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An examination of behavioral consistency using individual behaviors or groups of behaviors in serial homicide
Abstract
Establishing behavioral consistency in serial homicide offending behavior is essential when linking homicides together and to a common offender. An examination of 35 serial homicide behaviors utilized by 90 offenders in 450 serial homicide cases was carried out to identify whether these offenders consistently performed the same behaviors across their series of homicides and whether it is more effective to examine individual behaviors or groupings of behaviors in order to identify behavioral consistency. This study provides the first empirically based evidence testing the use of using single behaviors as linking factors in linking homicide cases in a series, and shows that this method has inherent difficulties in accomplishing this, thus providing the first wave of empirical testing that questions current theories in the literature on serial homicide, which has suggested that signatures or specific key behaviors are important in understanding the consistency in an offender's behavior across the crimes. Recommendations for future studies on linking using signatures are suggested, including a more in-depth qualitative empirical evaluation of individual series.
... A couple of decades of BCL research on serial homicide has also deepened our understanding of SHOs consistency and distinctiveness across their homicide series. Most of the research has been conducted on data from the United States (Salfati & Bateman, 2005;Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Sorochinski & Salfati, 2010;Melnyk, Bennell, Gauthier, & Gauthier, 2011;, but some BCL research has also been conducted on data from South Africa (Salfati, Horning, Sorochinski, & Labuschagne, 2015) and Italy (Salo, Sirén, Corander, Zappalà, Bosco, Mokros, & Santtila, 2013; studies in present thesis). Themes of behaviour have, generally, been found to have higher consistency than individual behaviours. ...
... In one of the first empirical studies of behavioural consistency in serial homicide, Salfati and Bateman (2005) showed that SHOs demonstrated some consistency for instrumental and expressive themes over their series. Planning behaviour (both before and after the homicide) seems to be among the most consistent behaviours (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Sorochinski & Salfati, 2010;Salfati et al., 2015). Interestingly, victim selection does not appear to be as consistent . ...
... Another topic of debate has been whether to use behavioural dimensions (clusters of behaviours that relate to the same psychological meaning, such as planning behaviour, escape behaviour, and controlling the victim) or separate, individual behaviours (Salfati & Bateman, 2007;Winter et al., 2013) in analyses of behavioural consistency. The choice has in part been guided by method: some statistical methods (e.g., discriminant function analysis) are not able to handle hundreds of behavioural variables, while others (e.g., Bayesian modelling) are. ...
Behavioural crime linking refers to the practice of trying to tie two or more offences to the same offender using behaviour observable at the crime scene. It rests on the assumptions that offenders behave consistently enough from one offence to another, and distinctively enough from other offenders allowing offences to be successfully linked together. Conceptualised in the 70s, and developed methodologically with increased scientific rigour from the 90s, the last decade has seen a sharp rise in published studies on behavioural crime linking. From empirical validation of the underlying assumptions to mapping out practice and more ecologically valid tests of linkage accuracy, the field has developed considerably. Considering that investigating homicide is resource intensive, not to mention serial homicide, reliable and valid behavioural crime linking has the potential to aid and prioritise investigative avenues and help solve serial homicide.
Most studies on serial homicide have been carried out on North American samples. While some research has studied the consistency and distinctiveness of serial homicide offenders, few have empirically tested models of behavioural crime linking and linkage accuracy with serial homicide. Another shortcoming in behavioural crime linking research is the use of mostly serial cases to model crime linking, even though real crime databases include both serial and one-off offences. Some studies have tested the effect of added one-offs on the linkage accuracy of burglary and rape, but none so far the effect this would have on homicide. Additionally, while some studies have compared serial homicide offences to one-off homicides, none have tested whether it would be possible to predict whether a homicide belongs to a series or is a singular offence. Cognitive bias, especially confirmation bias or the expectancy effect, has been shown to have a considerable effect on crime investigation. No studies to date have explored the effect of such bias in behavioural crime linking.
The general aim of the thesis was to increase ecological validity of behavioural crime linking research, especially with regard to sampling choices and analyses that strive to answer questions relevant for homicide investigation. The main sample consisted of 116 Italian serial homicides, committed in 23 separate series of homicide. Additionally, information about 45 cases of hard-to-solve one-off homicide was gathered, coded, and added to the sample. Study I found seven behavioural dimensions of offending (e.g., sexually motivated homicides and aspects of control-behaviour) in line with previous research. Notably, also other motives than sexual were found in the killings. A majority of offences (63%) were correctly classified to their actual series in the predictive part of the study. Study II was an experiment that investigated whether knowledge of series membership increased perceived (coded) behavioural similarity in homicides committed by the same offender. While no support was found for a strong expectancy effect, the experimental task may have lacked in sufficient complexity, and replication is thus needed. Study III found several key differences between serial and singular homicides and was able to successfully use these differences to predict with good accuracy whether an offence was part of a series. Study IV combined all the advances in the methodology thus far and showed that behavioural crime linking was still viable even with a large proportion (10:1) of one-off homicides added into the sample. As a function of added one-off homicides, the specificity of the model worsened (more false positives), as did the proportion of offences belonging to a series found near the top of a ranked listing from more behaviourally similar to less behaviourally similar. Overall model accuracy remained good, though, further validating the practice of behavioural crime linking with more ecologically valid data.
The studies of the present thesis contribute to the methodology of behavioural crime linking research. Replication on local crime databases is needed to maximise the practical usefulness of the models in different jurisdictions. Going forward, a close-knit collaboration between researchers and practitioners is called for, to keep the research relevant for practice and to develop evidence-based practice. As we gain a clearer picture of the accuracy and error rate of behavioural crime linking models, their usefulness increase in both the criminal investigative phase and in the trial phase with behavioural crime linking being presented as expert evidence.
... Examples of the way in which characteristics were made quantifiable by the questionnaire were: threat classification (direct, conditional, indirect threat, no threat), violent offences (vandalism, possession of arms, assault), emotion words, conjunctions, details and selfreference. The characteristics in the questionnaire were coded for present (1) or absent (2). The letters were assessed by two independent assessors [3]. ...
... The self-references were divided between three groups to compare the number of self-references (pronoun I): the first group (1)(2)(3)(4)(5), the second group (6-10) or the third group (11)(12)(13)(14)(15). This was related to a relative frequency: the number of selfreferences per ten lines. ...
... The RAT is based on the PhD thesis 'Het Woord en de Daad,' which concerned a specific study of threats addressed to people in the public (central) domain, such as politicians. To generalize practical results on a broader, external group, a recommendation is to repeat this study for external validation in the decentralised domain, such as local administration [2]. ...
... For example, Mokros and Alison (2002) found that rapists who have similar offense behavior (e.g., gaging the victim) were not more similar with respect to age and other demographics (known as the homology assumption). Also, serial homicide offenders do not show a highly consistent pattern of offending (known as the behavioral consistency assumption; Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Trojan & Salfati, 2011). Perhaps then, it should not be surprising that profilers often either do not outperform, or only slightly outperform, detectives or the general population when it comes to predicting offender characteristics (Pinzotto & Finkel, 1990;Snook, Eastwood, Gendreau, Goggin, & Cullen, 2007). ...
... Nonetheless, if at least some specific beliefs or claims regarding the prediction of victim-perpetrator information are accurate, they might aid an investigation. For example, although Bateman and Salfati (2007) found no general consistency in behavior of serial homicide offenders, they did find that the behavior "oral sex by victim" was infrequent enough and consistent enough across an individuals' crimes to be potentially useful in a case. Here, we examine several potentially useful beliefs including overkill, location of trauma, cause of death, covering the body, and body position. ...
... Arguably, the greatest hurdle in testing these beliefs is collecting the relevant homicide data. To investigate the behavioral consistency assumption, Bateman and Salfati (2007) used data from the Homicide Investigation and Tracking System (HITS) in Seattle, Washington. However, databases such as HITS often lack the information needed to test investigator beliefs. ...
Homicide investigators rely on a plethora of sources to solve a case, including their own beliefs and intuitions. We discuss a variety of these beliefs and explore their veracity using a novel approach, coding cases from the documentary television show, Forensic Files. Our results indicate that most of these beliefs are unsupported. However, some beliefs may be predictive. Specifically, a body that was wrapped or placed in a container was indicative that the body had been transported. In addition, finding the victim nude was predictive of rape. We discuss the problems of following inaccurate beliefs, and the potential use of the accurate beliefs we identified.
