Mystery: December 20, 2006 Issue [#1436] |
Mystery
This week: Edited by: The Milkman More Newsletters By This Editor
1. About this Newsletter 2. A Word from our Sponsor 3. Letter from the Editor 4. Editor's Picks 5. A Word from Writing.Com 6. Ask & Answer 7. Removal instructions
The third and final part of Serial Killers... |
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In the previous two installments of my three part series into Serial Killers, I have discussed the characteristics of serial murderers, differences and simularities between the sexes, and some of the preferred methods of committing these crimes. In the next few paragraphs I hope to shed light on how many of these serial killers can go so long before being apprehended.
Serial killers, as earlier identified, are able to blend in well with their communities and can be overlooked as suspects by neighbors and police officials.
The types of victims that many serial killers choose can also complicate matters. They often select victims that are easily controlled and are not likely to be reported as missing, like prostitutes, the homeless, or someone without close ties to family. The public places little pressure on the police to solve these cases and apprehend the killer.
Another hinderance is “linkage blindness”, the failure to link one killing to another or to find patterns among homicides. Because policing in the United States is decentralized and control remains in the hands of local police agencies, law enforcement agencies in different jurisdictions do not often communicate with one another or coordinate their investigations. Therefore, officers in one jurisdiction may not be aware that similar murders are taking place elsewhere.
Also the sheer volume of information that accumulates in a serial murders investigation is a problem for law enforcement agencies.
Some authorities believe that to determine whether several murders have been committed by the same killer, police agencies must verify that the murders share similar patterns or modus operandi. This requires a Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) which is a network that processes information from various jurisdictions, collects the data at a central point, and redistributes its findings to the different agencies.
One final problem faced by law enforcement is police agencies are often reluctant to commit to a serial murder investigation because they place the police in the public eye, and since serial killers are notoriously difficult to apprehend, the police may face a great deal of negative publicity.
How are serial killers caught? Often times it is by pure chance; for instance, when a person is arrested for another crime and the police stumble upon the evidence linking the suspect to a murder. Also suspects have been known to confess to their crimes once they are apprehended. The media, politicians, victims’ rights groups, or relatives of homicide victims put pressure on law enforcement agencies to pursue serial murder investigations. Also by the controversial technique of psychological profiling.
Although law enforcement officials, criminologists, and psychiatrists disagree over how to best identify and apprehend serial killers, they do agree that investigating serial murder is anything but an exact science. Don’t’ be afraid to write your next mystery outside of the box…
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In the next month's newsletter I'll address all of the comments about the last three articles on Serial Killers... Thanks for your patience and may you have the Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest of New Years. |
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