"Killing spree" redirects here. For the film, see Killing Spree.
A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, often in multiple locations. The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders".
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the general definition of "spree killer" is a person (or more than one person) who commits two or more murders without a cooling-off period; the lack of a cooling-off period marks the difference between a spree killer and a serial killer. The category has, however, been found to be of no real value to law enforcement, because of definitional problems relating to the concept of a "cooling-off period". Serial killers commit separate murders, happening at different times. Mass murderers are defined by one incident, with no distinctive period between the murders.[1]
How to distinguish a spree killer from a mass murderer, or a serial killer, is subject to considerable debate, and the terms are not consistently applied even within the academic literature. For example, The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment lists five different categories of spree killers and cites Mark O. Barton as an example of the second one.[2] He is also noted alongside mass murderers, such as Patrick Sherrill, in the respective entry about mass murder.[3] In The Anatomy Of Motive, John E. Douglas cites Charles Starkweather and Andrew Cunanan as examples of spree killers,[4] while Jack Levin calls Starkweather a mass murderer and Cunanan a serial killer.[5][6]
In Controversial Issues in Criminology, Fuller and Hickey write that "[t]he element of time involved between murderous acts is primary in the differentiation of serial, mass, and spree murderers", later elaborating those spree killers "will engage in the killing acts for days or weeks" while the "methods of murder and types of victims vary". Andrew Cunanan is given as an example of spree killing, while Charles Whitman is mentioned in connection with mass murder and Jeffrey Dahmer with serial killing.[7]
In Serial Murder, Ronald M. Holmes and StephenT. Holmes define spree murder as "the killing of three or more people within a 30-day period" and add that killing sprees are "usually accompanied by the commission of another felony."[8] They cite Charles Starkweather and the Beltway Snipers as examples of spree killers.[9]
Ronald and Stephen Holmes define serial murder as "the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period between the killings."[10] Under this definition, Andrew Cunanan would be categorized as a serial killer and not a spree killer.
Douglas wrote that the identity of serial killers is generally unknown until they are caught, and a mass murderer's identity is learned only after they have committed the crime. The identity of the spree killer, on the other hand, usually becomes known by police while the spree is still in progress.[11][why?]
Another term, rampage killer, has sometimes been used to describe spree killers.[12]
^Writer, Susan Sward, Chronicle Staff (July 18, 1997). "PAGE ONE -- MOTIVE MYSTERY / Debate Over What Kind Of Killer Is at Work". SFGATE.
Further reading
March 23, 2023
spree, killer, killing, spree, redirects, here, film, killing, spree, spree, killer, someone, commits, criminal, that, involves, more, murders, homicides, short, time, often, multiple, locations, united, states, bureau, justice, statistics, defines, spree, kil. Killing spree redirects here For the film see Killing Spree A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time often in multiple locations The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders Contents 1 Definition 2 See also 3 References 4 Further readingDefinition EditAccording to the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI the general definition of spree killer is a person or more than one person who commits two or more murders without a cooling off period the lack of a cooling off period marks the difference between a spree killer and a serial killer The category has however been found to be of no real value to law enforcement because of definitional problems relating to the concept of a cooling off period Serial killers commit separate murders happening at different times Mass murderers are defined by one incident with no distinctive period between the murders 1 How to distinguish a spree killer from a mass murderer or a serial killer is subject to considerable debate and the terms are not consistently applied even within the academic literature For example The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment lists five different categories of spree killers and cites Mark O Barton as an example of the second one 2 He is also noted alongside mass murderers such as Patrick Sherrill in the respective entry about mass murder 3 In The Anatomy Of Motive John E Douglas cites Charles Starkweather and Andrew Cunanan as examples of spree killers 4 while Jack Levin calls Starkweather a mass murderer and Cunanan a serial killer 5 6 In Controversial Issues in Criminology Fuller and Hickey write that t he element of time involved between murderous acts is primary in the differentiation of serial mass and spree murderers later elaborating those spree killers will engage in the killing acts for days or weeks while the methods of murder and types of victims vary Andrew Cunanan is given as an example of spree killing while Charles Whitman is mentioned in connection with mass murder and Jeffrey Dahmer with serial killing 7 In Serial Murder Ronald M Holmes and Stephen T Holmes define spree murder as the killing of three or more people within a 30 day period and add that killing sprees are usually accompanied by the commission of another felony 8 They cite Charles Starkweather and the Beltway Snipers as examples of spree killers 9 Ronald and Stephen Holmes define serial murder as the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days with a significant cooling off period between the killings 10 Under this definition Andrew Cunanan would be categorized as a serial killer and not a spree killer Douglas wrote that the identity of serial killers is generally unknown until they are caught and a mass murderer s identity is learned only after they have committed the crime The identity of the spree killer on the other hand usually becomes known by police while the spree is still in progress 11 why Another term rampage killer has sometimes been used to describe spree killers 12 See also EditActive shooter Going postal Gun Violence Archive List of rampage killers Mass shooting Massacre Running amok Thrill killingReferences Edit Morton Robert J and Mark A Hilts eds Serial Murder Multi Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators Archived October 7 2010 at the Wayback Machine National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime Federal Bureau of Investigation Accessed July 4 2009 Levinson David ed Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment Vol 4 Berkshire Publishing Group 2002 p 1565 Levinson p 1038 Douglas John E amp Olshaker Mark The Anatomy Of Motive Simon and Schuster 1999 Levin Jack amp Fox James Alan Mass Murder America s Growing Menace Berkley Books 1991 Levin Jack Serial Killers and Sadistic Murderers Prometheus Books 2008 p 49 Fuller John R amp Hickey Eric W Controversial Issues in Criminology Allyn and Bacon 1999 pp 36 Holmes R M amp Holmes S T Serial Murder SAGE Publications 2010 pp 35 Holmes R M amp Holmes S T Serial Murder SAGE Publications 2010 pp 36 Holmes R M amp Holmes S T Serial Murder SAGE Publications 2010 pp 6 Douglas p 192 Writer Susan Sward Chronicle Staff July 18 1997 PAGE ONE MOTIVE MYSTERY Debate Over What Kind Of Killer Is at Work SFGATE Further reading Edit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Spree killer amp oldid 1143336688, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
