The psychological profile of serial offenders and a redefinition of the misnomer of serial crime.

This article explores the possibility that a generalised profile of serial offenders may contribute to the conceptualisation of serial crime. The latter has become immersed in a debate over the minimum number of victims that should be set as the defining criterion. There are several conceptual and practical problems in seeking to define serial crime in terms of minimum victim numbers, and the possibility is raised that a serial criminal might be identified as such after only one offence has been committed. In this light the term “serial crime” is seen as a misnomer. A redefinition of the term is pursued by first identifying the psychological mechanisms characteristic of serial offenders; in this context specific attention is given to the personality characteristics of psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, paraphilic tendencies, fantasy proneness or dissociative tendencies, and compulsiveness. A general definition of serial crime then is proposed, focusing on the psychology of the serial offender regardless of the particular offence mode. As a result of this analysis serial murder, serial rape, and serial arson can be described in terms of specific behaviours evidenced in the crime scene and the style of victimisation; these descriptions may be used to classify serial offenders. Finally, the proposed definition of serial crime is applied to the question, “Can women be serial criminals?”. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]