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30 • Justice Research and Policy *Discussion Routine activities theory proposes that crime occurs when motivated offenders, potential victims, and the absence of capable guardians merge in time and space. Our analysis of sex offenders and their potential targets in one Arkansas county showed a substantial overlap between those convicted of sex offenses (motivated offenders) and children who may be likely targets (potential victims). Some of the reason for this overlap is no doubt the purposeful actions of the offenders. Our results can be explained using the analogy of a regression model. Certainly not all child sex offenders purposefully move to be close to a school or day care. Part of the variation in where child sex offenders choose to live, therefore, is explained in terms of market conditions, in the inability or apathy on the part of the neighborhood to keep the sex offenders out, and for other reasons. Part of the variation in the residency patterns of child sex offenders, though, is no doubt attributable to them putting themselves in close proximity to potential targets, perhaps in hopes that their routine activities will overlap with the routine activi- ties of potential victims. Like the work of Cohen and Felson (1979), this research was particularly concerned with direct-contact predatory violations. A primary reason for the seriousness of sex crimes is that they represent physical attacks on the person. If, as Cohen and Felson (p. 595) argue, “target suitability influences the occurrence of direct-contact predatory violations,” then the location of potential targets and the proximity of potential offenders is of interest. Any changes in the environ- ment or activities of criminal behavior that can control predatory behavior should certainly be a concern for policymakers. Cohen and Felson (1979) also argue that increases in one of the three ele- ments that change routine activity patterns can increase the crime rate, regard- less of changes in the other elements. Furthermore, an increase may have a mul- tiplicative rather than an additive affect—that is, a small increase in the number of offenders who are seeking to target potential victims may produce an increase in the crime rate much larger than the increase in the number of offenders. If that is true, then a change in the number of child sex offenders living in close proxim- ity to potential targets deserves attention. In this research, we have attempted to establish that two of the elements of routine activities theory may be present in direct-contact predatory violations of child sex offenders. We argue that some child sex offenders will seek out suitable targets. When they find areas with one or more day cares, schools, or parks, they may seek residence there. A high number of child sex offenders living in a par- ticular area may signal that they are purposefully living there because of easy access to potential victims.