Criminology: Serial Killers
Introduction
The term serial killer has since its history been used with a lot of fear in the society. Persons who qualify the description are believed to have an abnormal gratification for murder where they kill more than three people under similar circumstances. The deeper underpinning of an individual’s personality such as natural urges, motivations and emotional needs catalyzed by hereditary factors, biological, social, academic, cultural, and economic environments contribute largely to the violent behavior. Most serial killers are believed to be anti-social which can be traced back to their upbringing and their relationship with their mothers. It is during infancy that the murderer acquires undesirable stereotypes, attitudes, skills, methods, and tools that help him or her to execute the criminal activities. Serial crimes are rather irrational acts where the killer exercises power over the victim as a warm of pleasure satisfaction. Most serial killers have been reported to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crime which makes them unable to perceive the nature of damage they are causing through their cruel actions. Most serial killers find it necessary to commit continuous murders as a way of fulfilling their sadistic fantasies (Ioana, 2013). They are a great threat to the safety and stability of society because their violent behavior never stops until they are arrested and given life imprisonment sentences.
Types of criminal violence and their impact on victims
There is a range of violent crimes besides serial murders where the perpetrator uses force against the victim leading to physical harm. Some of the most common examples of violent crimes include assault, robbery with violence, terrorism, arson, gang violence, and kidnappings. Assault includes all forms from rape to battery (White et al., 2017). Terrorism is an organized act of crime mostly carried out by militia groups against a certain government aimed at destabilizing the political and socio-economic status of the target government. Acts of terrorism such as the 9/11 attacks in the United States led to the lives of people and the destabilization of the global economy given that they were targeted at the world trade center. A lot of financial damage was experienced at the global, national, and personal levels because either people lost their jobs or their breadwinners. Most significantly, thousands were left traumatized and could not stand the sound of an airplane due to the fear that it could be another attack. All forms of crime have a direct negative impact on the victims. Cases of sexual assault, for example, leave the victim feeling helpless for not being able to protect themselves. Psychologically, the victims get angered, traumatized, self-hatred which may lead to adverse negative effects such as depression and suicide. Victims of crime tend to slide into antisocial behavior if appropriate psychosocial therapy is not given. Robbery with violence may be targeted as a punished to a property owner but in the long run, everyone that was dependent on the property suffers. For example, robbery with violence at a business premise may lead to the closure of the business leading to loss of jobs. The families of the people that lose their jobs are affected by the attack in that they have to spend their resources taking care of the medical needs of their kin with no hope on continued income. The families may also be cut short of their breadwinner if he or she loses his or her life during the robbery with violence attack.
Social learning and Strain theory
Albert Bandura’s social learning theory provides an explanation of how the environment contributes to an individual’s behavior. According to the theory, people model their violent behavior according to what they have been exposed to as children. Infancy is the most delicate stage where violent behavior is learned either directly or indirectly and the child carries it with him or her into adulthood. Children who grow up in a hostile environment either at home or the neighborhood will most likely carry the violent behavior with them either consciously or subconsciously and will use violence at some point in their adult life either as a defense or as a coping mechanism. Infants who grow up in an environment where they are not appreciated by their family and especially the mother develop aggressive tendencies in compensation for the missing affection. Mass media has played a big role in the perpetration of violent behavior whereby through the constant publication of the behavior, vulnerable individuals are exposed to imitating the behavior. Serial killers are portrayed with some form of masculinity in the American film industry which has contributed to the adoption of the behavior by people who feel the need to be seen or heard. According to studies, strain theory implies that particular strains and/or stressors are the reason behind the desire to be violent. Individuals with these strains get upset resulting in the burning desire for deviant behavior (Ioana, 2013). Negative emotions such as anger result from the strain lead to antisocial behavior, substance abuse, and consequently to violent behavior. It is therefore right to claim that most violent behaviors are either learned or triggered by a strain where the individual has little control over their deviant action since it is a trait carried from way back from childhood or a strain in their gene.
Control balance and Rational choice theory
The control balance theory is a description of how the control ratio imbalance results in deviant behavior. One can either have control surplus or deficit for one to engage in violent behavior. Control surplus implies a situation where an individual exercise more control than they are being controlled while in control deficit an individual experience more control than the control they can give. The amount of control which an individual has determined the nature of the violent acts that he or she will engage in. most white-collar criminals have surplus controls. The rational choice theory describes a situation where human beings are rational creations and that their behavior is motivated by the fear of punishment (Hirschi, 2017). People depend on their rational calculations to measure their level of satisfaction from engaging in a certain criminal activity. The idea that engaging in criminal activity will lead to one being caught and imprisoned prevents most criminals with control deficit from engaging in criminal activities. White collar criminals have mastered their ways around crime and know how to hide their track and will less likely to be caught which motivates them to engage in elite crimes. Serial killers, however, are considered irrational therefore the theory does not apply to them.
