Serial and Multiple Offenders

Serial offenders create special difficulties for law enforcement. Whether they are bombers, rapists, or murderers, the nature of their crimes and the fact that they often have no apparent connection to their victims force law enforcement to develop new ways of dealing with these types of offenders.

Most murderers have visible motives such as revenge, to cover up another crime, or financial gain. For these reasons, the earliest stages of any homicide investigation focus on people who know and could possibly profit from the victim’s death. This is a rational approach since the overwhelming majority of homicides occur between people who know each other.   This isn’t the case with most serial murderers and rapists.

The serial offenders motives may not be apparent. Their motives are more personal and private. Even when a motive is discovered, it may seem totally irrational, but not to the offender.

Mass Murderers: When an offender kills more than four people in one location at one time, they are considered a mass murderer. These killers often want to send a message and a clear agenda. These offenders are the ones who walk into their workplace and shoots several people. The attack often ends with the killer taking his own life or “suicide by cop”. The motive is often some perceived wrong by his victims.

Spree Killers: These offenders kill several people at two or more locations with the killings being linked by motive and with no ‘cooling-off’ period between. This killer goes on a rampage, moving from place to place, even state to state, leaving bodies in his path. It is as if an underlying rage pushes the killer to act, and once he begins, he doesn’t stop or deviate from his goal.

Serial Killers: These offenders kill several people at different times and locations with a cooling-off period, which may be days, weeks, months, even years in duration. This distinguishes serial from spree killers.