... In the last 30 years, a growing empirical basis to the analysis of criminal behavior has developed under the umbrella of Investigative Psychology, as well as rigorous research methodology associated with this work (Alison, Snook & Stein, 2001;Alison, Smith, & Morgan, 2003;Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Canter, Alison, Alison, & Wentink, 2004;Canter & Wentink, 2004;Salfati, 2008bSalfati, , 2011Salfati & Bateman, 2005;Trojan & Salfati, 2008). Investigative Psychology aims to establish an empirical approach to behavioral crime scene analysis and offender profiling (see Salfati, 2011 for an overview of the methodology) and focusses on behavior that can be observed and objectively measured so that the basis for decision-making is based on a scientific method, and not on something that is based on processes fraught with subjectivity and guess work, such as guessing any internal processes like motivation of the offender. ...
... A couple of years after the 2005 FBI symposium, Bateman and Salfati (2007) examined the academic literature on linking, confirming that researchers and practitioners until that point, although prolific in the amount of publications, had not explained in detail how they link crimes, so the validity of their statements was left untested. Indeed, much of this early literature was not supported by empirical studies, but instead was a collection of either untested theoretical papers, or practice-led papers that proposed patterns based on clinical judgment or investigative experience. ...
... Most of these studies have specifically focused on resolving the methodological dilemma of how to best use crime scene behaviors to link serial offenses. However, of these 40 studies, only six specifically focused on serial homicide (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Salfati & Bateman, 2005;Salfati, Horning, Sorochinski, & Labuschagne, 2015;Salo, et al., 2012;Santtila et al., 2008;Sorochinski & Salfati, 2010), and 13 involved series of sexual offenses (Bennell, Jones, & Melnyk, 2009;Grubin et al., 2001;Harbers, Deslauriers-Varin, Beauregard, & van der Kemp, 2012;Hewitt & Beauregard, 2014;Leclerc, Lussier, & Deslauriers-Varin, 2015;Kearns, Salfati, & Jarvis, 2011;Slater, Woodhams, & Hamilton-Giachritsis, 2015;Winter et al., 2013;Woodhams, Hollin, & Bull, 2008;Woodhams & Labuschagne, 2011). Sorochinski and Salfati's (2018) review of these linking studies (2018) show that over half of the studies examined the possibilities of behavioral linking using only two crimes from a series, either two consecutive crimes (e.g. ...
... As Beasley (2004) elucidates, the thought that serial murderers sadistically kill for sexual gratification, engage in animal torture, are physically or sexually abused as children, become more evidence conscious over time and allow media coverage to alter their criminal intentions must be challenged. Results from Bateman and Salfati (2007) indicate that serial murderers are not consistently performing the same crime scene behaviors throughout their series. Coupled with the findings of Schlesinger, Kassen, Mesa, and Pinizzotto (2010), these revelations test the notions that serial murderers consistently take souvenirs or leave signatures, escalate in their violence as they continue killing, improve their methods and change their strategies over their careers. ...
... For example, in referencing news organizations, Reidel (1999) observes that reporters are tasked with meeting demands set forth by managers whose primary concern may not be the efficacy of a researcher's data. Police records can contain misinformation as experience with serial murderer's offenses may fluctuate extensively (Morton & McNamara, 2005), leading investigators to only record information fitting their perceptions of what will be important for resolving the case (Bateman & Salfati, 2007). An unavoidable limitation of all serial homicide datasets is that what is not known about victims cannot be known (Quinet, 2011) as these witnesses are no longer able to provide the necessary evidence (Bateman & Salfati, 2007) due to the outcome of the crime. ...
... Police records can contain misinformation as experience with serial murderer's offenses may fluctuate extensively (Morton & McNamara, 2005), leading investigators to only record information fitting their perceptions of what will be important for resolving the case (Bateman & Salfati, 2007). An unavoidable limitation of all serial homicide datasets is that what is not known about victims cannot be known (Quinet, 2011) as these witnesses are no longer able to provide the necessary evidence (Bateman & Salfati, 2007) due to the outcome of the crime. ...
Conducting systematic research on serial homicide is complicated by variations in definition, sample size, data sources and collection procedures. This review will identify the challenges of utilizing data to study serial homicide and propose new methods to address these limitations. Almost three decades ago, Kiger (1990) highlighted the limitations of employing then existing data to study the social problem of serial murder and called for the creation of new sources to allow for quantitative assessments that used empirical data. In response, serial homicide researchers – previously operating in ‘information silos’ – contributed information to the ‘Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative’ to build a comprehensive record of serial homicide offending in partnership with the ‘Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database Project’. Providing serial homicide data in an open access format empowers users to increase data reliability by interacting with the information to supply edits and corrections. Statistical evidence generated from the data enables analysts to disprove ingrained myths and stereotypes about serial murderers using valid data. Impaneled experts applied the Modified Delphi Technique and proposed adopting the broad term ‘multiple-event murderer’ to counter some institutionalized definitional differences. The exploration of creating a dashboard to track instances of serial homicide alongside further study of serial offenders committing revenge murders, witness elimination and robbery homicides, organized crime, contract and gang killings is recommended.
... First off, behavioral consistency is a theory which draws on the assumption that an offender commits consistently similar crimes over a span of time (Bateman & Salfati, 2007). This theory draws on three important factors which also constitute the basis of CP: 1) Modus Operandi -Latin for "method of operation"or MO, which is the specific manner and pattern followed by an offender when committing a crime; 2) victimology, which is an objective study of the victims of a crime that focuses on analyzing their lifestyle in an effort to determine why they were targeted and their relationship with the offender; 3) signature behavior, which is a unique message or symbol left at a crime scene which is not essential when completing the offense itself, but reveals an intimate detail regarding the offender's personality. ...
... This theory draws on three important factors which also constitute the basis of CP: 1) Modus Operandi -Latin for "method of operation"or MO, which is the specific manner and pattern followed by an offender when committing a crime; 2) victimology, which is an objective study of the victims of a crime that focuses on analyzing their lifestyle in an effort to determine why they were targeted and their relationship with the offender; 3) signature behavior, which is a unique message or symbol left at a crime scene which is not essential when completing the offense itself, but reveals an intimate detail regarding the offender's personality. By analyzing those three factors in a serial crime, a profiler is able to link it to previously committed crimes which follow the same pattern, thus leading to the identification of the offender (Bateman & Salfati, 2007). ...
... Studies have examined facets of the consistency and homology assumptions using various approaches, frequently within the context of crime linkage. Bateman and Salfati (2007) examined 450 serial homicide cases committed by 90 offenders using 35 behaviors related to serial homicide in an attempt to determine whether single behaviors or clusters of behavior showed patterns of behavioral consistency. The authors concluded that neither individual behaviors nor clusters of behavior distinguished serial homicides (Bateman & Salfati, 2007). ...
... Bateman and Salfati (2007) examined 450 serial homicide cases committed by 90 offenders using 35 behaviors related to serial homicide in an attempt to determine whether single behaviors or clusters of behavior showed patterns of behavioral consistency. The authors concluded that neither individual behaviors nor clusters of behavior distinguished serial homicides (Bateman & Salfati, 2007). ...
Knowledge management (KM) is a critical organizational asset predicated upon a knowledge-based perspective of the firm that emphasizes identification, sharing, and exploitation of knowledge assets. Profiling practitioners, constituting a community of practice (CoP, are compared to empiricists associated as a community of interest (CoI). The CoP operates using tacit knowledge whereas the CoI codifies knowledge to make it explicit. Within criminal profiling the CoI are severely critical of the tacit methods and typologies utilized by the CoP with the consequence being empirical divergence from practice. A research agenda focused upon a multidisciplinary approach to criminal profiling, combining the CoP and CoI paradigms is needed to bridge the gap and settle questions of criminal profiling efficacy and contribute to theory.
... A situational approach to examining the postcrime actions of the SHO can further aid in explaining the decision-making process around their body disposal methods (Beauregard and Leclerc 2007). If an offender needs to flee the scene or leave immediately post-homicide, the body may be left in an open position as they did not have time to even attempt to hide or conceal the body (Bateman and Salfati 2007). This could then mean that the way investigators find the body may not be how the offender intended them to find it as they did not have the time to dispose of it the way they intended. ...
