How to Legally Define Serial Killer
The term "serial killer" was coined by former FBI agent Robert Ressler in the 1970s, according to fact-archive.com. Yet it is not so easy to precisely pin one definition on serial killers. Many myths and misconceptions have been created over the years, and the FBI has tried to clear up this issue. As a result, the FBI has some clearly defined guidelines to follow.
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Instructions
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Follow the FBI guidelines. For some 30 years, police, clinicians, academics and researchers have tried to pinpoint what, exactly, a serial murderer is. Common themes have been developed, but specifics have varied. The FBI, while acknowledging a need for flexibility, refined its definition of serial murders during a 2005 symposium. In short, any definition of serial murders should include several factors: one or more offenders; at least two victims; killings should occur in separate events and at different times; the time between murders separates serial murders from mass murders, which are committed at once and in one place.
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Know the law. According to the FBI, in 1998, Congress passed the federal law known as the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act, and this statute includes a definition of serial killings: "The term 'serial killings' means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors." The law's purpose was actually designed to establish when the FBI could help local police in serial murder cases, not as a "generic definition of serial murder," according to the FBI.
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Avoid the myths. In the 2005 FBI symposium, numerous serial killer myths were noted. The first was that all serial killers are "dysfunctional loners" who roam the countryside. On the contrary, most serial killers are just the opposite. Many, according to the FBI, "hide in plain sight" and often have families, jobs and appear normal. In short, they can blend in "effortlessly" in the community.
Another myth the FBI dispelled was that all serial killers are white men. Such killers cover a range of racial groups, notably African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians.
One of the more prevalent myths is that all serial killers are motivated by sex. Not true, says the FBI. Anger, thrill, financial gain and attention are numerous other driving factors for serial killers.
The FBI also says it is untrue that serial killers cannot stop killing and that they are all "insane or are evil geniuses."
The final myth, according to the FBI, is the commonly held belief that serial killers want to be caught. Instead, many serial killers eventually are captured because over time, they come to believe they cannot be caught, which leads to mistakes and arrest.
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