Issue In Crimes: Serial killer (Essay Sample)

Serial killer
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Psychological gratification is a factor that motivates people to involve in serial killing. According to Hale (1993), serial killing is a habit that can be learned by anybody. In his social learning theory, Hale believes that serial killing is a criminality that depends on an individual socialization. It depends on how an individual has been influenced by relationships and social experiences in the society (agents of socialization). Learning refers to acquiring of knowledge and habit as a consequence of experiences in which an individual is exposed in the environment. Hale (1993) believes in the social learning theory as the influential factor that motivates people to become serial killers. Social events are responsible for influencing the personality of Psychopathic killers. An individual can become a criminal because of the type of friends, family relationships, peer pressures and other social agents that the person interacts with (Hale, 1993). Nevertheless, these habits are not irreversible, and therefore can be unlearned.
Holmes and Holmes (2010) say that psychopathic killers are often inappropriately presented as horrible monsters or predators in books, theater, televisions and movies. In a real sense, a psychopathic killer can be anybody like a friend, lover, a homeless person, co-worker or a neighbor on the street. Psychopathic serial killers normally lack interpersonal empathy and they do not have the ability to feel pity. They neither value nor appreciate human life and they are not concern with the impacts of their crimes. They are brutal, indifferent and callous on the way they interact with their victims. A serial criminal is an individual who has killed three or more people over a timeframe of at least one month between the incidents of murder. Serial killers are mostly male, although cases in which females involve in serial killings have also been experienced. Serial killing is motivated by different psychological urges including social factors.
Many serial killers do normally not appear as if they are killers. Until these people are caught, then the evil of their faces can be seen. Most serial killers maintain or have low profile and live private lives (Hale, 1993). They normally appear to be socially responsible people and mostly hold jobs. They do not want to appear crazy as this will draw attention for arrest and detection. Due to their non-affiliative and cunning relationship to the victims, serial killers can live normally without being detected for several years. Only by accident, their identification and arrest may occur. Nevertheless, it is difficult to know the exact number of serial killers.
Under legal policy, serial murder is a crime and therefore illegal. Anybody found to have involved in serial murder; the law approves his arrest, prosecution, and sentence for either death penalty or life sentence in prison. The role of law aims to ensure that sanity is maintained in the society, and human rights are respected (Holmes and Holmes, 2010). Law enforcement effort has been playing crucial role in identifying and monitoring potential serial killers. The enforcement of the rule of law remains to minimize crime by identifying criminals and preventing recidivism.
Causal logic behind serial killing aims to understand how did an individual identified as a serial killer turned to be a serial murderer. A better answer depends on the development of the person from his birth time to adulthood. Particularly, life experiences and some biological factors have a greater role of influencing behavior of an individual. Holmes and Holmes (2010) present that serial killers, like any other person, are the product of their social upbringing, their hereditary, and the choices they derive in their life development. Causal logic refers to the complex process which involves the interplay between environmental, social and biological factors. Based on these factors, a person has the capability to choose to behave in a certain way. The influential factors of serial killing are psychological, social and biological in nature, and they are not limited to any particular trait or characteristic. A serial killer, therefore, develops through the combined factors (as stated above) that interrelate mutually. These factors have biological predispositions, psychological urges and social influence. Serial killers are influenced by their exceptional reasons or motives, and they are not motivated by any particular demographic group like their religion, age, sex or race. People do not become serial killers without causative agents. They are normally influenced by their upbringing environment, hereditary factors and decisions they make in their lives.
As part reform agenda, criminal justice system currently expects criminals who are identified as serial killers to be given life sentence imprisonment rather than a death penalty. Besides that, the capability of law enforcement agents to profile serial murders is one of the best law enforcement activities. Serial criminal profiling is a new police tactic which develops the normal deductive reason...