Research on body disposal methods in cases of sexual homicide primarily focused on the movement of the victim's body from the crime scene to the dump site. Comparatively, little work has looked at whether crime scene analysis can indicate the final manner of disposal (i.e., how the body is found at the scene), despite the knowledge that these unique behaviors can aid investigators narrowing down suspects using readily available information from the crime scene. The current study used 662 solved cases of extrafamilial sexual homicide from an international database in a sequential logistic regression to test various predictors against the method of body disposal. Results indicate that inserting foreign objects into the victim, dismembering the victim, or engaging in post-mortem sexual activity is predictive of not openly displaying the body. Furthermore , the body is less likely to be openly displayed if the victim is a sex worker. Overkill is more likely to lead to the body being openly displayed. Implications for investigations of sexual homicide include the need to examine more than just infrequent unusual acts and to look at the entirety of the criminal event to gain a more well-rounded understanding of how offender behaviors can indicate particular body disposal methods.
... This information can be of valuable investigative relevance, particularly when several co-occurring patterns or characteristics from the research are present in a case, however, the use of research serves as a subject of probability rather than certainty. For example, in research on serial homicide cases, high frequency offender behaviour involves moving the victim (61.1%) and hiding the body (67.8%) [13]. In using this research to inform investigators working on a similar type of case, it is important that that OPs communicate the rate of certainty and error. ...
Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the application of psychology to the investigation of cold cases. The paper reviews the development of the discipline of operational psychology and reviews the role of the Behavioural Science Unit in assisting with cold case investigations within New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach:
The paper integrates theory, academic principles, and practical investigative experience.
Findings:
As a field, operational psychology has a wide application to cold case investigations. The main areas where expertise can be provided, includes, indirect assessment and personality profiles, offender profiling, crime analysis, victimology and equivocal death analysis, and in the interviewing and engagement of offenders. Operational psychology advice should be based upon sound reasoning, evidenced based conclusion, and within the bounds of practitioner competence. Psychologists should seek to educate investigators on probabilities, likelihoods and error rates, and endeavour to indicate the strength of conclusions and statements provided within a report.
Originality/value:
The review aims to provide the necessary and relevant impetus for integrating operational, or forensic psychology expertise into cold case investigations. The application of psychological science to police investigations has been subject to numerous academic commentaries, however, there is a dearth of involvement from practitioners practicing in the field.
... Various authors on serial murder and rituals view ritualised performance as a recreation of earlier conflicts with meaningful objects such as parents, authority figures or peers (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Claus & Lidberg, 1999;Vaknin, 2003). Bollas (1995) described the serial murderer as an individual who has suffered an emotional death in childhood, which is then the death of the self that he forces his victims to undergo. ...
A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY ON THE LIFE OF RICHARD TRENTON CHASE- THE "SO CALLED" DRACULA KILLER (DISSERTATION BY HANLIE NEL) SUPERVISORS: PROF PAUL, J.P. FOUCHé AND PRAVANI NAIDOO
... To date, empirical studies in the field of behavioral consistency have been conducted on a limited set of criminal behaviors and often on the most extreme forms of crime. Indeed, the focus of most studies has been on violent crimes, such as sexual offences (e.g., Sjöstedt et al. 2004;Woodhams, Grant, and Price 2007;Woodhams, Hollin, and Bull 2008), sexual assault (e.g., Davies 1992;Deslauriers-Varin 2013, 2014a, 2014bGrubin, Kelly, and Brunsdon 2001;Harbers et al. 2012;Lundrigan, Czarnomski, and Wilson 2010), rape (Davies, Wittebrood, and Jackson 1997;Santtila, Junkkila, and Sandnabba 2005;Labuschagne 2012a, 2012b), homicide (e.g., Bateman and Salfati 2007;Melnyk et al. 2011;Salfati and Bateman 2005;Santtila et al. 2008;Sorochinski and Salfati 2010), as well as sexual homicide (e.g., Schlesinger et al. 2010). The growing popularity of crime linkage, however, has led some researchers to explore the utility of crime linkage with a wider range of crime types, such as burglary (e.g., Bennell and Canter 2002;Bennell and Jones 2005;Bernasco 2008;Markson et al. 2010;Melnyk et al. 2011;Tonkin, Santtila, and Bull 2012;Toye 2007), car theft (e.g., Tonkin et al. 2008), and arson (Ellingwood et al. 2013;Santtila, Fritzon, and Tamelander 2004). ...
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... For many authors, the use of variable with clear, objective, and observable definitions should be preferred to the descriptions of subjective ones and focused on the internal motivation of the offenders, that may be open to personal interpretation [26][27][28]. ...
“Overkill” is characterized by the finding of excessive wounds on the victim’s body. Despite the large use of this term, it does not have a definition in the literature yet. Our study aimed to analyze the information related to the dynamics of overkill cases, collecting objective variables, and producing a profile of the players involved in this type of homicides. Data on 71 overkill cases from reports of the autopsies performed in the Section of Legal Medicine of the University of Rome Tor Vergata from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2020 were collected. The victims and the perpetrators of overkill shared similar characteristics: they were usually male aged between 20 and 50 years, more likely in the 20–35 years range; victims however also showed another age peak in the range 50–55 years. The type of damage can be linked to the sole action of a cold weapon or the simultaneous use of multiple harmful tools with no significant differences. The most common motive proved to be a dispute for futile reasons; however, in the case of a single perpetrator of the crime, the economic and passionate motives are as frequent as the previous one. Implications of the findings and avenues for future research are discussed.
... The basic idea behind CP is that the characteristics of an unknown offender can be inferred from their behavior during the crime and rests upon two main assumptions: behavioral homology (offenders committing similar crimes possess similar characteristics) and behavioral consistency (offenders behave consistently across their offenses) (Turvey, 2012b). The few available studies examining these assumptions provide no or only partial empirical support (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Bennell & Canter, 2002;Bennell & Jones, 2005;Sjöstedt et al., 2004;Woodhams & Toye, 2007). Moreover, the assumptions have been criticized for neglecting that criminal behavior is influenced by numerous different and particularly situational factors Turvey, 2012a). ...
The disparity between the ongoing use of criminal profiling and the lack of empirical evidence for its validity is referred to as criminal profiling illusion. Associated risks for society range from misled police investigations, hindered apprehensions of the actual offender(s), and wrongful convictions to mistrust in the police. Research on potential explanations is in its infancy but assumes that people receive and adopt incorrect messages favoring the accuracy and utility of criminal profiling. One suggested mechanism through which individuals may acquire such incorrect messages is the consumption of fictional crime-related media which typically present criminal profiling as highly accurate, operationally useful, and leading to the apprehension of the offender(s). By having some relation to reality but presenting a distorted picture of criminal profiling, fictional crime-related media may blur the line between fiction and reality thereby increasing the risk for the audience to mistake fiction for fact. Adopting a cultivation approach adequate to examine media effects on one’s perception, the present study is the first to investigate whether the perception of criminal profiling may be influenced by the consumption of fictional crime-related media based on a correlation study. Although the results provide support for the assumption that misperceptions of criminal profiling are widely spread in the general population and associated with the consumption of fictional crime-related media, the found cultivation effects are small and must be interpreted cautiously. Considering that even small effects may have the potential to influence real-life decision-making, they may still be relevant and affect society at large.
... Various authors on serial murder and rituals view ritualised performance as a recreation of earlier conflicts with meaningful objects such as parents, authority figures or peers (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Claus & Lidberg, 1999;Vaknin, 2003). Bollas (1995) described the serial murderer as an individual who has suffered an emotional death in childhood, which is then the death of the self that he forces his victims to undergo. ...
PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY OF THE SERIAL KILLER: RICHARD TRENTON CHASE.
... Various authors on serial murderers identified ritualised performance as a recreation of earlier conflicts with meaningful objects such as parents, authority figures or peers (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Vaknin, 2003). According to this view, the difference lies in the outcome of the replay since the serial killer now dominates the situation and is the one to inflict abuse and trauma on others (Vaknin, 2003), with the important difference that he is now the abuser, and not the victim. ...
A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY OF THE SERIAL KILLER: JOHN WAYNE GACEY
... The benefit of this type of grouping approach is that it accounts for the possibility that a serial offender may not engage in the exact same behavior across a series of crimes, or likewise, that two different offenders may not engage in the same exact behavior but have rather thematically similar behavior (Salfati, 2003). Research pursuing this link by means of testable empirical models has covered a wide variety of offenses including homicide and serial homicide (Bateman and Salfati, 2007;Kocsis et al., 2002;Salfati and Bateman, 2005), arson (Hakkanen et al., 2004), burglary and robbery (Santtila et al., 2003), as well as rape and serial rape (Canter and Heritage, 1990;Kocsis et al., 2002). These studies found an empirical basis for the homology assumption or A to C relationships through analyses of actions and characteristics that occur simultaneously across cases. ...
