Serial Crimes in Australia - UWS ResearchDirect

Serial Crimes in Australia
Investigative Issues and Practice
Natalie Scerra
Submitted in complete fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Social Justice Social Change Research Centre
College of Arts
University of Western Sydney
2009
© Natalie Scerra 2009
Acknowledgements
I must start with a warm thanks to my supervisor, Associate Professor Meg Smith. Thank
you a lso t o Dr M arie S egrave and Dr M ichael K ennedy. Michael, your a ssistance w ith
NSW Police and other contacts have been worth its weight in gold. I must also thank the
numerous academics who have been a source of knowledge and advice to me throughout
my candidature. Their wisdom and knowledge has been invaluable. A special thank you
to Dr James Arvanitakis whose advice has been invaluable and provided the light when in
very dark places.
Thank you t o N SW P olice f or e nabling m e t o do t his r esearch a nd giving m e
access to their knowledge. A special thank you to Dr Chris Devery of NSW Police, who
worked ha rd a t ope ning door s f or m e w ithin t he organisation. A lso, a bi g t hank you t o
Georgia Rennie from NSW Police Archives, who gave every assistance possible.
I must a lso t hank t hose that pa rticipated i n t his r esearch. T heir contribution ha s
been invaluable. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and your experiences with me. I
have valued your passion for your work and the victims you have worked so hard for.
To my family and friends, and fellow research candidates, a big, warm, thank you.
Your s upport a nd pa tience ha s be en v alued a nd a ppreciated. I would not be t his s ane
without i t. T he e ncouragement t o he lp m e t hrough a ll t he obs tacles a long t he w ay ha s
been wonderful and was i nvaluable t o m e. A s pecial t hank you t o m y n ephew, J ames,
whose concern and support has been felt throughout. Thank you for the special hugs and
all the little things you did to make me smile.
Statement of Authentication
The w ork pr esented i n t his t hesis i s, t o t he be st of m y know ledge a nd belief, or iginal
except as acknow ledged i n the t ext. I he reby d eclare t hat I ha ve not s ubmitted this
material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution.
………………………………………………..
Natalie Scerra
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I
LIST OF TABLES
VI
ABSTRACT
1
INTRODUCTION: SERIAL CRIME- AN OVERVIEW
3
Pieces of the Puzzle- Identifying Serial Crimes
6
What Constitutes Serial Crime?
6
The Serial Murderer
6
The Female Serial Murderer
16
The Serial Rapist
18
The Incidence of Serial Crime in Australia
20
Serial Murder
20
Serial Rape
24
Rarity and the Investigation: Implications
26
What Makes A Serial Killer?
27
Why is this research into the investigation of serial murder and serial rape important?
30
Research Aims and Questions
31
Chapter Overviews
34
CHAPTER 1: CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF POLICING
Policing the Serial: Cultural Influences on the Investigation
Dictionary Knowledge
Directory Knowledge
Recipe Knowledge
Axiomatic Knowledge
Habitus of Policing Work
One Part of the Whole - Police Subcultures
What’s Mine is Mine - Ownership of Information
Case Theories and the ‘Art’ and ‘Craft’ of Policing
Investigating Stereotypes
A Language of Their Own
Who Could Be Bothered? Results of Accountability in Practice
Discretionary powers
(Over) Accountability
- i-
39
40
44
45
46
47
47
50
52
54
58
60
62
63
65
Victims of Violent Serial Crime
A Reflection of the Offender
Rape Myths
The Invisible
Without a Trace- The Missing
The Worthless
Chapter Summary
66
67
68
73
76
81
84
CHAPTER 2: INVESTIGATING SERIAL CRIME
Traditional Investigative Techniques and the Serial Problem
Scientific and Technological Advances
Media as an Investigative Tool
Resources
Intelligence-led Policing in the Context of Serial Investigations
Using Intelligence-led Policing in the Investigation of Serial Offences
Police Subcultures and Intelligence Gathering
Joining the Dots: Crime Linkage
The Picture of Evil - Serial Offender Typologies and Criminal Profiling
Is There a Typical Serial Offender?
