Serial Crime And Crime

Introduction

There are many different definitions of serial murder; one definition states that a serial murderer is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month with a cooling off period between murders in over a number of different geographical areas. They usually target strangers and the reason for the offence is said to be mainly for the enjoyment of it. On the other hand Eggers (1984, 1990) definition states that serial murder occurs when a second or subsequent murder is committed. Hickey (1991) and Ressler, Burgess and Douglas (1988) believe a serial murder occurs when three or more victims are murdered over a period of time. Dietz (1986) however believes that a serial killer have to kill at least five people. Dietz also believes that the murders have to be committed in different geographical locations, while others such as Leibman (1986) believe that the murders should take place in the same area (Petherick, 2009, Pg 265).

In this century, the Serial Murderer phenomenon is an important problem that has become particularly evident in society this is due to the increased attention provided by the media and the increased number of serial murders, it is an important subject to study as you can gain a better understanding of why these murders occur and the social significance that contribute to the development of a killer. If society can gain insight on what causes these murders, then they are much more likely to prevent them from occurring. Many of us find ourselves fascinated by these serial murderers because their actions are so hard for a normal person to understand. Although we are scared of them we cannot help but want to know more about them and to understand what had caused thei...

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...enties, which later ended in divorce due to both claiming physical abuse from each other. Clearly due to childhood abuse she suffered, she lacked the proper socialization with her family. Therefore the social relationships as a young girl failed her completely, which ultimately led her to a life of crime of prostitution and murder, Self-control theory indicated that if parents raised their children correctly then they would not lack self-control. Children who are disciplined and correctly supervised are less likely to seek instant gratification and therefore less likely to engage in criminal behaviour. In the case of Aileen Wuornos who experienced a traumatic childhood of abuse, and offered sexual favours for attention at the age of 9 and engaged in behaviour that gave her instant gratification due to the abuse and lack of love and affection from her family.