Criminal Profiling of Satanic Followers - Research Paper Example

Criminal profiling of Satanic Followers There is a widespread belief that there is a link between Satanism and crime (Lanning, 89). Satanic followers are found likely to commit violent crimes as their philosophy, based on selfishness and lack of regard for any forms of formal authority, “will inevitably lead to criminal activity” (Kennedy, 2006). The Satanic group whose members often tend to engage in violent crimes are self-styled Satanists, who use the literature and teachings of La Vey as ideological justification for their criminal behavior (Kennedy 2006, Perlmutter, 2001). The law enforcement problems which are most often related to Satanic activity include animal mutilations, desecration of churches and cemeteries, thefts from churches and cemeteries, teenage gangs, teenage suicide, vandalism, child abuse, kidnapping, and finally murder and human sacrifice (Lewis, 2001). The rituals and belief-systems of self-styled Satanists are either self-invented, or inspired by a variety of Satanic publications and related media, such as Radio Free Satan, which encourages teenagers to commit sucide. There are reported several cases of a variety of crimes, inspired by the Black Pope’s Satanic teaching. A classic example of a ritualistic crime committed by self-styled Satanists is the story of La Vey’s disciples, ordered by their leader to perform high-profile murders (Kennedy, 2006). Another famous story involving satanic crime is the case of Richard Ramirez, “The Night Stalker”, who raped, tortured, and murdered several victims, while forcing them to declare their love for Satan (Perlmutter, 2001). However, from the law enforcement perspective, it is not easy to classify a criminal activity as a satanic crime and, thus, reduce an investigation only to the suspects who claim to be Satanists (Lanning, 89). To start with, while there are several criteria that can help law enforcement officers to classify a crime as satanic, none of them is reliable enough to clearly define such a criminal activity. To start with, while some argue that the presence of certain symbols, such as inverted crosses, pentagrams, or 666 makes a crime satanic, from the law enforcement perspective “ unless there is a legal-valid perspective for doing so, police have no authority to seize any satanic or occult paraphernalia they might see during the search (Lewis, 2001). The symbols or signs have no any significance for the investigation unless they prove a criminal activity. If a victim includes a Satanic symbol when describing the instruments or a location of the crime, then the symbol can serve as an evidence. However, many cases reveal that despite the presence of certain symbols in the possession of the offender, the crime had no Satanic relation. Furthermore, signs, symbols, and rituals cannot always be interpreted clearly as their meaning may change over time, place, and circumstance (Lewis, 2001). As an example, a swastika can represent either prosperity and good fortune, or Nazism and anti-Semitism, or – currently – hate, paranoia, and adolescent defiance. Especially in cases involving dabblers, teenagers, and other self-styled Satanists, who give the symbols their own meaning, the analysis of symbols and signs may only have a limited application. There are also cases of offenders leaving satanic symbols on the crime scene deliberately in order to make the crime look “satanic” and, thus, confuse the investigators. Thus, when law enforcement officers investigate alleged satanic crimes, they need to be objective fact finders (Lanning, 89). While law enforcement officers need to be trained to recognize the possible investigative significance of satanic symbols, rituals, and paraphernalia, it is impossible for one person to know the meaning of all the symbols and rituals of every spiritual belief system. Therefore, symbols cannot be used to clearly classify a law enforcement problem as a satanic activity (Kennedy, 2006). Following the concern about “unexplained” mutilations and murders of animals in the late 1970s and the alleged human sacrifice of missing children in the 1980s, all bizarre, repulsive, or cruel crimes, such as body mutilation, amputation, or drinking of blood are linked to Satanism (Lanning, 89). However, in many cases it is difficult to decide if certain acts were performed in a specific manner in order to enhance sexual arousal or to fulfill spiritual needs. In the past, many victims of such crimes were identified or evaluated by experts who had no training or previous experience with the cases of satanic ritual abuse. Furthermore, the evidence reveals that bizarre and evil crimes often occur without any organized activity (Lewis, 2001). There are many cases of psychotic killers, such as Ed Gein or Richard Trenton Case, who mutilated their victims when