Organised versus Disorganised
Criminal Profiling
Geographic Profiling
Chapter Summary
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
86
88
89
95
101
103
106
108
112
116
116
117
118
122
124
126
Research Question
Research Aims
Methodology
Selection of Cases
Stage 1: Case Studies
Sample
Sources of Information
Documents
Records
Availability of Sources
Case Study Analysis
Methodological Issues: Case Studies
Stage 2: Interviews with NSW Police Detectives and Professionals
Interview Method
Construction of Interview Schedule
Participants
Recruitment
Sample
- ii-
126
127
128
130
131
133
138
138
141
144
145
146
149
151
152
153
153
155
Confidentiality and Consent
Interview Transcription
Analysis of Case Study and Interview Data
Methodological Issues: Interviews
Ethical Considerations
Research Limitations
CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDIES – OVERVIEW AND TIMELINE OF EVENTS
156
157
158
159
159
160
164
165
175
184
Introductions…Serial Murderers
Introductions…Serial Rapists
Victimological Representations
CHAPTER 5: RESULTS- EMERGENT THEMES
Thematic Analysis of Case Studies and Interview Data
Construction of an Investigation
Cultural Constructions of Policing
Intelligent Investigations and Culture
CHAPTER 6: ISSUES IN THE INVESTIGATION OF SERIAL CRIME
Pictorial of the Investigation
A Resourceful Investigation: The Task Force
Task Force Air- Milat
Task Force Pulsar- Denyer
North Shore Murders Task Force- Glover
Task Force Chart- Snowtown Murders
Task Force Ardmore- Johnson
Strike Force Grahame- Trindall
Strike Force Sapelo- Daley
Critique of Task Forces
Investigative Personnel
Information Management
Using the Media in Serial Investigations
Investigative Techniques and Technologies Utilised
Other investigative techniques
Pressures on Police
Chapter Summary
CHAPTER 7: THE POLICING PERSPECTIVE- CULTURE & PRACTICE
Reflecting Subcultures
Competing Subcultures
185
185
186
188
191
194
195
195
196
199
200
201
201
202
203
204
207
213
216
230
235
239
244
245
246
246
- iii-
Detective Experience
Playing the Hunch
Dictionary Knowledge and the Conceptualisation of Victims
The Missing
Dictionary Knowledge and Serial Crime
Use of Language to Understand Investigations
Chapter Summary
248
250
256
263
266
267
269
CHAPTER 8: THE CULTURE OF INTELLIGENT INVESTIGATIONS
270
Crime Linkage
Timeframes of Recognition
Time from Second Offence to Recognition of Crimes as Serial
Time Until Arrest from Recognition of Series of Crimes
Recognition of Crimes as Serial
The Paper Trail
Criminal Profiling
Use of Typologies
Modus Operandi & Signature
Chapter Summary
270
270
271
274
276
286
288
298
299
302
CHAPTER 9: A NEW TYPOLOGY- VIOLENT SERIAL CRIME INVESTIGATIONS
304
The Serendipitous Investigation
The Conspicuous Investigation
The Delayed-Recognition Investigation
RECOMMENDATIONS
305
307
310
316
Recommendations for the Investigation of Serial Crimes
Recommendations for Further Research
316
318
CONCLUSION
320
REFERENCES
324
APPENDIX A
345
UWS HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEE
PROTOCOL APPLICATION FORM
Interview Schedule- Police
Interview Schedule- Forensic Technicians/Consultants
Information Sheet for Participants
- iv-
346
346
357
359
361
Ethics Approval- University of Western Sydney
APPENDIX B
364
365
Example of Preliminary Thematic Cluster
APPENDIX C
366
367
Letter to NSW Police Requesting Access to Closed Case Files
Research Proposal to NSW Police
Research Approval- New South Wales Police
- v-
387
388
364
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Incidence of Serial Murder in Australia from 1900......................................... 22
Table 2: Convicted Serial Rapists in Australia .............................................................. 25
Table 3: Selected Incidents of Serial Murder for Case Study Analysis ....................... 135
Table 4: Selected Incidents of Serial Rape for Case Study Analysis .......................... 137
Table 5: Sources of Information Used in Case Studies ............................................... 144
Table 6: Denyer- Timeline of Victimological Events.................................................. 166
Table 7: Folbigg- Timeline of Victimological Events ................................................. 168
Table 8: Glover- Timeline of Victimological Events .................................................. 170
Table 9: Milat- Timeline of Victimological Events ..................................................... 172
Table 10: Snowtown- Timeline of Victimological Events .......................................... 174
Table 11: Daley- Timeline of Victimological Events .................................................. 176
Table 12: Johnson- Timeline of Victimological Events .............................................. 178
Table 13: Presta- Timeline of Victimological Events.................................................. 181
Table 14: Trindall- Timeline of Victimological Events .............................................. 183
- vi-
Abstract
Violent serial crimes, in particular those of murder and rape, raise a number of issues
for i nvestigators. This r esearch c ontributes t o t he bod y o f knowledge regarding t he
practices of investigating violent serial crime by considering the contribution of a range
of t echniques and t echnologies t o t he i nvestigative out come. This r esearch also
examines how predominant pol ice c ultural und erstandings a nd know ledge of t hese
crimes and
the vi ctims of s uch crimes that i nform s uch i nvestigations will be
considered. Additionally, the roles of various investigative techniques and technologies
in a chieving pos itive a nd a cceptable i nvestigative out comes, i n t he form of an a rrest,
are ex amined. Specifically, this r esearch focuses on the incorporation of i ntelligenceled policing ini tiatives such as c rime linkag e s ystems into t he i nvestigation of s erial
crimes was also a focus of this current research.
To address t hese ai ms and associated issues in the A ustralian context, two
methodologies are employed: case studies and semi-structured interviews. Case studies
of s erial crimes in Australia are e xamined i n c onjunction w ith i nterviews of N SW
Police detectives and consultants that have investigated these crimes.
Several factors were identified as impacting on the investigation of violent serial
crimes.
One ke y factor w as the ina bility o f Australian police or ganisations to
effectively incorporate intelligence-led policing initiatives which enable the linkage of
related crimes into the investigation of serial crimes, leading to delayed outcomes in the
- 1-
recognition a nd l inkage of r elated c rimes. T he w ay i n w hich pol ice ‘dictionary
knowledge’ can be s een t o i nfluence t he w ay i n w hich i nvestigations a re c onstructed
was al so a s ignificant factor ide ntified by the t hematic ana lysis. Another s ignificant
factor that emerged from the research was the role of the media in police investigations.
