Criminal Mind
Although much has been written and many theories
brought forth on identifying the criminal mind, it
is still evident that there is no foolproof way to
know in advance whether a person is prone to
criminal activity. Law enforcement agencies have
begun using a method called profiling to identify
serial killers and terrorists. Some school
districts are looking into the concept as a way of
early detection into the minds of troubled
children whose violent ways might be discovered
before it is too late. By watching for certain
signals educators hope to intervene before these
students actually complete a violent act (Lord
PG).
Some have felt it is the influence of drugs or
alcohol that induces this kind of criminalistic
behavior. While substance abuse may affect a
person as far as committing offenses, it is far
unlikely that substance abuse alone could create a
serial or mass murderer. Mitchell (PG) points out
that there are "studies correlating a geographical
prevalence of alcoholism and serial murder and
might show that there is some relation between the
two (although this relationship might well be
spurious)."
Some personality traits have been shown to be
more prevalent in the makeup of serial or mass
murderers. Impulsiveness, low self-esteem and poor
social skills, as well as competitive and
aggressive behavior are quite common among these
killers as is hypersensitivity to criticism
(Mitchell PG). It has also been pointed out that
those with active or high fantasy prone
imaginations are more apt to be able to become
serial killers. Even Carl Jung pointed out that it
is the tortured that become the torturers, thus
establishing the fact that child abuse assumes a
very prominent role in the makings of a serial
killer. Perhaps it is a sense of helplessness or
lack of self worth that causes the abused to turn
to others to inflict pain upon. Sometimes this
fantasy life comes to the forefront in the
presence of actual abuse the...
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