The preponderance of past criminological research indicates that criminal offenders do not specialize in crime types.
Most offenders commit a variety of offenses.
The idea that criminal specialization is a rarity is not widely known outside of criminology. Consequently, the legal and mental health systems view offenders in general, and sex offenders in particular, as specialists. The process of attaching offense-type labels to sex offenders on the basis of arrests or convictions can be misleading. As with general offenders, the idea that sex offenders specialize results from official focus on the most serious crimes that an offender commits. Perceived specialization ignores criminal and deviant behavior that is inconsistent with the perceived specialty.