Based on the research findings, a typology of the investigation of violent serial
crimes ha s be en c onstructed. T his t ypology reflects t he a bility of i nvestigators t o
recognise and link related offences, and the influence that such recognition has on t he
investigative p ractices e mployed and on achieving a pos itive i nvestigative out come.
There a re thr ee c ategories in
this t ypology: the s erendipitous inve stigation; the
conspicuous investigation; and the delayed-recognition investigation.
The factors identifies by this research are demonstrated to have an impact on the
investigation of vi olent serial cr imes. Specifically they contributed t o t he delay i n t he
recognition of these offences as serial in nature and in achieving a positive investigative
outcome. A s i ndicated by t he pr oposed typology a nd recommendations, these f actors
can be addressed by police organisations to improve the investigative capabilities of the
police investigating these violent crimes.
- 2-
INTRODUCTION: SERIAL CRIME- AN OVERVIEW
Serial crimes, particularly serial murder, have been the subject of academic research for
several decades. M uch o f t his r esearch ha s focused on the of fenders o f t hese cr imes.
This has been precipitated by the endeavour to understand the aetiology of such crimes.
Studies have attempted to explain these crimes by proposing psychological, social and
biological models f or u nderstanding of fenders’ be haviour (for ex ample Douglas &
Olshaker, 1997; Leyton, 1986; P into & W ilson, 1990; S tone, 2001) . These as pects
however, have minimal impact on the ability of police to investigate these serial crimes.
This c hapter will di scuss s ome of t he c ommon unde rstandings of s erial c rime a s
developed in previous research. The contributions and limitations of this knowledge to
the inve stigation of s erial c rime will be a ddressed. Preceding thi s, the i ncidence of
serial crimes in Australia will be presented.
When di scussing s erial c rimes t here a re s ome m isconceptions a bout w hat
crimes can be considered as serial. Academic researchers and the general public’s broad
familiarity with serial m urder and serial r ape m ean that ot her crimes which can be
considered a s s erial i n na ture a re of ten ove rlooked: f or ex ample, serial ar son which
refers to acts of r epetitive f ire s etting (Mavromatis, 2000) , serial s talking (LloydGoldstein, 2000), and serial burglary (Schlesinger, 2000a). Forms of non-violent serial
crimes inc lude e xhibitionism, frotteurism 1, and t elephone s catologia 2 (Krueger &
1
2
The sexualised bodily rubbing against another
Obscene phone calls for gratification
- 3-
Kaplan, 2000 ). M any of t hese forms o f s erial c rime a re not widely acknowledged o r
brought t o t he a ttention of t he g eneral publ ic. One r eason for t his i s t hat t he publ ic
experience less heightened feelings of fear about these forms of serial crime than serial
murder and serial r ape (Mavromatis, 2000) . A nother pos sible r eason f or t he l ack of
general knowledge about these crimes is that they rarely receive the heightened media
attention that the crimes of serial murder and serial rape would. Additionally, some of
these crimes are difficult to identify and detect. Thus recognition of a s eries of related
offences is minimised.
This research focuses on the crimes of serial murder and serial rape because of
the strong public responses that these crimes elicit and the widespread media attention
they g ain. This at tention comes de spite, and because of , the r arity of t hese of fences,
with few incidents of serial murder and serial rape occurring in Australian and abroad
in comparison to other crimes (Pinto & Wilson, 1990). Carney (2004) contends that the
repetitive na ture o f crimes s uch as s erial r ape c an produce an atmosphere of fear t hat
affects a c ommunity i n a w ay t hat i s uni que c ompared t o t he i mpact of ot her c rimes.
This fear can be seen to stem from the popular knowledge of these predatory offenders:
these fo rms of s erial cr ime ha ve be en the focus of a num ber of popul ar crime genres
and the general public has generally gained such knowledge about the characteristics of
such crimes in films and literature (Fox, Levin, & Q uinet, 2005; J enkins, 1994;
Simpson, 2000) . In a ddition, t he r eportage of s uch c rimes i n t he m edia i s of ten
extensive a nd s ensationalist. T he general familiarity with these f orms o f s erial c rime
- 4-
may le ad to extra pr essure be ing a pplied on t he investigators by t he general publ ic
when attempting to apprehend a violent serial offender.
Once a series of these crimes has been identified, the nature of the investigation
into those crimes shifts. That is, there is a sharing of resources in the investigation of
each related offence w hereby i nformation relating t o each individual of fence i s
considered i n t he c ontext of t he s eries of c rimes. T his i s i n c ontrast t o t raditional
investigations into single-incident offences where information gathered is considered in
isolation. T he r elatively uni que na ture of s uch i nvestigations i s a f actor dr iving t he
focus of the current research.
This cha pter will ex amine t he i ncidence of s erial m urder and serial r ape t hat
have occurred in Australia and demonstrate that these crimes’ rarity has contributed to a
gap in knowledge about how such crimes are investigated as well as how they differ to
incidents of s ingle-victim of fences. This c hapter w ill pr ovide a context w ithin the
research literature that exists to demonstrate that much of the previous research into this
field provides an i nadequate c ontribution t o our unde rstanding of how violent s erial
crimes are policed.
