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Lessons from serial murder in South Africa
Author(s) -
Hodgskiss Brin
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of investigative psychology and offender profiling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1544-4767
pISSN - 1544-4759
DOI - 10.1002/jip.2
Subject(s) - fantasy , psychology , criminology , homicide , ambivalence , social psychology , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , art , literature , environmental health
The systematic study of serial murder in South Africa is a newly developed field. This research demonstrates the similarities and differences between South African serial murderers and those found elsewhere. The most marked difference is the higher incidence of cross‐ethnic offending, the lower rate of ‘team killers’, and the lack of female serial murderers in South Africa. South African offenders display similar geographical behaviours to foreign serial murderers. Overall, South African offenders display more behaviour in common with their non‐European counterparts than serial murderers from the USA. South African serial murderers display certain diagnostic and developmental features that are different from those reported in North American serial murderers. Of these, the most notable is the seeming lack of sexually violent conscious fantasy. There are also fundamental similarities in experience: exposure to traumatic experiences, and profound interpersonal isolation and distance. This ambivalence is also noted in discussions of the evolution of behaviour in the offences, and in the discussion of motives in serial murder. This demonstrates areas that previous studies of serial murder need to explore further. This study also highlights the need for research into the ways in which offence behaviours are affected by the social environment. Finally, the analysis of serial murderers in South Africa suggests ways in which serial murder can be tackled. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.