Stranger rape cases are one of the most difficult sexual assault crimes to solve for law enforcement. This study aimed to compare crime-scene characteristics between serial rapists and single-victim rapists in stranger rape cases and build a predictive model to predict rapist type. An archival database of released sex offenders included 385 who committed stranger rapes. Of those, 244 were single-victim rapists and 141 were serial rapists. The single-victim rapists were significantly more likely to have violently themed crime-scene characteristics than serial rapists, whereas serial rapists were significantly more likely than single-victim rapists to engage in criminally sophisticated behavior and induce participation from their victims. A logistic regression using 10 crime-scene characteristics correctly identified 75.8% of cases as perpetrated by either single-victim or serial rapists. The most significant predictors of rapist type were whether the offender digitally penetrated their victim, whether the offender choked their victim, whether they were at a new/unknown location or whether they threatened their victim. The implications of these results are that they benefit law enforcement in the investigation of stranger rape cases by potentially narrowing down their suspect pool and add to the classification of stranger rapists in offender profiling literature.
... While those who commit serial offenses are in the minority of sexual offenders as a group, misidentifications and wrongful convictions for single crimes within a series appear more common than would be expected by chance (67 out of 362 DNA exonerations; Johnson, 2020). An important concept, highlighted by Johnson, that has been at the core of many investigative psychology research studies in the past 30 years is the concept of "linkage blindness" (e.g., Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Canter et al., 2003;Salfati, 2008;Sorochinski & Salfati, 2010Woodhams et al., 2007)-when multiple related assaults are not readily recognized as constituting a series of offenses committed by the same individual. Often, such "blindness" occurs because investigators do not recognize the behavioral similarities across crimes that would suggest they were committed by the same person, or because there actually was little to no such consistency across their crimes. ...
This article reviews the recently published book by M. B. Johnson-Wrongful conviction in sexual assault: Stranger rape, acquaintance rape, and intra-familial child sexual assaults. The focus of the book is on the unique combination of factors specifically within sexual crime investigation and legislation that lead to the overrepresentation of this type of crimes within wrongful convictions. The book presents a detailed analysis of social context, and historical backdrop specific to wrongful convictions in sexual crimes. It is a highly informative and well-written book.
... While a good inductive argument provides strong support for the conclusion, the argument is still not infallible. For example, in research on behavioural consistency, Bateman and Salfati (2007) found that hiding the body occurred 67.8% of the time, and that moving the body after the homicide occurred in 61.1% of the time. While cited as high-frequency behaviours, these results suggest that each will only be found approximately two thirds of the time. ...
Profiling aims to identify the major personality and behavioural characteristics of offenders from their interactions in the crime. The discipline has undergone numerous changes and advances since its first modern use by the psychological/psychiatric community. The current paper reviews the different approaches to criminal profiling, exploring the reasoning and justification utilised across profiling practices. Profiling aims to assist criminal investigators; however, the variance in profiling approaches has contributed to inconsistency across the field, bringing the utility of profiling into question. To address the current areas of practice deficit in criminal profiling, a framework is proposed to promote integrated practice. The CRIME approach provides a framework (consisting of crime scene evaluations, relevancy of research, investigative or clinical opinions, methods of investigation, and evaluation) to promote structure and uniformity in profile development, aiming to assist in the reliability of the practice by providing an integrative framework for developing profiles.
... Pino (2005) reminds researchers to consider that the offender's social situation coupled with surrounding economic and political pressures, time and geography and community characteristics may make them more likely to act in a certain manner. The victim's actions could influence the offender's behavior (Bateman & Salfati, 2007) or the offender's perception that the victim lied, cheated, insulted, or hurried them may be at play in their decision to act (Quinet, 2011). There is little empirical evidence about SHO's motivations and they must be inferred from observable behavior (Kraemer, Lord, & Heilbrun, 2004). ...
The “cooling-off period”, or inter-murder interval, has been used to differentiate between serial, spree, and mass murderers for decades. The present research examines the utility of this concept by studying the distribution of 2837 inter-murder intervals for 1012 American serial homicide offenders using data from the Consolidated Serial Homicide Offender Database. The distribution is smooth, following a power law in the region of 10–10,000 days. The power law is cut off in the region when inter-murder intervals become comparable with the length of human life. Otherwise there is no characteristic scale in the distribution. The decades long inter-murder intervals are not anomalies, but rare events described by the power-law distribution and therefore should not be looked upon with suspicion. This study found there to be no characteristic spree or serial homicide offender interval, only a monotonous smooth distribution lacking any features. This suggests that there is only a quantitative difference between serial and spree killers which represent merely different aspects of the same phenomenon.
... However, much of this work was unsubstantiated by any empirical work. Bateman and Salfati (2007) reviewed this early literature and identified six key behavioral categories: body disposal behaviors, forensic awareness behaviors, mutilation behaviors, weapons used, theft behaviors, and sexual behaviors. They went on to empirically test which of these were the most useful for linking. ...
Sex workers as a group are one of the more common targets in serial homicide, yet the most likely to go unsolved. Part of the reason for this is the difficulty in linking individual crime scenes to a series, especially in those series where offenders not only target sex worker victims but also target non-sex worker victims. Inconsistencies in both victim targeting and behaviors engaged in across series add to the difficulties of linking and solvability in these types of crimes. The current study aimed to add to the current body of literature on serial crime linkage by examining not only the most salient behavioral indicators useful for crime scene classification of serial homicides that involve sex worker victims but also examine the trajectories of behavioral change that can help link apparently inconsistent crime scenes and proposes the new Model for the Analysis of Trajectories and Consistency in Homicide (MATCH). The study examines 83 homicide series, including 44 (53%) series where all victims were sex workers and 39 (47%) series that included a mix of sex workers and non-sex worker victims. Using the MATCH system allowed for the majority of series to be classified to a dominant trajectory pattern, over half as many as a traditional consistency analysis that focusses on behavioral similarity matching. Results further showed that Sex Worker Victim series were almost three times more consistent across their series than Mixed-Victim series, not only in victim selection but also in the overall behavioral patterns. Findings are discussed in line with theoretical and psychological issues relating to understanding the nature of behavioral consistency and the importance of going beyond simple matching toward a model that allows for the identification of consistency in seemingly inconsistent series, as well as investigative implications relating to linking serial crimes.
... Furthermore, wounding and weapon selection have also been highlighted as key differentiating factors in sexual versus nonsexual homicides (e.g., Beauregard & Martineau, 2014;Beauregard & Proulx, 2002;Chan & Heide, 2008), as well as in studies looking at behavioral consistency and linkage in homicides (e.g., Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Hickey, 2016;Sorochinski & Salfati, 2010). Although comparisons of weapon choice in sexual versus nonsexual homicides find that strangulation is the method of choice in sexually motivated crimes, studies focusing on homicide series also highlight that the type of weapon and the degree/severity of wounding may vary across series. ...
Contrary to popular misconceptions, offenders who kill sex workers as part of their series exhibit substantial variability in their victim selection and behavioral patterns, thus creating additional issues for the investigation of these crimes. This article first aims to outline differences in the demographics of crime scene actions present in homicide series with exclusively sex worker victims and series that includes both sex worker and non–sex worker victims, with the aim of understanding the crime scene aetiology of these two different types of series. Second, the research aims to determine between-series differences of victimology as well as crime scene action between sex worker series and mixed-victim series. Third, the research focuses on mixed-victim series and aims to determine the within-series similarities of victimology and crime scene actions, that is, what factors link sex worker victims and non–sex worker victims in the same series. Data were collected through a large-scale review of international media sources to identify solved serial homicide cases that have included at least one sex worker. Of the 83 series looked at, 44 (53%) included sex worker victims only, and 39 (47%) of the series included both sex worker and non–sex worker victims. The findings highlight the challenges that these types of crime present for investigation and the implications they have on current crime analysis research and practice, and results are discussed in line with theoretical and psychological issues relating to understanding differentiation and similarity, as well as investigative implications relating to linkage blindness and linking of serial crimes.