- 5-
Pieces of the Puzzle- Identifying Serial Crimes
What Constitutes Serial Crime?
Currently in Australia t here is no criminal of fence o f s erial mur der o r serial
rape. T he t erms ‘ serial murder’ and ‘serial r ape’ ar e not l egal d efinitions and thus do
not carry offence categories that can identify serial offenders as such. Instead, offenders
are charged with each individual offence committed against each victim. For example,
in NSW Ivan Milat was charged and convicted of seven counts of murder and one of
attempted murder. Such terms however, are utilised by academics and practitioners in
the field, including police and detectives, to describe a certain type of offender or how a
number of crimes are related.
The Serial Murderer
The t erm ‘ serial m urderer’ or ‘ serial ki ller’ w as c oined by FBI a gent and c riminal
profiler, Robert R essler, t o de scribe repeated ac ts of hom icide t hat occur i n a series
(Ressler & S chactman, 1992). This w as done t o di fferentiate t he s erial of fender f rom
the m ass m urderer w hich t he f ormer ha d pr eviously be en c lassified a s; this nom inal
difference also highlighted key differences between the crimes such as the timeline of
offences. Mass murders usually occur as a single event whereas serial murder denotes a
- 6-
number of separate criminal events (Fox, et al., 2005), and thus is repetitive in nature.
The repetition, as described by Ressler, “leaves the murderer hanging”, in anticipation,
presumably a waiting t he ne xt m urder i n t he s eries (Ressler & S chactman, 1992) . In
Ressler’s c onception the te rm ‘serial m urder’ discounts the ne ed f or a minimum
number of related offences, provided that they appear repetitive in nature.
There i s no one d efinition of s erial m urder t hat has be en a greed upon b y t he
majority of researchers in the criminal justice field. This is due to the variety of factors
that help de fine s erial murder. T he m ain factors t o be c onsidered a re: t he num ber of
victims, the victim-offender relationship, t he t ime s equence of events, t he m otivational
forces, and the geographical nature of these events. These factors also help to distinguish
incidents of serial murder from single-victim crimes. There also appears to be a conf lict
in defining female s erial m urderers i n contrast t o male s erial m urderers. Currently
female s erial m urderers can only b e de fined as s erial of fenders, unde r t he br oadest of
definitions.
In serial murder definitions, there are a minimum number of victims that must be
achieved before such murders can be classified as serial in nature. According to Egger
(1998), Goldsworthy (2002), Pinto and Wilson (1990) and Turvey (2002a) a minimum
of t wo s imilar m urders m ust oc cur be fore t he m urders c an be c onsidered a s s erial
murders. This s imilarity ma y b e in any f orm, for i nstance comparable vi ctims or ke y
features of how the actual crimes were committed. However Hagan (1992) states that a
minimum of three s eparate i ncidents m ust oc cur be fore i t can be cons idered as s erial
- 7-
murder, a de finition s upported b y H olmes a nd H olmes ( 1998). C onversely, F ox a nd
Levin ( 1998) s tate t hat f our or m ore m urders m ust have oc curred before s uch a
definition is employed.
Egger ( 1998) r efutes t he ne ed f or s uch l arge n umbers, s tating t hat any t wo
similar murders should be at least investigated as serial murder until proven otherwise.
A minimum nu mber of tw o victims a lso allows f or le niency in the investigator’s
imprecise knowledge of, and ability to link, similar murders, and the stage of the serial
murderer’s career. For example, law enforcement personnel may not be aware of other
similar murders particularly if they fall outside their division. The serial murderer may
have only begun his or her criminal career and therefore there may be no more than two
murders committed at that point in time. Egger (1998) states that by waiting until three
or f our pe ople ha ve been murdered in similar ci rcumstances, law enf orcement
personnel a re pl aced at a di sadvantage as their i nvestigative c apabilities are reduced
due to the period of time that has lapsed before they are able to investigate the offences
as l inked crimes. Information from pot ential witnesses f or e xample ma y not be
available or be inaccurate if a prolonged period of time has passed since the crime took
place. A definition that includes a minimum of two murders also allows for a deficiency
in the police recognition of related offences, as previous related offences may not have
been identified initially.
Definitions of s erial m urder c an a lso i nclude pr escriptive guidelines r egarding
the relationship between the victims and t he o ffenders. M ouzos (2000) and P into and
- 8-
Wilson ( 1990) identify that the re is us ually little or no prior personal relationship
between the victims and the offender. This is consistent with findings from studies by
Fox, Levin and Quinet (2005), who state that the typical victims of serial murderers in
the United States of America are prostitutes. However, if this were to be accepted as a
definition, men a nd w omen w ho m urder a num ber of pa rtners ove r a p eriod of t ime
would not be classified as serial killers: neither would those in medical professions who
murder a num ber of p atients, s uch as a nurse. Although i n m any known i nternational
cases of s erial m urder, the vi ctim i s c hosen r andomly a nd t hus i s unknown t o t he
offender (Egger, 1998; Kidd, 2000) there are occasions in which a relationship with the
serial murderer can make a pe rson the target. This is particularly evident in the case of
female serial mur derers, as r esearch has s hown t hat t hey frequently ta rget f amily
members, f riends a nd acquaintances ( Hale & B olin, 1998) . H owever, as m any
definitions of s erial m urder s uch a s t hose pr oposed b y E gger (1998), F ox, Levin a nd
Quinet (2005) and P into a nd W ilson (1990) are de rived from s tudies of m ale s erial
murderers, this factor is often ignored.
