The Prevalence and Type of Serial Killings in the United States and Australia - Literature review Example

Introduction There is an alarming fascination, and a growing interest in the occurrence of serial murders. In spite of this, there has been a dearth of Australian generated research.Accompanied by the lack of delination in this area, there is also no standard consensus in the fields of endeavor, as to what a working definition of a serial killer is. How many persons must be murdered for an incidence to receive the serial killer classification? Which elements (sexual or non sexual) must be present? What characteristics are common to victims?(Egger 1998; Holmes & Burger 1998; Dietz, Hazelwood & Warren 1990). Serial killer as a term of reference for a heinous act, has only been prominent for the past 20 years.(Hazelwood & Douglas 1980).However, the acts which compose the crime are certainly not new. When one reviews the details of a serial killing, it suddenly becomes a frightening occurrence, in that they usually take place without any obvious motive, and the most chilling of all thoughts surrounding the occurrence, is that the victims are usually strangers, who in many instances have been randomly selected. The stranger, random connection provides this type of homicide a distinction from most other types of murders.generally speaking, women commit murders in self defence, or after years of mistreatment by a loved one or spouse.(Mann,1996), on the other hand, the male has no restrictive code of homicide, and will commit heinous acts out of jealousy or a perceived matter of honour.(Polk,1999). The motivation of a predominant number of serial killers has nothing to do with money, affection, or getting even.(Fox & Levine 1999). Serial killers do not engage their victims out of self defense, as it might be found in other types of homicides, which might involve a man on man killing or a female murdering a male. Serial killers enjoy the thrill, the sexual gratification, or the dominance which they hold over their victims.(Seltzer, 1998). Compare the prevalence and type of serial killings in the United States and Australia The Federal Bureau of Investigation has attempted to portray a standard definition in its crime classification manual. The FBI quantifies the occurrence of serial murders as three or more different events.(Douglas 1992),and the most salient point is the repetitive nature and sequential nature of any homicide.According to Aki (2003), It is often the case that serial murders will feature a similar subject.(p.6). According to Kraemer; Lloyd & Heilburn (2004), while a normal homicide might not be deliberate, premeditated, or have any sexual undertones, serial murders will always possess some or all of the aforementioned ingredients. Folino (2000), states that these variables may often be associated with multiple murders and that the primary motivation for rape is not sex, but power. Egger (1998), has further offered that serial killers are not primarily motivated by sex itself. Fox & Levin (2005) examined close to 500 serial murders in the US, and close to two-thirds of these respondents reflected that they were turned on by the idea of power or some sort of sexual deviation. A review of the cases of the 13 serial killers arrested in Australia over the past twenty years reveals in only one of the five killers were prior sex offenders.Moreover, of the 13 arrests, case records indicate that six of the serial killings contained a sexual content, and in only one incident was the victim and offender known to each other.While the debate for a working definition of serial killers has and continues to be somewhat convoluted and contentious, among academics and the police, there are a number of issues beyond this primary stage which are clear and agreed upon by all camps, whether in the United States or Australia.Males comprise a large number of violent offenders in Australia, they are usually between the ages of 18 to 30 and possess a high school education or less, and the homicides which they committ are gender and dominance based.(Chappell,1995). Numerous commentators have concluded that there is not a high correlation between minority ethnic groups and serial killing.Aki (2003), Lord & Heilburn (2004) Fox & Levin (2005), all agree that the highest incidence of serial killers are white males, who are of moderate to high intelligence. According to Godwin (1999), these perpetrators have an average age of 25 years, with a mean of 30 years, and the typical age group of serial killers range between 25 and 40 year of age. In Australia from 1999 to 2006, there have been 13 serial killers apprehended. These killings conformed to the serial killer characteristics which predominate the profiles of both Australian and American criminologists and police; only one of the crimes was committed with an accomplice, the others were committed by persons acting alone, and twelve of the crimes were committed by males. There is a contention that the typical serial killer harbours a deep sense of self-hatred, in that most serial killers tend to victimize individuals from their own race. (Hickey 2006). Newton (1992) states that race is a dominant consideration in victim selection in about 2% of American serial killers. The American serial killer picture is rather blurred, and sometimes presents obstacles in solving a mystery due to the conventional mind set.This is particularly true as it pertains to African Americans. One must ask the question, is it because African American serial killers make up only 13 to 15% of the total,or is it because they deviate from the mold of intra racial murders, that the level of their involvement is deemphasized? It is no