MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Are there less serial killers these days...

Are there less serial killers these days?


Whenever I watch crime documentaries they seem to be from the 80s and earlier. If they have gone down, I wonder what we could attribute this to? Could video games (usually blamed for training violent people) actually be therapeutic? Quenching the blood lust of some?

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"Could video games (usually blamed for training violent people) actually be therapeutic?"
Where i live, youth crime is much lower than in the 80s. Academics are giving video games primarily, the credit for this.

When it comes to previnting serial killers though... I really don't know what the factors are.

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By the way, I don't think there are less serial killers. But I think the serialkiller types have changed drastically.

Massacres primarily in the form of school and church shootings didn't happen once a year in the 80s, at least not in the western world. Those guys are also serial killers of course. The worst massacre-serial killer to date went on his spree in 2011.

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I wouldn't classify mass murderers the same as serial killers. There's some other more intimate primal need that a serial killer is tapping into that differs from a mass killer. Also a lot of serial killers get off on and cat and mouse game they play with the cops.

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The word you wanted there was preventing.


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English is not my first language, those errors will happen.

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I sort of figured that. I hope you were not offended. I admire you for speaking a second language, and I was just trying to help. BTW, other than that one small error your English is excellent.


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Not offended, just wanted to inform. I wish people could knew immediately, but then again most people probably figure out quickly.

Are there any user nation statistics available? Would be nice to know If it's like 90% Americans or close to 50%.
I really don't how any idea.

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Oh wow! That is a great question. I would love to know that. One of the best things about this site is conversing with people from other countries.

BTW, what country are you from? I'm an American, but as the character said in In Bruges, "Don't hold that against me."


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I'm from Norway, the country you just sold Call of duty planes(f-52)

I have seen In Bruges once, only have a few foggy memories.

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Seems to me, there are more MASS MURDERERS these days!

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It does seem that way, doesn't it? And of course 99% are committed by Radical Islamic Terrorists, three words which old Dumbo Ears could only say once in eight years.


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All I know is what I see on the news......
Radical Islamic Terrorists ???????
I see a VARIETY of flavors on the news.

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Up to November 2017 there were 307 mass shootings in the US all under the watchful eye of Trumperdoo.
That's a shameful figure don't you think? Why isn't he doing anything about it?

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307 mass shootings? That's Bullshit, dazed. 307 shootings maybe, but not 307 MASS shootings! What are you smoking, and what is your source for that incredible claim, dazed?

And besides what can a President do about maniacs who shoot people? He is doing all he can encouraging support for the police.


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Have you checked?

He could do a lot,but we know why he doesn't because he promised he'd protect all the gun nuts.
But doing nothing seems to be working out great though,carry on maybe you'll break that record this year.

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Okay I checked and found a source which said there were 307 mass shootings in 2017, so I stand corrected, sort of. I would disagree with that list because some of them were as low as two victims. I don't consider two people being killed as a "Mass Shooting".

However, according to the HufPo article below there were 384 in 2016, and 334 in 2015 while old Dumbo Ears was president. Check it out. So Trump's first year in office was actually an improvement over his predecessor.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/congress-mass-shooting_us_59414b06e4b003d5948c8364


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There were killers who would abduct women or children, seemed to be previlent in the 70s and 80s. Maybe it is a case of them getting caught sooner, with the help of mobile phones and amber alerts.

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"There were killers who would abduct women or children, seemed to be previlent in the 70s and 80s."

These days they call it Sex Trafficing

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They probably watch those docos too and take notes on how the other psychos got caught
They are getting smarter...not kidding!
I feel like i walk past a diabolical lunatic at least once or twice a week here in NY
Those creeps are out there
Watch your back bud

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I feel like i walk past a diabolical lunatic at least once or twice a week here in NYC


I think you succinctly nailed life in The Big Apple with that one. πŸ˜† It also sounds like something Lennie Briscoe of Law and Order would say.