Many researchers identify specific motivations that must exist in order for these
crimes t o be cl assified as s erial m urders. In a review of s erial m urder i n Australia,
Goldsworthy (2002) s tates t hat t he primary motivation of s erial murder is usually the
emotional or sexual gratification derived from the act. Egger (1998) claims that serial
murderers a re m otivated b y a ne ed f or pow er and c ontrol ove r t heir vi ctims. T hese
crimes ar e us ually cons idered to be predatory, i n t hat t he offender’s be haviour of ten
includes t he stalking of victims a nd features sexual or s adistic acts (Mouzos, 2000) .
- 9-
According t o t he Diagnostic a nd Statistical M anual IV-TR ( American Psychiatric
Association, 2000, p. 573) which categorises and defines ps ychiatric disorders, sexual
sadism:
… involves a cts (real, no t s imulated) i n w hich t he i ndividual de rives s exual
excitement from t he p sychological o r phy sical s uffering ( including
humiliation) of the victim.
It is also thought tha t these c rimes a re us ually considered to have u nclear
motives (Pinto & Wilson, 1990) or psychological motives (Mouzos, 2000). According
to S chleisenger ( 2000b) t he m otivation of serial m urderers a nd s ome ot her serial
offenders, relates to the sexually aggressive fantasies entertained by the offender and is
driven by the offender’s compulsion to carry out this fantasy which leads to an act such
as murder.
However, according to these definitions, multiple murders which are motivated
by financial or revenge factors, cannot be considered as serial murderers. It is generally
accepted that the motives for a m ajority of m ale serial murderers are usually sexually
and/or ps ychologically motivated: the of fender aims t o gain sexual pl easure or po wer
over the victim (Holmes, Hickey, & Holmes, 1998). Many studies into the phenomenon
of s erial m urder f ocus upon s exually m otivated c rimes (Kocsis & Irwin, 1998;
McKenzie, 1995) . K ocsis a nd Irwin (1998) outline s ix ps ychological ch aracteristics
which they be lieve d efine s erial m urder in the sample s tudied. These p sychological
- 10-
characteristics are psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, paraphiliac tendencies, and fantasy
and compulsiveness.
Female s erial m urderers ar e of ten motivated by what H olmes, Hickey and
Holmes (1998) refer to as ‘purchases of comfort’. This includes money, insurance and
business m otivators. H owever, a ccording t o H olmes e t al. ( 1998) s ome female s erial
killers are motivated b y sex, relationship issues or b y revenge. It is important to note
that a study by Hickey (1991 in Holmes et al., 1998) found that one in two female serial
murderers worked with a male accomplice. In these cases, their motivation may be one
of loyalty to their male accomplice rather than other personal factors.
The time sequence of the murders is one factor that is usually a greed upon by
the majority of theorists as a key identifying factor in the definition of serial murder. It
is generally accepted that if the crimes occur over a period of time- hours, days, weeks,
months or years- then t hey c an be c onsidered s erial i n na ture (Fox, e t a l., 2005) .
However problems arise when the murders are committed within hours of each other as
this may indicate that a m ass or spree murderer is at work (Fox, et al., 2005), although
other features of the crime can usually help distinguish between these forms of multiple
murder. These features include the victim type, method of approach and if a signature is
present. In many cases of serial murder, if more than one murder occurs within hours or
days of each other, then it can indicate an escalation in the offender’s behaviour. For a
series of m urders w hich oc cur ov er hou rs or d ays t o be c onsidered a s s erial m urder,
- 11-
there m ust be a di stinguishable br eak between the of fences in w hich t he of fender i s
considered to have performed ‘normal’ duties such as work (Cook & Hinman, 1999b).
Another factor often used to define serial murder is the geographic features of
the crimes. Theorists such as Egger (1990b) and Hickey (1997) agree that serial murder
occurs ov er a geographical di stance, whether t his relates to the pl ace the vi ctim is
selected or where the vi ctim’s remains are disposed. Hickey (1997) also outlines how
the offender’s mobility may also be used to typify serial murderers. Hickey claims that
there are three typologies that are based upon where, geographically, offenders commit
their c rimes. The f irst i s the “ travelling s erial killer”, relating to those w ho commit
multiple m urders ove r a w ide geographical range, w hether t his be b etween ci ties,
regions or s tates. The s econd category i s t he “local s erial ki ller” w ho may c ommit
his/her crimes within a particular city or town. The final category is the “place-specific
serial killer” who commits his/her crimes in a specific place such as their home or place
of work.
The geographical features of serial murder have been the subject of wide debate
with t heorists dr awing on va rious e xamples f rom t he U S and Australia. For ex ample
Egger (1990b) states t hat s erial m urderers ar e us ually ve ry m obile and are capable of
moving be tween s tates. This c ontinuity of m ovement i s a lso i dentified b y Egger a s a
feature of m ost know n s erial m urderers. E gger d oes how ever a cknowledge t hat s ome
serial murderers operate in a very small geographical area. An Australian case example
of thi s limite d geographical mobi lity is J ohn Glover w ho committed his c rimes in a
- 12-
relatively small area on Sydney’s North Shore. Other theorists such as Canter, Missen
and Hodge ( 1996) claim t hat s erial of fenders rarely t ravel l ong di stances and thus
usually operate in one particular area.