secret among criminologists whose speciality is homicide, that African American serial killers do exist.Instead of addressing the prevalence head on, American criminologists have chosen to approach the issue in a misleading and incomplete manner, and it produces an image which is inaccurate.American criminologists are apt to conform to the phraseology adopted by Leyton (1986), as he offers as an explaination for the omission stating, serial killers were almost never drawn from the ranks of the truly oppressed, which means that numbers and commentary on women, (While it is true that female serial killers are rare, they do exist.In a study cited by Holmes & Holmes (1991), of 200 serial killers 12 were women.Over a 20 year period in Australia, there was only one female serial killer.), African Americans, and American Indians are not routinely included in the chronicling of events.It has been revealed that the motivation of female serial killers run totally counter to the motivations of males, and includes money, retribution,pleasure and id motivation.(Riedel 1998). Keller & Keller (1998), found that females usually kill persons with whom they are acquainted or associated, and the predominate method of those who act alone is poisoning. Due to the growing incidence of female serial killers Kelleher and Kelleher (1998), has been involved in the establishment of categories for women offenders;: Black Widow, Angel of Death, Sexual Predator, Revenge, Profit or Crime, Team Killer and Question of Sanity. The authors reveal the categories are accompanied by variances in motivation, choosing of victims, weapons and methods. In their delination of the various types, the authors outline the prevailing patterns which occur within each type. These intricacies make it difficult to succinctly classify the crimes of those within the seven groups, consequently it complicates efforts to create profiles on these women, and this makes the homicide investigation extremely difficult. The research is further skewed and guided on the basis of the paradigm mentioned by Holmes & Holmes (1998) makes the general statement, that serial killings are committed mostly by white males on white women.(p.31). The FBI was the agency which created the concept of criminal profiling as a vehicle to aid in the detection of Serial killers, however, it is not 100% absolutely fool proof.(Wilson, Lincoln & Kocsis, 1997). The FBI recognizes the process to be an exhaustive one, but it does not always yield desired results. In Australia, there is only one criminal profiler, and there is an absence of training in this area, primarily due to the low incidence of serial murders, the expenditure for training can not be prudently justified. In the recent 2002 Muhammed & Malvo serial murders, authorities in America,inhibited themselves from solving the crime spree in an expeditious manner, due to their skewed white male paradigm. This trend of thought contributes heavily to linkage blindness, which precludes investigators from linking two or more related crimes.(Egger, 1984). This is a problem which is specifically endemic of serial crimes. In the United States this is a particularly acute problem, due to the decentralization of police departments which leaves the links between crimes unrecognized.In Australia this is not a problem because the police departments are more centralized, and this is coupled with presence of the National Coronial Information System which goes through automatic updates, making the information on all homicides immediately current. If it actually was as it appeared and Muhammad and Malvo, without cause or provocation went about the misguided business of victimizing and instilling terror upon the Washington D.C. area, all of the authorities were wrong in their assumptions. Moreover, all of the standard profiles and theories of who mass murderers are, must now be replaced.The entire spectrum is in need of a reevaluation because the numbers show that Muhammad and Malvo were not aberrations. It has been exhibited that African American serial killers receive only cursory representation in the works of criminologists, as it relates to their proportionate share of the serial killer population.To further illustrate this point, we will briefly review the works of some of the criminologists who are mentioned in the body of this paper; Holmes & Holmes (1998), dealt with 45 serial killers, and only two of them were African American. Egger (1998), discusses 48 serial killers, and only mentions two African Americans. Fox & Levin (2001) conducted a study of more than 500 serial killers, and merely made mention of two African American serial killers, but did not discuss any dynamics of the individuals mentioned. In the American assessment of the serial killer condition, the statements are rarely qualified and these underrepresented qualifications presents the reader with the idea that the white male population comprise the entire serial killer category. There is no dispute with the contention that the white male comprise the majority(upwards of 80%) in absolute numbers, but it would present a clearer picture and serve as a catalyst in resolution, if comparable figures and discussions were presented on the entire spectrum of perpetrators. In that the motivation for a particular type of killing might not be shared by others, it is usually the case that the serial killer will almost always be a lone perpetrator.