Citation

Trojan C, Salfati CG. Homicide Stud. 2010; 14(2): 107-131.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1088767910364936

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The degree of difference between single and serial homicide offenders’ criminal histories is not fully understood at present. The current study compares these offenders’ criminal histories to identify general trends in the degree and type of offending specialization that they demonstrate. The results showed that a single framework can account for patterns in the criminal histories of these offenders, according to a co-occurrence of violent versus instrumental offenses, and most offenders could be allocated to one of these offense groups and considered specialists. However, serial offenders were more likely to be considered specialists in instrumental offenses compared to single offenders, highlighting one important point of difference between these offenders.