Leyton (1986) has pr oposed t hat w ith i ncreased ur banisation i n de veloped
countries such as the United States and Germany, there appears to be a d ecrease in the
number of travelling serial killers and an increase in the other two geographical types of
serial ki llers. In a s tudy i nto t he di stance t ravelled by s erial m urderers in Germany,
Snook, C ullen, M okros a nd H arbort (2005) found t hat 63 pe rcent of of fenders l ived
within ten ki lometres of t he l ocation of t heir c rimes. T hus such r esearch s upports the
notions proposed by Egger (1990b) and Canter et al. (1996) that many serial offenders
commit c rimes r elatively close to their hom es. T his m ay be due t o t he i ncrease i n
population in ur ban a reas, which allows f or s erial m urderers t o remain undetected
(Egger, 1990b ). T hey are a lso l ess l ikely t o be d etected i n hi ghly popul ated a reas, a s
their vi ctims ar e l ess l ikely t o be di scovered. Although there ar e s everal de bates
regarding the m obility o f s erial of fenders, t he i nclusion o f t his f actor i s not s een as
aiding the identification of a series of related crimes as serial although it may contribute
to investigators’ inability to link related crimes (Snook, et al., 2005).
With s o m any f actors t o be c onsidered i n t he de finition of s erial m urder, a nd
dispute over the relevance of each amongst academics and police and law enforcement
agencies, there is no universal definition of serial murder. According to Mouzos (2000)
- 13-
Australian police agencies accept the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) definition
which is identified by Cook and Hinman. This definition states that:
…there a re 2 or more separate homicide events which oc cur over a period of
time…. There is a c ooling-off pe riod b etween episodes. These c rimes a re
predatory. The offender frequently s talks hi s v ictims. The m otive is c learly
psychological. The o ffender’s b ehaviour an d the cr ime scene ev idence
typically i ndicate sexual a nd sadistic features, and may involve torture and
mutilation to the victim (Cook & Hinman, 1999b, p. 364).
This de finition of a ‘ typical’ or ‘c lassic’ serial murderer w as c onsidered as the most
applicable to this research as it is the operational definition used by police organisations
in Australia as identified by Mouzos (2000). As previously stated Egger (1998) believes
that a definition that in cludes a minimum of tw o related a cts can lead to increased
investigative e fficiency. Such a d efinition excludes s everal s eemingly ‘ serial’ c rimes.
An example of such cases would include a domestic dispute where several people were
murdered over a short period of time consistent with mass murders or cases regarding
professional ‘hit-men’ or military-related murders, where cr imes a re com mitted under
the guise of a military operation. Although these cases may be labelled in the media as
‘serial mu rder’, there i s a ge neral c onsensus among academics and law enf orcement
that t hese c rimes s hould be e xcluded, pr imarily du e t o t he di fferences i n the
motivational f orces dr iving the se c rimes f rom those of s erial mur derers ( Pinto &
Wilson, 1990).
- 14-
Several factors affect the applicability of this definition to some cases of serial
murder. These include the characteristics of the crime and the offender, which are often
referred t o as t ypologies. Typologies are o ften ut ilised to describe a nd ultimately
understand the offender, thus aiding the investigation through informing by potentially
identifying distinguishing behaviours. In the discussion of investigative tools in Chapter
2, the typologies of the serial murderer will be identified and critiqued.
Also excluded f rom t he de finition of a s erial m urderer a re m ass m urderers,
when a number of victims are murdered during the one episode (Fox, et al., 2005). Fox
et al. (2005) in their discussion of forms of homicide, state that the mass murderer tends
to target friends, family, co-workers, students and teachers. These offenders often plan
their crimes and are motivated by avenging the injustices that they perceive have been
perpetrated against them. These are usually single incident events, or events that occur
as pa rt of t he one e pisode w ith no c ooling-off pe riod, w ith t he of fender either
committing suicide or being detained by police at the conclusion of the offences (Fox,
et al., 2005).
One factor that is not identified in definitions of serial murder is the number of
offenders. S everal c ases of s erial m urder i nvolving t wo of fenders e merged from t he
literature, including Leonard Lake and Charles Ng in California, and Kenneth Bianchi
and A ngelo Buono i n Washington, a nd C anadian c ouple P aul B ernardo a nd Karla
Homolka (Fox, et al., 2005).
- 15-
Some definitions of serial crime also require a recognisable modus operandi
and s ignature f or c ategorising a s eries of m urders a s s erial m urder ( Davies, 1992;
Killmier, 1997) . T he m odus ope randi (MO) can be de fined as t he m ethod of ki lling,
whereas the signature is defined as the extraneous actions that were performed during
the c ommission of t he murders ( Killmier, 1997) . F or e xample a s ignature of pos tmortem mutilation may vary in that the level and intensity of this act may increase but
the key identifying feature of the signature will still remain. As stated by Keppel (2000)
although a signature may evolve over time, the core feature of the signature will remain
the same. The MO, also referred to as the offender’s ‘calling card’ (Keppel, 2000), in
contrast may change over time, either as the serial offender evolves or as a response to
law enforcement’s investigations (Keppel & Birnes, 2003).
