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Defining Serial Violent Crime

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Criminal Profiling

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Abstract

A redefinition of the term serial crime is pursued in this chapter by first identifying the psychological mechanisms characteristic of serial offenders; in this context, specific attention is given to the personality characteristics of psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, paraphilic tendencies, fantasy proneness or dissociative tendencies, and compulsiveness. A general definition of serial crime is proposed, focusing on the psychology of the serial offender regardless of the particular offense mode. As a result of this analysis, serial murder, serial rape, and serial arson can be described in terms of specific behaviors evidenced in the crime scene and the style of victimization; these descriptions may be used to classify serial offenders. It is this definition of serial crime that the Crime Action Profiling (CAP) studies adopt and, it is maintained, are likely to be indic ative of the types of offenses that will practically benefit from the use of criminal profiling in their investigation.

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© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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(2006). Defining Serial Violent Crime. In: Criminal Profiling. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-109-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-109-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-639-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-109-3

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