Theories relating to serial murder
The biological trait theory of serial killers explains that the behavior is inherent within an individual. In some serial killers, the characteristic can be discovered in the prenatal stages where the individual has neurological disorders. Such individuals have difficulties in the execution of brain function and aggression. Engagement in criminal activities may be a reaction to the brains chemical activities which they have no control over. The psychodynamic theory emphasizes the acquisition of violent behavior through the development of the unconscious personality in childhood. The id, the ego, and the superego are the aspects of personality according to Sigmund Freud that individuals develop in their early childhood (Forsyth, 2015). The id is the unconscious aspect, the ego is the rational aspect, while the superego forms the intuition and consciousness. A serial killer has an overflow of the id which prevents him or her from making rational decisions and from fear of punishment. The organized/disorganized theory describes that serial killers will fall into either of the two categories. The organized serial killer is careful in his criminal activities and will rarely leave evidence and is believed to kill as a result of some stressful event. On the other hand, the disorganized serial killer is prone to leaving behind traces and is believed to be of low intellect levels with straining social relationships.
Case Studies
Dennis Radar is among the listed serial killers in America. He gave himself the name ‘Blind, Torture, Kill’ which describes his alter ego at the moment of attack on victims. He is recorded to have killed 10 people ranging from children to both men and women in the years between 1974 and 1991. The crimes were committed around his community of residence in Wichita, Kansas. He was able to escape the hands of the law until 2005 and all along lived a normal life between the murders with his wife and two children. Rader’s urge to kill was led by his desire to satisfy his sexual desires. He was also fascinated with getting famous over his criminal activities which motivated him to commit more murders. The murder of the Otero family led to a 10th-grade child being denied the joy of parenting by being orphaned at a young age. Rader had all his murder pre-planned and reported to the authorities after every kill which is proof of narcissism (Bonn, 2019).
John Derek Radford is a British sex offender who went by the name “Black Cab Rapist.” He was reported to have attacked 12 women but police he may have carried out his sexual offenses on more than 100 women. He was formerly known as John Worboys and through his profession, as a black cab taxi driver, he would carry women at attractive rates in the deep of the nights. By luring the women through a win of lottery trick, he would get them to drink spiked champagne from where he would assault them. He was jailed for 8 years but out of the fear he instilled in women, his release was blocked and the parole board determined that he should remain in prison. Sexual gratification was the reason behind Worboy’s sexual assaults on vulnerable women. Rape and sexual assaults against women are crimes which leave the victims traumatized and with damaged self-esteem. Some women get problems getting over such incident evidenced by the two victims who brought up the 200-1003 case against Worboy’s in 2017 after identifying him on media coverage (Sawer & Steafel, 2019).
Conclusion
As evidenced by the case of Rader, serial killers find gratification in committing the murders. The murders are in most cases a fulfillment of mental tensions. Most serial killers have a sexual desire that they feel the urge to fulfill as evidenced by Rader and Worboys. Every type of crime has a significant negative impact on the victims which go from financial loss to trauma. Violence can be learned through the social environment or can be inherent within an individual biological composition. It is important that parents and guardians are mindful and observant of their children’s behavior since most violent behaviors are acquired at infancy.
References
Bonn, S. (2019, February 18). Inside the Mind of Serial Killer Dennis Rader, AKA BTK. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/wicked- deeds/201902/inside-the-mind-serial-killer-dennis-rader-aka-btk
Forsyth, C. J. (2015). Posing: The sociological routine of a serial killer. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(4), 861-875.
Hirschi, T. (2017). On the compatibility of rational choice and social control theories of crime. The reasoning criminal (pp. 105-118). Routledge.
Ioana, I. M. (2013). No one is born a serial killer! Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 81, 324-328.
Sawer, P., & Steafel, E. (2019). Black cab rapist John Worboys admits drugging four women in order to sexually assault them. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/20/black-cab-rapist-john-worboys-admits- drugging-four-women-order/
White, R., Haines, F., & Asquith, N. L. (2017). Crime & criminology.