The Female Serial Murderer
The proposed definitions of t he s erial m urderer a s previously di scussed a re l imited in
that often the female s erial m urderer is not r ecognised a s s uch, a s t he d efinitions are
often gendered in nature. Holmes, Hickey and Holmes (1998) state that this may be due
to the resistance to the idea of women as violent offenders, rather than the caring and
nurturing stereotype t hat cul tural ex pectations are a ccustomed t o. The l ack of
recognition may also be due to the extremely rare nature of this type of criminal. Of 47
cases of serial murder in the United States identified by Holmes and DeBurger (1988,
cited in Holmes et al., 1998) only three offenders were female. This lack of recognition
- 16-
as s erial of fenders how ever, m ay a lso b e due t o t he w ay i n w hich t hey commit t heir
crimes.
This r epresentation how ever, i s i n s tark contrast t o t he i ncidence o f serial
murder committed by women in Australia. According to Paul Kidd in his discussion on
Australian incidents of violent crime, “…of the 33 cases of serial murder in Australia
since 1822, A ustralia has had 10 f emale s erial ki llers; roughly a 30 p er cent average”
f(Kidd, 2005, p. 135). This indicates that the incidence of serial murder committed by
female offenders may be higher than that acknowledged by the research literature.
According to Hale and Bolin (1998) female serial killers differ greatly to their
male c ounterparts. O ne of t he m ain di fferences i s t he m ethods t hat w omen us e t o
commit the ir c rimes. In their s tudy of 184 female s erial ki llers in the U nited States,
Hale a nd B olin i dentify poison a s t he m ost c ommon method employed. As H ale and
Bolin a mongst ot hers (for e xample H olmes, H ickey, & Holmes, 1998) acknowledge,
the victims of the female serial killer are usually family members or acquaintances, thus
allowing for greater opportunities to commit such acts using poison as their weapon. In
Australia, the i ncidence of f emale-perpetrated serial c rime is s ignificantly lower tha n
that committed by their male counterparts.
This pr esence of a p re-existing r elationship be tween vi ctim a nd the female
offender w ould p reclude the inc lusion of th ese crimes in the c ategory of ‘ serial’ if
traditional de finitional pa rameters w ere followed, s uch as t hose de signated b y t he
- 17-
definition of s erial mur der ut ilised i n t his t hesis. A s pr eviously s tated, i t i s of ten
considered that a d efining f eature o f a s erial c rime is tha t the re is littl e or no prior
relationship be tween t he vi ctim a nd t he of fender ( Mouzos, 2000; P into & W ilson,
1990). As found by Hale and Bolin (1998) there is a propensity for the female murderer
to target family members, therefore traditional beliefs about what constitutes ‘serial’ are
questionable. In a ddition, be liefs a bout how a serial c rime s hould be d efined w here
women are not recognised as possible serial offenders, may impact on an investigation.
The Serial Rapist
The other violent serial crime of interest to this present research is that of serial rape. A
definition of serial rape raises several problems as there have been few, if any, attempts
by academics to provide a formal definition, and the term is often treated by researchers
as t hough it is se lf-explanatory. Further di fficulties a rise w hen considering t he t erm
‘rape’ w hich doe s not ha ve a l egal de finition i n m any states but r ather i s a s ocially
constructed term. The term ‘rape’ has been defined as:
the penetration of the mouth, vagina or anus by any parts of the attacker’s body
or by an object used by the attacker, without the consent of the victim (Easteal,
1992, p. 1).
- 18-
However, the use of the label ‘serial rapist’ to describe a s erial offender who commits
such acts, has been overwhelming both in academic literature, both internationally (for
example Money, 1990; Turvey, 2002c; J. I. Warren, et al., 1998) and in Australia (for
example Kocsis, 2002).
The m ethodology us ed in t his t hesis c onsiders incidences o f s erial r ape t hat
have o ccurred i n N ew South W ales onl y. In New S outh W ales, t here i s no legal
definition for rape. Rather, such offences are referred to as sexual assault, where “an y
person who has sexual intercourse with another person without the consent of the other
person a nd w ho know s t hat t he o ther pe rson doe s not c onsent to t he s exual
intercourse…” ("Crimes Act 1900 ( NSW)," Section 61I). The definition for serial rape
is however, more difficult to operationalise, although Turvey (2002c) states simply that
serial rape refers to two or more related rape or sexual assault offences.
In simple t erms, serial r ape can be cons idered as r epeated r ape offences
(Turvey, 2002c). Thus for the purposes of this research, the term ‘serial rape’ will refer
to all s erial of fences w here s exual pe netration is com mitted. The t erm ‘ serial s exual
assault’ will refer to cases where penetration was not known to have occurred. This is
in line with the legal definitions of the state of New South Wales, as outlined above, as
the case studies of serial rape were limited to this region. In both instances, these crimes
have largely been considered in the literature to be committed by offenders with little or
no pr ior r elationship t o t he vi ctim. T his i s s upported by s ome a cademic s ources w ho
- 19-
use the term ‘serial rapists’, to usually refer to predatory rapists who victimise strangers
(Deu & Edelmann, 1997; Stevens, 1994).
