Driven to Kill: British Serial Killers and their Occupations

Despite the wealth of academic literature relating to serial murder, there has been little research into how the occupational choice of serial killers influences their behaviour and subsequent offending. This article seeks to address this current gap by first examining the occupational history of known British serial murderers and determining if there were any particular work environments which were commonly selected. It was determined that there are four particular occupational 'groups' that known British serial murderers selected and these are described as: 'Healthcare'; 'Business'; 'Public and personal service'; and 'Driving and transient dependent work'. It is this latter occupational 'grouping' that was the most commonly selected form of employment. Through using a case study of Peter Sutcliffe - a serial murderer who was active during the 1970s and early 1980s - the reasons why such occupations may be so popular among serial sexual murderers are explored. © 2015 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.