(Lord & Heilburn 2004). Associated with the psychological gratification, it is a common occurrence for serial killers to strangle or beat their victims, which in either instance would lead to a slow and torturous death. According to Ressler, Burgess & Douglas (1988), the acts of serial killers is usually premeditated, as their planning is detailed in fantasizing about their victim. They are subject to serialize their acts, but use varying locations to commit the crime while transferring the body from one location to another, and that they often leave the body in a remote location.(Kramer, Lord & Heilbrun 2004). Right & Hensley (2003) and Jenkins (1988), suggest that the backgrounds of serial killers reveal a link between serial murder and childhood animal cruelty; Douglas and Olshaker (1999), point to correlates of perennial bedwetting and arson. These and other biological and environmentally suggested determinants have been challenged by Fox & Levin (2005), as an excuse for mitigating the severity of serial killers actions.(p.113) Over the past twenty years in Australia, there have been 5,743 homicide perpetrators who killed 5,617 persons in 5,226 homicides. There have been 11 groupings by the NHMP of serial murders. (See Appendix “A”). The total victim count in the series of serial murders ranged from a minimum of three to twelve persons.This Australian grouping is in accordance with the FBI catergorization for serial murders. According to Kidd (1999),Going back as far as 40 years Australia has witnessed nine known serial killers. Of course, reason leads one to believe that over this extended period, there have probably been more, but it is not possible to record those, who were not apprehended. The NHMP (National homicide Monitoring Program), shows that between 1989 to 1989, there have only been three serial murders in Australia. During this same period in the United States the number is close to four figures.Obviously, this is an alarming figure and according to Quinet (2007), the blood continues to flow because it is her contention that although early attempts to estimate the number of serial murder victims in the United States reflected large variances(Fox and Levin,1985; Holmes & Deburger,1988; Kiger,1990). Kiger (1990), offered the assessement that on the high end of the spectrum the number of serial murder victims could possibly peak at 6,000 individuals per annum, and this figure would have been generated by at least 500 serial killers, covering a period of perhaps five years. Additional research suggested in the 1990’s that the numbers of the 80’s were exaggerated, and the US was throwing good money after bad, and devoting too much time and attention on an entity which might have only constituted a little more than 1% of their annual homicides.(Kiger,1990) However,Quintet (2007), asserts that the present estimates may not be coping up with the actual incidence of serial murders.It is her contention that the list of inclusions are not complete, and due to hidden serial murder victims, the addition of a lower estimate of 182, and a high end approximation of 1, 832 additional United States victims can be realized. Surely, the argument can be made that heightened surveillance is a primary step towards formulating effective public policy. If there is an atmosphere where certain types of homicides and certain victim pools are not responded to, then the argument that we might be underestimating the scope of serial victims. Moreover, we stand at the threshold of covering up a much deeper hole of serial murders. Of course, the intent here is not to suggest that the number of serial murders, or serial murderers are increasing,but it is to further amplify the point that there are some incidents which are slipping through the cracks, and are not being counted. Numerous commentators have offered their educated guesses on why or how, the numbers are so disparingly different.According to Jenkins (2005) the situation with exaggeration in the United States is present for a number of reasons; Authorities have in some instances accepted the body count of perpatrators as being actual.(Egger, 2002; Fox & Levin,2005). Additionally, there has been some conflict concerning the nature of the killer, victim relationship.The attitude persisted that most homicides committed by strangers upon strangers, were serial homicides, and that many, if not all, of the random unknown offender murders, might have been serial killings. Conclusion It is a prevailing thought among most commentators that it is not possible in the current environment, using the tools which are available, to make a precise determination on the number of serial murders, and it is with even greater trepidation with which we approach any attempts at determining how the situation will evolve in the long term.In assessing the scope of the problem, we are beset with political, economic, social, and religious agendas from various groups who fashion numbers and circumstances to accommodate the purposes which they promote.InSurely, a climate of fear,anxiety and apprehension, one might expect the media to adopt a position of responsibility, in its efforts to keep the public informed, however, the media (both entertainment and news outlets) have assisted in feeding the frenzy. Even the FBI, has been complicit in misleading the public, due to its desire to further its political agenda. The point being made here is that there is an inherent danger with only one authoritative agency or organization possessing most or all of the expertise; this invariably limits or restricts the amount of multidisciplinary and empirical research, which is needed to further understand the psychological motivations of serial killers, and to get a better handle on the actual scope of the malady. Works Cited Aki K 2003. Serial killers: a cross-cultural study between Japan and the United States. Graduate thesis: California State University Chappel, D. (1995). "How Violent is Australian Society?" In D.Chappell & S.Egger, (Eds.), Australian Violence: Contemporary Perspectives II. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology pp13-29. Dietz, M.L. (1986). "Killing Sequentially: Expanding the Parameters of the Conceptualisation of Serial and Mass Killers". In T.O’Reilley-Flemming, (Ed.), Serial and Mass Murder: Theory Research and Policy. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press Dietz PE, Hazelwood RR & Warren J 1990. The sexually sadistic criminal and his offenses. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 18(2): 163-178 Douglas, J., & Olshaker, M. (1995). Mindhunter: Inside the FBI Elite Serial Crime Unit. London: Heinemann Egger SA 1984. A working definition of serial murder and the reduction blindness. Journal of police science and administration 12: 348-387 Egger SA 1998. The killers among us. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Egger, S. (2002). The killers among us: An examination of serial murder and its investigation. UpperSaddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Folino JO 2000. Sexual homicides and their classification according to motivation: a report from Argentina. International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology 44(6): 740-750 Fox, J., & Levin, J. (1985). Mass murder: America’s growing menace. New York: Plenum Press. Fox, J.A., & Levin, J. (1994). Overkill: Mass Murder and Serial Killing Exposed. New York: Plenum. Fox JA & Levin J 2005. Extreme killing: understanding serial and mass murder. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage publications Francis B & Soothill K 2000. Does sex offending lead to homicide? Journal of forensic psychiatry 11(1): 49-61 Hazelwood, R.R., & Douglas, J.E. (1980). "The Lust Murderer". FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 49: 1-5 Hickey, E.W. (1991). Serial Murderers and Their Victims. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Hickey, E. (1997). Serial killers and their victims. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Holmes RM & DeBurger JE 1998. Profiles in terror: the serial murderer, in Holmes RM & Holmes ST (eds), Contemporary perspectives on serial murder. Thousand Oaks: Sage: 5-16 Holmes, R., & DeBurger, J. (1988). Serial murder. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Holmes, R., & Holmes, S. (1998). Serial murder (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Jenkins P 1988. Serial murder in England 1940-1985. Journal of criminal justice 16: 1-15 Kraemer GW, Lord WD & Heilbrun K 2004. Comparing single and serial homicide offenses. Behavioral sciences and the law 22(3): 325-343 Leyton, E. (1986). Compulsive killers. The story of modern multiple murder. New York: WashingtonMews. Mann, C.R. (1996). When Women Kill. Albany: State University of New York Press Newton,M. (1992). Serial slaughter: What’s behind America’s murder epidemic? Port Townsend,WA: Loompanics. Newton, M. (2000). The encyclopedia of serial killers. New York: Checkmark. Polk, K. (1999). Males and Honor Contest Violence. Homicide Studies, 3(1): 6-29. Power DJ 1996. Serial killers. Criminologist 20(2): 94-102 Quinet,K., (2007) The Missing, Missing; Toward a quantification of serial murder victimization in the U.S..Indiana University Riedel M 1998. Book review essay: serial murder, communities, and evil. Criminal justice review 23(2): 220-232 Seltzer, M. (1998). Serial Killers: Death and life in Americas Wound Culture. New York: Routledge Wilson, P., Lincon, R., & Kocsis, R. (1997). "Validity, Utility and Ethics of Profiling for Serial Violent and Sexual Offences". Psychiatry, Psychology and the Law, 4: 1-11. .Wright J & Hensley C 2003. From animal cruelty to serial murder: applying the graduation hypothesis. International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology 47(1): 71-88 Appendix “A” Table 1 : Typology of serial murder in Australia, 1989-90 to 2005-06 (a) Incident year(s) Gender of offender Type Number and gender of victims Modus operandi Motive (a): One 1974 murder has been included in the counts as it occurred as part of a series of murders otherwise occurring in this period Source: AICNHMP 1989-2006 [computer file] 1992-99 4 males Power control orientated 10 males; 2 females Victims all known by at least one offender; bodies of victims dismembered Financial gain and dislike towards obese persons, homosexuals and paedophiles 1993 Male Mission oriented 3 females Waited for the victims on the street; told them he had a 'gun' which was a piece of aluminium piping; victims violently stabbed Hatred of women 1989-92 Male Power control oriented 1 male; 6 females Picked up hitchhikers on the road; overpowered them with a firearm; victims received multiple stab wounds Power and control 1998-99 Male Hedonistic 4 females Attacked on the street, overpowered and put in the boot of the car, throat slit Psycho-sexual 1998 Male Mission oriented/ power control 2 males; 1 female Disabled pensioners strangled to death Possible financial gain (money for drugs); viewed killing as an achievement 1997-2001 Male Power control oriented 3 females Blitz, frenzied attack with a knife from behind; multiple stab wounds Psycho-sexual 1989-90 Male Mission oriented 6 females Assaulted with claw hammer then strangled with own pantyhose Hatred of older women, financial gain 1974-90 Male Hedonistic 1 male; 3 females Strangulation, objects stuffed in mouth Psycho-sexual 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999 Female Visionary 2 males; 2 females Suffocation No apparent motive 1996 Male Hedonistic 3 males Stabbing, shooting Gang related 1996-97 Unsolved Not known 3 females Abducted from the street within close vicinity of each other Not known Read More