... The part of the work aiming to push for validity and reliability in crime scene classification (e.g. Bateman and Salfati, 2007;Salfati, 2000Salfati, , 2003 highlighted the importance of using variables with clear definitions, that could easily be operationalized, and used reliably across studies. This included a focus on variables that were objective and observable at the crime scene, vs descriptions of variables that were more subjective and focused on the internal motivations of the offender, and therefore more open to interpretation. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the term “overkill” is used in the homicide literature to identify definitional issues that may interfere with reliable data coding across studies. This preliminary examination of the concept can guide future studies seeking to develop a standard definition.
Design/methodology/approach
To identify issues inherent in the term “overkill,” three definitions – ranging from broad and unclear to more specific and objective – were extracted or adapted from the existing literature. Using closed, homicide case files, nine coders were tasked with coding for the presence of overkill according to one of the definitions across two rounds of coding. Definitional components that made the coding of overkill difficult were identified using a qualitative sorting task to separate items into themes that represented similar issues; basic inter-rater agreement patterns were examined using pairwise percent agreement.
Findings
Based on coder feedback, two problems were identified: conceptual issues with the definitions and logistical issues with coding. However, feedback also suggested that increasing the objectivity of the overkill definition led coders to feel the intended meaning of the term was lost. Two out of three groups showed an increase in coder agreement between the two phases of data collection, illustrating how increased training is useful in certain situations.
Originality/value
This study is the first in-depth methodological and empirical examination of how the term “overkill” has been operationalized in the literature, raises key questions that may help with more clearly coding this variable, and outlines issues that may add difficulty to the development of a standard definition.
... Despite these cautions, the FBI along with other practitioners and academics used this model as a base for much of the early training and practice in profiling. As this original model grew in popularity and started being integrated in other work (see Meloy, 2000, for an overview), authors (e.g., Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Canter, 1994;Canter, L. J. Alison, Alison, & Wentink, 2004;Salfati & Bateman, 2005;Salfati & Canter, 1999) started highlighting that, although the approach of using the crime scene as a starting point was indeed a very useful one, there was now the need not only to test the validity of crime scene profiling models but to test many of the early assumptions in the literature regarding differences between offenders (see Canter, 2000). ...
... Furthermore, wounding and weapon selection have also been highlighted as key differentiating factors in sexual versus nonsexual homicides (e.g., Beauregard & Martineau, 2014;Beauregard & Proulx, 2002;Chan & Heide, 2008), as well as in studies looking at behavioral consistency and linkage in homicides (e.g., Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Hickey, 2016;Sorochinski & Salfati, 2010). Although comparisons of weapon choice in sexual versus nonsexual homicides find that strangulation is the method of choice in sexually motivated crimes, studies focusing on homicide series also highlight that the type of weapon and the degree/severity of wounding may vary across series. ...
For details of this work please see: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331501355_Sex_Worker_Homicide_Series_Profiling_The_Crime_Scene
... However, much of this work was unsubstantiated by any empirical work. Bateman and Salfati (2007) reviewed this early literature and identified six key behavioral categories: body disposal behaviors, forensic awareness behaviors, mutilation behaviors, weapons used, theft behaviors, and sexual behaviors. They went on to empirically test which of these were the most useful for linking. ...
For details of this work please see: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331501443_MATCH_A_New_Approach_for_Differentiating_Linking_Series_of_Sex_Worker_Homicides_and_Sexual_Assaults
... If surveillance footage had not contributed to Brandon Scott Lavergne's capture after his second homicide, he may have gone on to kill other women aside from his two-victims in 1999 and 2012 (McLaughlin, 2012). Yaksic (2015) points out that the notions of serial murderers performing the same crime scene behaviors throughout their series, consistently taking souvenirs or leaving signatures, escalating in their violence as they continue killing, improving their methods and changing their strategies over their careers are tested by Bateman and Salfati (2007) and Schlesinger, Kassen, Mesa, and Pinizzotto (2010). Disparities among these factors contribute to the dissimilarity between murders committed by the same individual while demonstrating the fallacy behind the concept of a conventional serial killer. ...
... Using an approach to crime detection that combines observable physical cues with officer training, the current report hopes to move forward this area of study. We add to the body of work on the identification of drug carrying by offering novel value in three areas: (1) by providing a contemporary understanding that updates previous knowledge base, one that incorporates modern considerations in technology, transportation, and society, (2) by proposing a standardized terminology derived from these contemporary analyses, which can facilitate cumulative progress of the field moving forward, and (3) by presenting an Drug Carrying in Open Spaces 7 approach that moves away from trait-based accounts, ii which have been the subject of much criticism in the past (Mokros & Alison, 2002;Alison, 2005;Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Doan & Snook, 2008), and instead moves toward the use of behavioral, environmentally-embedded indicators that are detectable through trained visual search. ...
This article identifies and describes a set of behavioral indicators associated with illegal drug carrying in public spaces. Through the use of focus group data, our research documents and translates the visual search techniques that veteran law enforcement and drugs experts report using in their work. Here, we catalogue these findings into 10 overarching categories, and discuss how each indicator may be incorporated into an officer’s visual search. Knowledge of these indicators, when combined with proper training and an understanding of a public space, can help law enforcement identify persons who may be carrying drugs. The ability to identify drug-carrying individuals facilitates the interdiction and apprehension of offenders, and also protects the civil rights and liberties of the law-abiding public.
... Furthermore, leisure theory may predict that many offenders might display a somewhat limited range, regarding the casual to serious leisure continuum or project-based leisure, of their specific type of operationalization of murder as possible leisure. Such a theoretical prediction is compatible with emerging research that focuses on identifying consistent behavioral themes or patterns as opposed to expecting the same behaviors across murder series committed by particular serial offenders (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Sorochinski & Salfati, 2010;Trojan & Salfati, 2011). ...
Forensic experts commonly state that many serial homicide offenders kill for the pleasure of it. At the same time, a small number of leisure scientists have suggested that serial murder may be a particular form of deviant leisure. Despite such suggestions, there has been little scholarly exploration of serial homicide from a leisure science perspective. This exploratory study adds to the existing literature by analyzing content of multiple key texts and documents that describe a large number of serial homicide cases in order to explore an understanding of murder as potential leisure. Leisure-related themes that emerged across case descriptions were (a) serial murder as a game, (b) murder for thrills and intense sensations, (c) murder for simple enjoyment and fun, and (d) murder as unique personal celebration. Subsequently, possible intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints to serial murder as possible leisure were identified. Implications for future research are also discussed.
... Some progress has been made in identifying offender characteristics that are associated with homicide themes (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Canter & Youngs, 2003;Go & Lee, 2011;Salfati & Bateman, 2005;Salfati & Canter, 1999;Salfati & Park, 2007;Salfati & Taylor, 2006;Santtila et al., 2003;Trojan & Salfati, 2011;Thijssen & de Ruiter, 2011). In their study, Santtila et al. (2003) correlated homicide crime scene actions themes to themes of offender characteristics. ...
The aim of the current study is to identify themes of crime scene behaviors in a sample of 487 Korean homicides and test whether these themes are linked to offender characteristics. A content analysis of police information was first conducted and then a multidimensional scale approach was used to identify themes in the homicide data. The exploratory thematic structure showed four factors that confirmed the instrumental/expressive themes as being useful in differentiating homicides: sex-arousal, cognitive, overkill-blood, and impulsive. These four themes were compared with the previous themes identified in Western studies of homicide. Finally, the current findings support the idea that there are relationships between crime scene behavior themes in homicide and offender characteristics.
... Notably, the fact that only one of the 28 series analysed was truly inconsistent across behavioural domains represents a major improvement over the previous attempts at identifying behavioural consistency in serial crimes (e.g. Bateman and Salfati 2007;Grubin et al. 2001;Kearns et al. 2011;Salfati and Bateman 2005;Sorochinski and Salfati 2010) and is, again, in line with the premise that consistency needs to be looked at in terms of trajectories of behavioural change rather than strictly an exact behavioural match. ...
