (ASR) and forward specialization coefficient (FSC), which is suggestive of behavioral consistency. Finally, less frequent behaviors, such as nighttime offences and offences targeting victims aged 30 years or older occurred less consistently in the series of offences. The results suggested that many exhibitionists rationally decided when and where to commit crimes, based on their calculation of risk and reward. The fact that many offenders were well-adjusted persons might be one of factors explaining offender's rational decision making. The findings in the current study can contribute to the police investigation to prioritize their investigative targets. The current research can form the basis of understanding of the nature of male exhibitionists.
