How has the Covid-19 pandemic altered sex offender behaviour?

Researchers at the University of Birmingham are investigating how sex offenders have changed their behaviour in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. The insights generated by the research will provide urgently needed information about how to protect vulnerable people to police and other stakeholders including victim support organisations. Project lead, Professor Jessica Woodhams , of the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham, explains: "Sex offenders are versatile, and will change their behaviour according to circumstance and opportunity. The Covid-19 outbreak is a crisis that will alter offender behaviour - as well as who is vulnerable to sexual violence. Our research to understand these changes is urgently needed so that we know how best to protect those vulnerable people in uncertain and changing times.' The project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation's rapid response to COVID-19 will enable the team to examine extensive data on sex offenders collated by the Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS) of the National Crime Agency. This analysis will enable the team to determine how offender behaviour has changed since March 2020. They will continue to track these changes over the next 12 months and compare them to data collected in the 12 months prior to the start of the pandemic.