Whilst investigative use of behavioural evidence to help link and solve serial offences has long been in use, the empirical and theoretical grounds for whether and how to use this evidence effectively have begun to emerge only in recent decades. The present study empirically tested (a) the potential for effectively differentiating between rape offence crime scenes using quantitative and qualitative distinctions within the behavioural dimensions of control, violence, and sexual activity, and (b) the extent to which redefining behavioural consistency more broadly to include dynamic trajectories of behavioural change may be more effective than limiting this definition to behavioural stability. Results confirmed that sexual offences can be successfully differentiated based on the specific degree and subtype of these behavioural dimensions present in each crime scene. The analysis of consistency and behavioural trajectories showed that whilst none of the offenders exhibited complete consistency across behavioural dimensions, a subsample of offenders remained fully consistent in at least one. Furthermore, of those who were not consistent, the vast majority followed an identifiable trajectory of change. Findings are discussed in the context of psychological theories of behavioural consistency as well as practical aspects of advancing the utility of behavioural linkage.
... Several studies on the "signature approach" in CLA, which investigates behavioral consistency using specific crime scene behaviors such as manner of death in homicide or method of entry in burglary, indicate that offenders using "high control" behaviors are also more consistent across offenses than the more sporadic or "low control" behaviors (Bateman & Salfati, 2007;Harbers, Deslauriers-Varin, Beauregard, & van der Kemp, 2012;Schlesinger, Kassen, Mesa, & Pinizzotto, 2010). However, as each crime is unlikely to be an exact replica of the crime preceding it, it is expected that there will be minor changes in the behaviorial theme of the same offender over a series of crimes. ...
This study evaluates the behavioral consistency in offending styles among a sample of serial burglars from the United States. Three popular specialization analyses—Jaccard’s coefficient, the forward specialization coefficient (FSC), and the Diversity (D) index—are used to compare if, and how much, variation exists in the behavior of serial burglars committing different styles of offenses, among the three analyses. Results show that there is variation across the analyses, with the FSC and D index suggesting serial burglars are relatively consistent in their burglary offense styles. However, burglars with organized and disorganized offense styles are more consistent in behavior across offenses than burglars who committed opportunistic and interpersonal style offenses. These findings have important methodological implications for criminological research, and practical implications for policing and crime linkage analysis.
... All of the variables were treated as dichotomous; either present or absent. Research has shown that utilising such dichotomies as present or absent produce the most reliable content variables (Canter & Heritage, 1990;Bateman & Salfati, 2007). The instrument allowed frequency values to be obtained, which indicated how frequently the behaviours in question were performed across the data set. ...
This article reflects research of which the aim is to increase our collective knowledge of the modus operandi of serial rapists in South Africa in an attempt to contribute to the prevention and prosecution of perpetrators. The sample consists of 22 convicted cases of serial rapists and reflects 204 victims. The authors note that a mere
understanding of the modus operandi of serial rapists is not sufficient to fully understand the behaviour of these perpetrators. However, they draw attention to the argument that understanding the perpetrator’s modus operandi has been recognised by both criminal investigators and academics as making a valuable contribution to understanding crimes, including that of serial rapists. A behavioural checklist was developed to provide assistance with accounting for the chronological pattern of the crime from the time of victim acquisition to the actual attack. The rational choice perspective and routine activity theory were then used as an organising framework within which to analyse the strategies of the perpetrator. The results indicated that the modus operandi exhibited by a group of serial rapists in South Africa differs from offenders in other countries. Aspects of the routine activity theory is contextualised and utilised to interpret the current findings. The authors highlight shortcomings of the current research and suggest how the current findings should form the basis of further research.
... There are inherent problems with utilising data obtained from police records which can be incomplete, unstructured, and distorted. The information in police files may not originally have been collected with the aim of scientific analysis (Alison, Snook, & Stein, 2001;Bateman & Salfati, 2007). It is also possible that specific variables and behavioural facets were not included, which could have yielded essential information relating to victim selection. ...
Serial rape attracts much media attention and has become a topic of increased interest and concern. However, both locally and internationally, there is a paucity of empirically based research. The limited research which exists often does not focus on the victim as a “subject” which could contribute to solving existing cases or in curtailing the serial rapist. In this article, socio-demographic characteristics of 75 victims of serial rape, and how they were selected by the rapist were used to construct a general profile of the people who are the
targets of the serial rapist. Factors or contexts which put women at risk are also identified and investigated. Comparisons are made between the characteristics of the victims of serial rapists in other countries, while comparisons are also made between the victims of single victim rapists and those of the serial rapist. Of great concern is, amongst others, that the results indicate that in South Africa a large number of victims of the serial rapist are girl children. Limitations of the research are indicated, while a suggestion for future research concludes the article.
... All of the variables were treated as dichotomous; either present or absent. Research has shown that utilising such dichotomies as present or absent produce the most reliable content variables (Canter & Heritage, 1990; Bateman & Salfati, 2007). The instrument allowed frequency values to be obtained, which indicated how frequently the behaviours in question were performed across the data set. ...
This article reflects research of which the aim is to increase our collective knowledge of the modus operandi of serial rapists in South Africa in an attempt to contribute to the prevention and prosecution of perpetrators. The sample consists of 22 convicted cases of serial rapists and reflects 204 victims. The authors note that a mere
understanding of the modus operandi of serial rapists is not sufficient to fully understand the behaviour of these perpetrators. However, they draw attention to the argument that understanding the perpetrator’s modus operandi has been recognised by both criminal investigators and academics as making a valuable contribution to understanding crimes, including that of serial rapists. A behavioural checklist was developed to provide assistance with accounting for the chronological pattern of the crime from the time of victim acquisition to the actual attack. The rational choice perspective and routine activity theory were then used as an organising framework within which to analyse the strategies of the perpetrator. The results indicated that the
modus operandi exhibited by a group of serial rapists in South Africa differs from offenders in other countries. Aspects of the routine activity theory is contextualised and utilised to interpret the current findings. The authors highlight shortcomings of the current research and suggest how the current findings should form the basis of
further research.
... To date, empirical studies in the field of behavioral consistency have been conducted on a limited set of criminal behaviors and often on the most extreme forms of crime. Indeed, the focus of most studies has been on violent crimes, such as sexual offences (e.g., Sjöstedt et al. 2004;Woodhams, Grant, and Price 2007;Woodhams, Hollin, and Bull 2008), sexual assault (e.g., Davies 1992;Deslauriers-Varin 2013, 2014a, 2014bGrubin, Kelly, and Brunsdon 2001;Harbers et al. 2012;Lundrigan, Czarnomski, and Wilson 2010), rape (Davies, Wittebrood, and Jackson 1997;Santtila, Junkkila, and Sandnabba 2005;Labuschagne 2012a, 2012b), homicide (e.g., Bateman and Salfati 2007;Melnyk et al. 2011;Salfati and Bateman 2005;Santtila et al. 2008;Sorochinski and Salfati 2010), as well as sexual homicide (e.g., Schlesinger et al. 2010). The growing popularity of crime linkage, however, has led some researchers to explore the utility of crime linkage with a wider range of crime types, such as burglary (e.g., Bennell and Canter 2002;Bennell and Jones 2005;Bernasco 2008;Markson et al. 2010;Melnyk et al. 2011;Tonkin, Santtila, and Bull 2012;Toye 2007), car theft (e.g., Tonkin et al. 2008), and arson (Ellingwood et al. 2013;Santtila, Fritzon, and Tamelander 2004). ...
Crime specialization is one of the most researched and often-debated criminal career parameters. To date, the concept of specialization has been approached mainly from a static viewpoint whereby crime specialization and criminal versatility have been conceptualized as two opposite end of a continuum. Emerging research based on longitudinal data, however, has led to the emergence of a dynamic-oriented perspective where specialization and versatility can occur during one’s career. In this essay, the evolution of the concept of crime specialization is highlighted along with associated theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and empirical issues stemming from this gradual change. Policy implications and directions for future research on the development of criminal careers are highlighted.
... La agrupación de las temáticas conductuales aparecidas en la EC en violencia expresiva e instrumental facilita la comprensión del tipo de personalidad del autor, su motivación y su consistencia comportamental, al existir diversos crímenes, facilitando en conjunto su aprehensión (Horning et al., 2010;Salfati, 2000;Salfati y Bateman, 2007;Salfati y Canter, 1999;Salfati y Dupont, 2006;Salfati y Haratsis, 2001;Sorochinski y Salfati, 2010;Thijssen y De Ruiter, 2011). ...
