The proliferation of indecent images of children (IIOCs) on the Internet has exceeded the resources required to investigate suspects effectively. This article examines the validity of the Kent Internet Risk Assessment Tool—Version 2 (KIRAT– 2), an evidence-based framework for prioritizing IIOC suspects according to their risk of committing contact offenses against children. Data were obtained from 374 police files (11 police forces across the United Kingdom) corresponding to individuals who were convicted for IIOC offense(s) during the period 2001–2013. Some 170 offenders had convictions or allegations of contact sexual offenses against children; police defined these as higher risk of contact offending (HR) as opposed to the remaining 204 individuals without convictions or allegations of contact sexual offenses (lower risk of contact offending, LR). We coded 166 variables previously discussed in the literature or from law enforcement experience that may discriminate dual from noncontact offenders. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to test which variables or combination of variables discriminated between HR and LR offenders. The final model, represented as a phased decision tree, uses 17 variables with 4 filters or decision steps examining previous convictions, access to children, current evidence of both online and offline behavior, and other relevant factors. The model classified 97.6% of HR within the higher risk levels (high or very high) and 62.3% of LR within the lower risk levels (low or medium). Findings are discussed in terms of contribution to the Internet sex offending risk assessment literature and practical implications for police forces.

Transcripts of chat logs of naturally-occurring, sexually exploitative interactions between offenders and victims that took place via Internet communication platforms were analyzed.The aim of the study was to examine the modus operandi of offenders in such interactions, with particular focus on the specific strategies they use to engage victims, including discursive tactics. We also aimed to ascertain offenders' underlying motivation and function of engagement in online interactions with children. Five cases, comprising 29 transcripts, were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis with a discursive focus. In addition to this, police reports were reviewed for descriptive and case-specific information. Offenders were men aged between 27 and 52 years (M = 33.6, SD = 5.6), and the number of children they communicated with ranged from one to twelve (M = 4.6, SD = 4.5). Victims were aged between 11 and 15 (M = 13.00, SD = 1.2), and were both female and male. Three offenders committed online sexual offenses, and two offenders committed contact sexual offenses in addition to online sexual offenses. The analysis of transcripts revealed that interactions between offenders and victims were of a highly sexual nature, and that offenders employed a range of manipulative strategies to engage victims and achieve their compliance. It appeared that offenders engaged in such interactions for the purpose of sexual arousal and gratification, as well as fantasy fulfillment.

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Training in suicide prevention appears to have been well received and to have had a beneficial impact on officers' attitudes, confidence, and knowledge. Further research is needed to assess its longer-term effects on police attitudes, skills, and interactions with suicidal individuals, and to establish its relative effectiveness in the context of multilevel interventions.

When individuals perceive time pressure, they decrease the generation of diagnostic hypotheses and prioritize information. This article examines whether individual differences in (a) internal time urgency, (b) experience, and (c) fluid mental ability can moderate these effects. Police officers worked through a computer-based rape investigative scenario, in which 35 were subjected to a time pressure manipulation, with their hypotheses generation and prioritization skills compared with a control (n = 41). Group 1 was told they would "get less time to complete the scenario compared with other officers," although both groups had equal amounts of time. Regression analyses found that time pressure reduced hypothesis generation and that individual differences in time urgency moderated this effect; individuals who tend to perceive time to pass more slowly than it is continued to generate hypotheses despite the presence of time pressure. Time pressure also influenced the likelihood of action prioritization at the start of the investigation. Time pressure was found to increase action prioritization, but only for officers with low time urgency or high fluid ability. Experience had no effect on time pressure during the investigative scenario. Implications of these findings are discussed.