they experienced psychotic delusions and had no relations with satanic activity. Furthermore, if the statements of victims and witnesses seem eccentric and awkward, they are not found credible by investigators (Kouri, n.d). That was the case of a woman who claimed being abused by a group of transsexual, satanic priests. All that abuse had been orchestrated by Father Warren, a family friend who knew the victim since her childhood (Kennedy, 2006). Following lack of evidence and awkward nature of these confessions, the woman was requested by the investigators to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. When she rejected that request, the diocese closed the case of her abuse. Therefore, when investigating bizarre and cruel crimes, law enforcement officers need to distinguish clearly between the facts and the possible interpretations of a crime (Lewis, 2001). Even though the individuals who commit the crime are involved in satanism, the unanswered question is the connection between their beliefs and the criminal activity. In cases when the members of satanic groups commit crimes together, there is no evidence that the philosophy or beliefs of these groups influence the motivation of the crime (Lanning, 89). When it comes to the motivation, it is the most common criteria used to define a satanic crime. Within this concept, satanic crime is an activity which is “spiritually motivated by a religious belief system” (Lanning, 89). However, in many cases, criminal activities have much more complex motivations than simply involvement in satanism. Furthermore, criminals may claim to follow a certain spiritual belief deliberately in order to rationalize and justify their criminal activity. This issue becomes even more complex when it comes to a crime with multiple offenders involved (Lewis, 2001). Each person involved may have a different motivation to engage in the same criminal activity, which makes it difficult to clearly classify the crime. There are several other problems related to the criminal profiling of satanic followers. As several alleged satanic crimes involve illegal drugs, the statements made by victims or former members of satanic groups may not be credible (Kouri, n.d). Furthermore, as Satanists believe in cremation, often no bodies are found, which makes it more difficult for investigators to find a corpus delicti. Finally, as according to their profile many satanic members are intelligent and creative, they find it easy to manipulate the crime scene in order to confuse investigators (Kouri, n.d). Despite a growing concern about satanic crime, there is still much to be done in the area of criminal profiling of Satanic Followers. All law enforcements officers who work on these cases should be trained to recognize how and when symbols, beliefs, and paraphernalia can be used to corroborate a criminal activity. However, they should be aware that the analysis of symbols and signs has only a limited application. Furthermore, victims of bizarre and cruel crimes should be evaluated only by properly trained and experienced experts, who know how to recognize satanic crimes. Finally, investigators always have to distinguish between the facts and their possible interpretations – even though an offender claims to be a Satanic follower, there may be no link between his beliefs and the crime committed. Even though within personal spiritual beliefs of a law enforcement officer Satanism is en evil activity, his beliefs should not affect the objectivity of the investigation; from the law enforcement perspective, all religious beliefs are neutral and a satanic activity does not mean a crime. Thus, when working on crimes that may be related to satanic activities, the focus must always be on the objective investigation of criminal statutes. References: Kennedy, W.H. (2006). Satanic Crime. A Threat in the New Millenium. Kouri, J. (n.d). Satanic or ritualistic crime and murder. Examiner.com. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/law-enforcement-in-national/satanic-or-ritualistic-crime-and-murder on 12th March 2011. Lanneth, K. (1989, October). Satanic, Occult, Ritualistic Crime. Police Chief Magazine. (Online). Retrieved from http://www.skepticfiles.org/mys3/lanning.htm on 12th March 2011. Lewis, J.R. (2001). Satanism Today : an encyclopedia of religion, folklore, and popular culture. California, ABC-CLIO, inc. Meyer, C.B. (2000). Introduction to Criminal Profiling. (0nline). Retrieved from http://www.criminalprofiling.ch/introduction.html on 11th March 2011. Passantino, R., Passantino, B. , Passantino, G. (1995). Satanism. Michigan, Zondervan. Perlmutter, D. (2001). Skandalon 2001: The Religious Practices of Modern Satanists and Terrorists. Turvey, B. (2008). Criminal profiling: an introduction to behavioral evidence analysis. Burlington, Elsevier Inc. (Original work published 2002) Read More