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Sex offenders and victims • 15 <br />*The Geographic Link Between Sex <br />Offenders and Potential Victims: <br />A Routine Activities Approach <br />Jeffery T. Walker <br />University of Arkansas at Little Rock and <br />Arkansas Statistical Analysis Center <br />James W. Golden <br />Amy C. VanHouten <br />University of Arkansas at Little Rock <br />JUSTICE RESEARCH AND POLICY, Vol. 3, No. 2, Fall 2001 <br />© Justice Research and Statistics Association <br />This research was made possible by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics through <br />the State Justice Statistics Program, grant number 98-MU-MU-K013. Points of view in <br />this document are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the official posi- <br />tion or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice, Arkansas Crime Information Center, or <br />the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. <br />*Abstract <br />Despite the publicity surrounding several high-profile sex offender incidents in the <br />1990s, relatively little research has been done on sex offenders themselves. This ar- <br />ticle reports on a study of sex offenders in one Arkansas county who had children as <br />victims. Specifically, we examined the relationship between where the offenders live <br />and where children congregate to see whether offenders choose to reside in areas <br />with high concentrations of children. We use routine activities theory as a foundation <br />for explaining our results, and conclude with a discussion of the policy implications <br />of the findings.