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Stories of serial killers fascinate a lot of people, especially those interested in true crime. Shows like ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’, ‘Mindhunter’ and ‘Dexter’ and movies like ‘Halloween’, ‘Scream’, ‘Dirty Harry’, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, ‘The Black Phone’, and ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ depict serial killers, their crimes, and the hunt for them. Watching movies and television shows on serial killers may make some people fearful of the possibility of these murderers lurking in the shadows, unknown to the world.
Notorious serial killers from the past
People still talk about the stories of Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and the Boston Strangler, some of the most notorious serial killers to have ever lived. However, the chances of encountering serial killers like them, or another Zodiac Killer are extremely low now. The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least five people in North Carolina in the late 1960s.
High activity period for serial killers in the United States
The 1970s and 1980s were a high activity period for serial murderers. In the 1970s, the number of serial killers peaked. At that time, there were nearly 300 known active serial killers in the United States.
In the next decade, there were more than 250 active killers who accounted for between 120 and 180 deaths per year.
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Why have serial killers dramatically declined in the United States?
By the 2010s, there were less than 50 known active killers.
Therefore, it is safe to say that serial killers have decreased dramatically in the United States in the last 40 years. But what explains this decline? Experts from Northeastern University in Massachusetts have explained the potential reasons behind the decline.
The data on the number of serial killers in each decade is present in the Radford University/Florida Gulf Coast University Serial Killer Database. James Alan Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University, Jack Levin, researcher on murder, and Emma Friedel, an assistant professor of criminology at Florida State University, analyzed the data in the Serial Killer Database, combed through it, and published it in the Recently updated book ‘Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder’.
Major changes in forensic science, technology, criminal justice
According to Northeastern University, Fox believes that the decline in serial killers can be attributed to several major changes in forensic science, policing, criminal justice and technology that have made it more difficult than ever for the BTK (bind, torture, kill) killers of the world to escape capture.
In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a nationwide crackdown on crime which made it difficult for serial killers, and anyone involved in violent crime, to stay out of prison. This may have resulted in a decline in serial killers since the 1980s.
Fox said in a statement that there was an increasing number of people behind bars. So, some of the would-be serial killers were likely behind bars.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the incarceration rate in federal and state prisons has more than doubled to 332 per 100,000 United States residents.
Advances in DNA testing
Murders, even the ones which remained open or questionable for decades, can now be investigated more effectively, thanks to advances in forensic science and DNA testing.
Fox said that during the first case he was involved with in 1990, he was on a task force investigating the murders of five college students, and that the force got DNA evidence, but it was pretty crude. At that time, it was not possible to obtain DNA from hair, but now one can. At that time, a lot of genetic material was required to be able to identify the DNA pattern, but now, it isn’t.
Role of forensic genealogy in solving crimes
Recently, forensic genealogy, a term used in the United States to describe genealogical research, analysis and reporting in cases with legal implications, was used in the case of suspected quadruple murderer Bryan Kohlberger. The technique has even made it possible to test DNA collected at a crime scene against DNA collected from a suspect’s family.
Surveillance cameras, GPS tracking make it difficult for serial killers to abduct victims.
According to Northeastern University, serial killers can also leave a digital fingerprint. Due to the proliferation of surveillance cameras and the advent of the cell phone with its GPS tracking capabilities, it has become harder for serial killers to abduct their victims in the first place. Other tools which investigators have at their disposal to track a killer’s whereabouts include an IP address, or the metadata off of a floppy disk in case of a BTS Killer.
Changing public behaviors
The decrease in serial killers in the United States is also attributed to changing behaviors among the public, Fox said. He explained that there were widespread social and cultural changes in the 60s and 70s, which included drug use, hitchhiking, and the hippie movement. These conditions were prime for predators to “go on the prowl”, he said.
General anxiety in public
However, things have changed in the last few decades, such as an increase in fears around mass killings due to the public’s general anxiety and distrust for each other, and people becoming much more aware and cautious than they used to be. Due to this attitude, people are less likely to accept help from a stranger who offers help.
Children, and young women and girls are some of the most common targets for serial killers. Now, they are less vulnerable than in decades past because of changes in how parents think about their children’s safety.
Of the 5,582 victims killed by serial killers since 1970, more than half are female, and about 30.2 percent of those female victims are between the ages of 20 and 29, and 23 percent are between the ages of five and 19, according to Fox, Levin and Friedel.
Parents are more protective of their kids than before
Parents now feel that the world is a more dangerous and risky place, even at school, according to Lauri Kramer, a professor of applied psychology at Northeastern University. Now, even the places parents previously assumed to be risk-free are dangerous and risky in their eyes.
Therefore, increased awareness about public safety, and a more careful attitude are some of the most important reasons behind the decline in serial killers in the United States in the last four decades.
Kramer explained that there is a sense that parents need to be much more participatory and intentional about selecting those opportunities in which their kids are going to be beyond school and church or other sorts of things that are pretty normative for them.
A general anxiety now exists, and that results in parents being more protective than before.
Social-emotional learning in schools
The shift toward social emotional learning that occurred in school systems across the United States over the last decade may also explain the decline in serial killers.
Kramer said that social emotional learning gives educators a chance to compensate for some trauma that kids may have experienced in other settings, like their homes, and helps students develop empathy and manage their frustration and anger.
How potential serial killers could be prevented from developing
The extra layer of support could help prevent potential serial killers from developing in the first place, according to Northeastern University.
Kramer said that all of this is improving by having some ability to identify individuals early in life who are having difficulty, to provide more effective forms of treatment, and to provide appropriate forms of intervention and treatment earlier to kids with trauma.
Despite American streets being stalked by fewer serial killers, people continue to be fascinated by the horrific takes of “the legacy killers”, according to Fox. He explained that it is vitally important to study serial killers and prevent them from killing.
Fox said that the Boston Strangler killed 13 people and affected their loved ones, but was also able to hold Boston in a grip of terror for years. Fox explained that there was one person who wrecked too much havoc on Boston, and therefore, the earlier the world can do to understand, prevent and capture someone like the Boston Strangler, the better off everyone will be.
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