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Classifying homicide offenders and predicting their characteristics from crime scene behavior
Author(s) -
Santtila Pekka,
Häkkänen Helinä,
Canter David,
Elfgren Thomas
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9450.00328
Subject(s) - psychology , homicide , denial , confession (law) , social psychology , aggression , poison control , crime scene , criminology , human factors and ergonomics , medical emergency , psychotherapist , medicine , political science , law
A theoretical distinction between instrumental and expressive aggression was used in analyzing offender characteristics and their associations with crime scene actions in Finnish homicides. Twenty‐one variables reflecting the offenders’ criminal activity, previous relationships with intimates and victims, and general social and psychological adjustment were derived from files of single‐offender/single‐victim homicides occurring between 1980 and 1994 ( n = 502). Additionally, three variables describing post‐offense actions and police interview behavior were included. A multidimensional scaling procedure was used to investigate the interrelationships between the variables. A distinction between expressive and instrumental characteristics was observable in the empirical structure, which was divided into three subthemes of Instrumental, Expressive: Blood, and Expressive: Intimate. Associations between the characteristics with five previously identified subthemes of crime scene actions were computed. In addition, the subthemes of crime scene actions were related to post‐offense actions and police interview behavior, with Expressive themes being associated with less denial as well as a greater likelihood of surrendering and confession. The practical usefulness for police investigations and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.