Serial Crime

Book excerpt: Serial Crime provides a theoretical and practical foundation for understanding the motivation and dynamics in a range of serial offenses . It successfully connects concepts and creates links to criminal behavior across crimes —murder, sexual assault, and arson— something no other book available does. The connection of serial behavior to profiling, the most useful tool in discovering behavior patterns, is new to the body of literature available and serves to examine the ideal manner in which profiling can be used in conjunction with psychology to positively affect criminal investigations. The book includes case examples that offer real-world uses of behavioral profiling in investigations, and highlight a variety of issues in understanding and investigating serial crime. The book's primary audience would include criminal profilers, fire investigators, universities offering forensic science/criminal justice programs, and forensic, police, criminal, and behavioral psychologists. The secondary audience would include attorneys and judges involved in criminal litigation, and forensic scientists and consultants (generalists). * Provides a theoretical and practical foundation for understanding the motivation and dynamics in a range of serial offenses* Illustrates the promise, purposes and pitfalls of behavioral profiling in the investigation of various serial crimes* Case examples offer real-world uses of behavioral profiling in investigations, and highlight a variety of issues in understanding and investigating serial crime