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'Sad but true' should be the official NYC motto
We could mutter it angrily at each other here (always cautious to not make eye contact!) light a butt and wander away to the next disaster

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This was a favorite tv show of mine as a kid : https://moviechat.org/tt0051297/Naked-City . The b&w filming really contributed to the grim, harsh, hard ambience of the series. I used to love the tagline at the end of each episode, somberly delivered by a narrator:

" There are 8 million stories in the naked city.......this has been one of them. "

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Ive never seen it unfortunately
Thats quite a tagline though
And 'Naked City' lol...
Im in the city every day for work and almost everyone is a fat assed tub of lard!
Nobody needs to see NYC naked
Gross!!!
;)

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There was a strip club by that name in Queens some years ago. Not that I was ever inside, but I did pass it sometimes on my way to church.

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Lolololol!!!!
Me neither 😁
Too funny

Ill see you at services Sunday morning;)

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Interesting theory and entirely possible. I think another key factor is that technology, particularly DNA evidence, widespread camera surveillance and digital footprints (Internet history, cell phone records, cell phone GPS, etc.) have given police a lot more to work with when investigating crime. So more would-be serial killers are getting caught before they can continue to murder others.

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Probably a lot of truth in what you posted Tex
Maybe the 'ticking time bomb' types just get picked up earlier

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Everything goes in cycles.


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crime is way down in general - peaked in the 70s with all the male baby boomers in their 20s.

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My teacher went to school with Jeffrey Dahmer. She said he seemed perfectly normal...

Anyone looking forward to the Alienist? Comes out on the 22nd I think.

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Thank you!
I read the novel and loved it
Had no idea they were making a show
Great news

And yeah...i read a couple of books about Dahmer
Perfectly normal family, decent parents, no obvious trauma...Dahmer was just a horrible enigma
No obvious reason for his behavior

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Yes, there are less active serial killers in the US today. An important factor is no doubt the advancement in forensic technology. Also, people seem less intrigued with serial killers these days, so it might not have as much appeal to lunatics looking for fame.

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The number one reason most people become serial killers is enjoyment.

Fame is at the bottom of the list.

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The fame is also something many of them enjoy. They exaggerate their numbers or write letters toying with police. They get off on that kind of attention. Nowadays mass killing provides notoriety.

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I agree many of them do enjoy it.

There was study done on serial killers that listed the reasons why they do it.
The top 3 were enjoyment, financial gain and anger.
This is all based on interviews and statistics over the years.

Mass killings will always provide notoriety.
Serial killers are in a different category and have a different definition I believe.

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Those may very well be the reasons they feel a desire to kill, but the theory is that some of these socio- and psychopaths have simply changed their method of killing, from serial killings to mass killings. It's what makes the headlines. To quote fictional serial killer Billy Loomis:

"Movies don't create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!"

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Don't you think that most mass killings stem from something else?

If you look at the definition of a serial killer many of the mass murderers don't fall
into this category. In fact most are complete opposite of the 5 definitions from criminologists.

Of course it's always nice to hear from Mr. Loomis.

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I'm not sure if they ALL stem from something else. It is easier to pick up a gun and just shoot around you, so you don't necessarily have to be a socio- or psychopath to be a mass killer.

I guess we have to agree to disagree here. I believe the media's fascination with serial killers did play a part in the peak in the 70s and 80s, if not because of notoriety then at least for inspiration.

But there are other factors as well. Crime also went down in general. Society has changed as well. We've become more alert and it has become more difficult to commit such crimes.

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I never stood a chance against Billy Loomis did I?

I also think it's possible that some of these killers got caught and maybe are already in prison.
We just don't know it.

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Next time dress up as Hannibal Lecter and bring along a nice Chianti and I might reconsider.😘

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I'd rather dress up like Charo and bring along a nice fava bean dip.

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As long as you sing Cuchi-Cuchi and I can dress up as Captain Stubing!

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If you wear the knee high socks and shave your head it's a deal.

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All aboard! And don't forget the Snollebollekes album!

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Ahem....
I hope for your sake that db isn't watching you two derail another thread.
It was going well for a while,but you just can't help yourselves can you
You both need to go on the naughty step.

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?????

Come aboard, were expecting you
Love wont hurt anymore
Its an open smile on a friendly shore

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Never will forget that.
I'll dress like Charo and you'll call me Doc.

Love, lifes sweetest reward
Let it flow, it floats back to you

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It's LOOOVE!
Welcome Aboard
It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!Β 

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