El homicidio en la pareja, considerado un problema social, no ha sido analizado en España en relación a la escena del crimen (EC). La presente investigación aborda el tipo de violencia ejecutada, instrumental vs. expresiva, en la EC de asesinatos, homicidios o tentativas y sus diferencias en función del sexo del homicida. A partir de una muestra formada por 322 casos extraídos de sentencias judiciales firmes mediante el Protocolo de Análisis del Crimen Violento en Homicidios Familiares, se analizó la conciencia forense, la estructuración y la conducta criminal. Los resultados apoyan estudios precedentes desarrollados en otros países mostrando el predominio de comportamientos expresivos en homicidios entre los miembros de la pareja sin existir diferencias significativas en función del sexo de los agresores, si bien aparece un mayor uso de las conductas de apuñalamiento y envenenamiento en mujeres homicidas.
Propósito: Estudiar la consistencia en las conductas de los agresores sexuales desconocidos y seriales en la escena del crimen, y la influencia de los factores situacionales. Método: Se analizan las conductas en la escena del crimen de 18 agresores sexuales desconocidos y seriales, que cometieron al menos 54 agresiones sexuales. Se han correlacionado con factores situacionales. Se ha estudiado también la consistencia de cada una de esas conductas. Resultados: Algunas conductas de los delincuentes están influidas por factores situacionales y, a la inversa, algunos factores situacionales pueden estar influidos por tales conductas. Algunas conductas que, prima facie, no están influenciadas por los factores situacionales son consistentes. Una excepción son las conductas sexuales del delincuente. Conclusión: Este análisis confirma, aunque limitadamente, relaciones conductuales esperables, pero nunca antes estudiadas, en una muestra española de agresores sexuales seriales y desconocidos.
In the decade since the publication of the first edition of The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology, the field has expanded into areas such as social work and education, while maintaining the interest of criminal justice researchers and policy makers. This new edition provides cutting-edge and comprehensive coverage of the key theoretical perspectives, assessment methods, and interventions in forensic psychology. The chapters address substantive topics such as acquisitive crime, domestic violence, mass murder, and sexual violence, while also exploring emerging areas of research such as the expansion of cybercrime, particularly child sexual exploitation, as well as aspects of terrorism and radicalisation. Reflecting the global reach of forensic psychology and its wide range of perspectives, the international team of contributors emphasise diversity and cross-reference between adults, adolescents, and children to deliver a contemporary picture of the discipline.
Investigative Psychology (IP) as an empirical field of study that focusses on the psychological input to the full range of issues that relate to the investigation of crime. IP focusses on three overall processes present in any investigation that can be improved by psychological study; 1) Retrieving information from the crime scene for the purpose of analysis and research; 2) Making decisions during criminal investigations; and 3) Analysing criminal behaviour. For this last component, three general interlinked areas have been the focus of research: individual differentiation which aims to establish differences between the behavioral actions of offenders and identify subgroups of crime scene types; behavioural consistency which aims to understand an offender’s behavioural consistency across a series of crimes; and inferences about offender characteristics, which aims to establish the nature of the consistency between the most likely characteristics of an offender based on the way an offender acts at the time of the crime, and is at the core of offender profiling.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand (i) how crime linkage is currently performed with residential burglaries in New Zealand, (ii) the factors that promote/hinder accurate crime linkage and (iii)whether computerised decision-support tools might assist crime linkage practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 39 New Zealand Police staff completed a questionnaire/interview/focus group relating to the process, challenges, products and uses of crime linkage with residential burglary in New Zealand. These data (alongside four redacted crime linkage reports) were subjected to thematic analysis.
Findings
The data clearly indicated wide variation in crime linkage process, methods and products (Theme 1). Furthermore, a number of factors were identified that impacted on crime linkage practice (Theme 2).
Research limitations/implications
Future research should develop computerised crime linkage decision-support tools and evaluate their ability to enhance crime linkage practice. Also, researchers should explore the use of crime linkage in court proceedings.
Practical implications
To overcome the barriers identified in the current study, greater training in and understanding of crime linkage is needed. Moreover, efforts to enhance the quality of crime data recorded by the police will only serve to enhance crime linkage practice.
Social implications
By enhancing crime linkage practice, opportunities to reduce crime, protect the public and deliver justice for victims will be maximised.
Originality/value
The practice of crime linkage is under-researched, which makes it difficult to determine if/how existing empirical research can be used to support ongoing police investigations. The current project fills that gap by providing a national overview of crime linkage practice in New Zealand, a country where crime linkage is regularly conducted by the police, but no published linkage research exists.
This article identifies a set of behavioral indicators associated with the carrying of concealed and unholstered handguns. Using qualitative data collected from interviews and focus groups with veteran law enforcement, we outline a variety of cues that, when used appropriately, can help authorities identify people who may be concealing handguns. This work provides a systematic means of assisting the police in identifying and safely interdicting persons who might pose a threat to police or the public. The cues described here contribute to a lexicon that may also serve law enforcement communication, training, and research.
This project reports the results of 60 male serial homicide offenders’ profiles on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory–III (MCMI-III). The geographical distance between potential participants increases the difficulty in effectively measuring psychological features. Therefore, self-report is a viable option for this type of research. Using a computer-generated correctional report, the Severe Personality Pathologies and Clinical Personality Patterns were analyzed for possible traits relating to Axis I and Axis II suggested diagnoses.1 Results show that the majority of murderers sampled had at least one Axis I classification and nearly half had more than one. All participants had either features or traits of an Axis II disorder, with slightly more than half having met the cutoff for a diagnosed disorder. The measurement of a highly violent specialized group requires many considerations and extensive resources, but a preliminary understanding is possible with a carefully gauged approach.
This chapter presents a biopsychosocial approach for understanding serial sexual murder. Serial killing is one of three main types of multiple homicides, which may be simply defined as the killing of three or more people, by either an individual or group acting in concert. It is suggested that sexual killing should be understood in the context of rape and other assaultive sexual offenses. The predispositions to serial killing can be biological, psychological, sociological, or any combination thereof. No combination of predispositions, however, is likely to produce a serial killer, unless some event or series of events, called traumatizations, occur during the person's development. It is asserted that sexual killers are aroused primarily by high levels of aggressive experience and require high levels of stimulation. The Hickey model attempts to account for all serial murderers and pays much more attention to biological predispositions. The trauma control and the motivational models suggest that paraphilias would result from unresolved traumatic life events early in adolescence.
The extrapolation of characteristics of criminals from information about their crimes, as an aid to police investigation, is the essence of ‘profiling'. This paper proposes that for such extrapolations to be more than educated guesses they must be based upon knowledge of (1) coherent consistencies in criminal behaviour and (2) the relationship those behavioural consistencies have to aspects of an offender available to the police in an investigation. Hypotheses concerning behavioural consistencies are drawn from the diverse literature on sexual offences and a study is described of 66 sexual assaults committed by 27 offenders against strangers. Multivariate statistical analyses of these assaults support a five-component system of rapist behaviour, reflecting modes of interaction with the victim as a sexual object. The potential this provides for an eclectic theoretical basis to offender profiling is discussed.
Despite weaknesses in the
organized/disorganized classification of serial killers, it is drawn on for "offender profiles," theories of offending, and in murder trials. This dichotomy was therefore tested by the multidimensional scaling of the co-occurrence of 39 aspects of serial killings derived 100 murders committed by 100 U.S. serial killers. Results revealed no distinct subsets of offense characteristics reflecting the dichotomy. They showed a subset of organized features typical of most serial killings. Disorganized features are much rarer and do not form a distinct type. These results have implications for testing typologies supporting expert opinion or to help understand variations in criminal acts, as well as the development of a science of investigative psychology that goes beyond offender profiling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
To examine if serial homicide offenders are consistent across their crimes, a model was developed empirically that could be used to distinguish between crimes that were instrumental and those that were expressive. The first known three offences in each series of 69 US serial homicides committed by 23 offenders, were examined and the instrumental and expressive themes determined. Three models were then explored that test for consistency across these themes. The most liberal model was found to classify all of the offences effectively and to reveal complete consistency across the three crimes for all offenders. The implications of these results for offender profiling and further study of serial homicide are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This paper uses statistical models to test directly the police practice of utilising modus operandi to link crimes to a common offender. Data from 86 solved commercial burglaries committed by 43 offenders are analysed using logistic regression analysis to identify behavioural features that reliably distinguish between linked and unlinked crime pairs. Receiver operating characteristic analysis is then used to assign each behavioural feature an overall level of predictive accuracy. The results indicate that certain features, in particular the distances between burglary locations, lead to high levels of predictive accuracy. This study therefore reveals some of the important consistencies in commercial burglary behaviour. These have theoretical value in helping to explain criminal activity. They also have practical value by providing the basis for a diagnostic tool that could be used in comparative case analysis.
Implementing a crime mapping system is not a simple task. It involves an understanding of the intricacies of the data that are to be analyzed as well as what kinds of additional data might be usefully analyzed that are not currently used. One needs to understand the nature of the crime data normally collected and analyzed by police, how the data are collected and disseminated, how the police use the data for crime analysis and other purposes, and how community organizations have been involved in crime data analysis.
Modus operandi (MO) is a Latin term that means method of operating. It refers to the manner in which a crime has been committed. It is comprised of acts and decisions that are necessary to commit a crime, and any related choices made by an offender. Law enforcement has long held to the belief that understanding the methods and techniques criminals use to commit crime is the best way to investigate, identify, and ultimately apprehend them. The modern development and utility of MO as an investigative concept is based largely in classification systems that were originally set forth in Major Lewellyn W. Atcherley handbook Modus Operandi: Criminal Investigation and Detection, first published in 1913. An offender's MO behaviors are learned, and by extension they are dynamic and malleable. This is because MO is affected by time and can change as the offender learns or deteriorates. MO is not consistently comprised of behaviors that are necessarily distinctive or even unique to a particular offender; their crimes will often unfold differently each time, even when committed with the same motive, intent, and methods. MO is best used to help guide investigators to more certain evidence and keep their efforts on course. It should not generally be confused as conclusive evidence suggestive of offender identity when two or more cases are being compared, and certainly not in a legal context.
Homicide grows out of a transaction between individuals. This transaction is a product of the individuals and their relationship. More may therefore be understood about different "styles" of homicide by examining how an offender acts toward a victim during the crime. The analysis of the actual behaviors used by offenders at 247 single offender-single victim homicide crime scenes indicated a pattern of frequencies that follow a continuum from where the offender reacts in an impulsive way toward the emotions engendered through the conflicted interpersonal relationship with the victim, to where the offender interacts with the victim much more at a removed level, both physically and emotionally. Behaviors can thus be seen to follow a thematic pattern that can be related to underlying psychological principles, which closely relate to how an offender interacts with the victim at the crime scene.
The study of crime scene profiling efforts elicits two important patterns of sexual murders: organized and disorganized. These law enforcement categories have been derived from evidence and patterns of evidence at the site of sexual murders. The study then explores victim information and its relationship to the two categories. In particular, we explored victim response to the offender in terms of no resistance and active resistance to the assault. We found that regardless of type of resistance, active or passive, and category of offender, death ensued. When we examined nine victims who survived, the category of offender was not the predictor, rather, “chance happenings” preserved life.
One of the main areas of concern regarding offender profiling has been the general lack of extensive empirical studies on the psychological processes underpinning this process. This study aimed to investigate the possibility of establishing a model of homicide behaviors that could be used as a basis for evaluating the scientific validity of offender profiling. A sample of 247 British single offender-single victim solved homicide cases was analyzed using a nonmetric multidimensional scaling procedure known as Smallest Space Analysis. The results indicated that homicide crime scenes could most readily be differentiated in terms of the expressive and instrumental role the victim had to the offender. The backgrounds of the offenders could similarly be differentiated by an expressive/instrumental thematic split. However, when these two elements were combined, there was a substantial mix between crime scene themes and themes of background characteristics. The results are discussed in terms of the validity of classifying homicide into a expressive/instrumental dichotomy and the implications this classification may have for offender profiling.
Generally, murder classifications have failed to be useful for investigators in identifying perpetrators of murders. Based on the experience of the authors, this article extends the definitions of four previously recognized rape-offender typologies (power-assertive, power- reassurance, anger-retaliatory, and anger-excitation) into classifications for sexually oriented killers. These types of murderers and their crime scenes are described through the dynamics of their behaviors, homicidal patterns, and suspect profiles. Each typology is followed by an actual case example that fits that particular type of killer. By identifying crime scene and behavioral factors of these killers, the homicide investigator will be more equipped to process murder scenes, prioritize leads, and apprehend killers. Unlike earlier efforts at crime scene classification, the present work addresses the behaviors, motivational continuum, and the effects of experiential learning by the perpetrators. The relative frequency of the four types within a population of murderers at the Michigan State Penitentiary is revealed.
Purpose. The psychological hypotheses that form the foundations for ‘Offender Profiling’ are identified and the research that has tested them is reviewed. Argument. ‘Offender profiling’ is taken to be the derivation of inferences about acriminal from aspects of the crime(s) he or she has committed. For this process to move beyond deduction based on personal opinion and anecdote to an empirically based science, a number of aspects of criminal activity need to be distinguished and examined. The notion of a hierarchy of criminal differentiation is introduced to highlight the need to search for consistencies and variations at many levels of that hierarchy. However, current research indicates that the key distinctions are those that differentiate, within classes of crime, between offences and between offenders. This also leads to the hypothesis ofa circular ordering of criminal actions, analogous to the colour circle, a ‘radex’. The radex model, tested using Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) procedures, allows specific hypotheses to be developed about important constituents of criminal differentiation: Salience. MDS analyses reveal the importance of the frequency of criminal actions as the basis on which the significance of those actions can be established. Models of differentiation. The research reviewed mainly supports distinctions between criminals in terms of the forms of their transactions with their explicit or implicit victims. Consistency. Offenders have been shown to exhibit similar patterns of action on different occasions. The most reliable examples of this currently are in studies of the spatial behaviour of criminals. Inference. Under limited conditions it is possible to show associations between the characteristics of offenders and the thematic focus of their crimes. In general these results provide support for models of thematic consistency that link the dominant themes in an offender's crimes to characteristic aspects of his or her lifestyle and offending history. Implications. Much of what passes for ‘offender profiling’ in practice and as reported in the factual and fictional media has no basis in empirical research. However, there are some promising results emerging in some areas of study. These results are most likely to be of value to police investigations when incorporated into decision support systems and the training of police officers. The results doalso provide new insights into the psychology o crime.
The application of environmental psychology principles and findings to the work of criminal investigators is gaining ground. This paper presents one particular application of these principles to the study of those very rare criminals, serial killers. An environmental psychology perspective looks on the rational processes that may underlie these disturbing and highly emotive crimes. For, although the murders committed by serial killers may not be considered rational, but rather a consequence of heightened emotion and lack of impulse control, environmental psychology hypotheses predict that their choice of disposal site location may be guided by a recognisable rationality. Support for this rationality would be evident through their spatial patterns of disposal locations, but these spatial patterns themselves would vary depending on the range over which the offender was operating. It was therefore hypothesised that their spatial patterns would reflect the importance of a) the centrality of the home location for determining the disposal site locations, b) the relevance of maintaining distance between sequential disposal site locations themselves. Further, c) the nature of the influences of home and sequence would vary with the size of the area over which the offender disposed of his victims' bodies.
The author reviews the definitions, epidemiology, evolving research, offender, and offense characteristics of sexual homicide, a form of intentional killing that occurs in less than 1% of homicides in the United States. Although the extant research is limited by very few comparative studies, repetitive use of small, nonrandom samples, retrospective data, no prospective studies, and the absence of any predictive statistical analyses, the yield over the past 100 years is impressive. The author advances a clinical typology of sexual murderers. The first group of compulsive sexual murderers leaves behind organized crime scenes and are usually diagnosed with sexual sadism and antisocial/narcissistic personality disorders. They are chronically emotionally detached, often primary psychopaths, are autonomically hyporeactive, and the majority experience no early trauma. The second group of catathymic sexual murderers leave behind disorganized crime scenes and are usually diagnosed with a mood disorder and various personality disorders that may include schizoid and avoidant traits. They are hungry for attachment, only moderately psychopathic, are autonomically hyperreactive, and have a history of physical and/or sexual trauma.
Little is known about men who kill in a sexual context. The present study compares a group of sexual murderers with a group of men who had raped but not killed.
Twenty-one men who murdered women in the course of a sexual attack and 121 men convicted of rape were interviewed in six prisons. Victim statements were obtained in 103 cases (73%). Assessment consisted of a 90-minute semi-structured interview, the Eysenck 1-7 questionnaire, and the Schonell reading test.
The most notable characteristic distinguishing the men who killed was their lifelong isolation and lack of heterosexual relationships.
A better understanding of the social and emotional isolation commonly found in sexual murderers may provide important insights into why some sexual offenders go on to kill.
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