Thus rapists who repetitively offend against someone known to them- such as a
girlfriend- or those who habitually rape numerous sexual partners over a period of time,
are rarely cons idered to be serial r apists. A n e xample of t his i s e vident i n a s tudy
conducted by Kocsis, Cooksey and Irwin (2002), in which they excluded multiple rape
cases where the offender had a prior relationship with a victim or had raped a victim on
a num ber o f oc casions. As w ith serial murder, t he us e of t he vi ctim-offender
relationship c an be c onsidered pr oblematic. In i ncidences of s erial r ape, s uch
limitations in recognising repeat offenders as ‘serial’ can be considered to affirm myths
of the ideal rape victim. This will be discussed in greater lengths in Chapter 1.
The Incidence of Serial Crime in Australia
Serial Murder
According t o t he N ational H omicide M onitoring P rogram ( NHMP) t he num ber of
homicide vi ctims in
Australia f or th e pe riod of 2006 t
o 200 7 w as 266
(Deardon & Jones, 2008). Of these 266 victims only 6 percent were unacquainted with
the offender and thus can be considered as stranger killings. However, as identified in
several international studies (Fisher, 1997; Jenkins, 1994), the general public’s fear of
- 20-
being m urdered b y a s tranger is more i ntense than of be ing m urdered by family,
intimates or acquaintances which occurs far more frequently. These crimes account for
ninety percent of deaths in Australia (Deardon & Jones, 2008).
Although t he i ncidence of t hese c rimes at t he h ands of s trangers i s r are, t he
phenomenon of the serial offender is rarer still yet is perhaps the most easily recognised
due to the productions of popular culture such as films and books (Caputi, 1990). Fox,
Levin and Quinet (2005), in their discussion of research considering the incidence and
aetiology of s erial m urder, note tha t it i s di fficult to gauge the e xtent of this t ype of
crime due t o difficulties in l inking them, and t he t ime and pl ace di sparities be tween
these c rimes. These pr oblems a rise from on e of t he ke y d ifferences be tween the
majority or homicide or murder incidents, whereby a large proportion of homicides are
committed by friends or family members of the victims (Davies & Mouzos, 2007).
In Australia since 1900 there have been only 29 recognised incidences of serial
murder (Table 1). This number equates to an average of one incident every four years.
However, such a f igure is s till pr oblematic in de termining the inc idence of s erial
murder as it onl y includes cases where convictions were obtained. It does not include
cases w here i t i s s uspected that a s erial m urderer i s r esponsible, for ex ample t he
Claremont murders in Western Australia and the murders and disappearances of several
women in the Newcastle region in New South Wales.
- 21-
Table 1: Incidence of Serial Murder in Australia from 1900
Date
a
1900-06
1907-09
1930-35
1938-39
1942
1948-52
1946-53
1947-53
1961
1961-62
1959-65
1962-90
1973
1974-90
1976-77
1979-80
1984-86
1986
1987
1984-90
1989-92
1993
1993-96
1998
1998
1998
1993-99
1997-99
2002-03
No. of
Victims
up to 37
3
4
3
3
2
5
4
2
4
6
2
3
3
6
3
3
4
5
6
7
3
3
2
3
3
11
3
2
Offender/s
State
Alice Mitchell
Martha Rendell
Arnold Soderman
Albert Andrew Moss
Edward Leonski
Yvonne Fletcher
John Balabana
Caroline Grills
Leonard Lawson
William McDonald
Eric Cooke
Barry Hadlow
Archibald McCafferty
Rodney Cameron
J.Miller & C.Worrell
Patricia Moore
Michael Laurence
D.Birnie & C.Birnie
Josef Schwab
John Wayne Glover
Ivan Milat
Paul Charles Denyer
Kathleen Folbiggb
Mark Valera
Matthew James Harris
Leonard John Fraserc
‘Snowtown’d
Peter Dupase
Francis Michael Fahey
WA
WA
VIC
NSW
VIC
NSW
SA
NSW
NSW
NSW
WA
QLD
NSW
VIC/NSW
SA
NSW
NSW
WA
NT & WA
NSW
NSW
VIC
NSW
NSW
NSW
QLD
SA
VIC
QLD
One murder occurred in Paris prior to the offenders arrival in Australia, three victims were result of a spree
Folbigg was also found guilty of the manslaughter of a fourth child
c
Fraser was also found guilty of the manslaughter of a third woman
d
Four men were convicted of the murders of these eleven victims however not all offenders were involved in the
murder of all eleven victims
e
Dupas had been convicted for a series of rapes and sexual assaults prior to his murder convictions
b
An issue that has been a topic of debate, is the perceived or actual increase of
the incidence of serial murder. It has been argued that there is an increase in the number
of cas es of s erial m urder ea ch decade s ince 1900 (Jenkins, 1994) . Serial m urder i s
considered a modern phenomenon, although globally incidences have been discovered
to have taken place as early as the fifteenth century (Leyton, 1986). This view of serial
- 22-
murder as a ‘modern’ occurrence can be explained in part as the result of the changes to
the approach of law enforcement agencies to this phenomenon. The term ‘serial killer’
was not c oined unt il t he e arly 1980s ; R obert R essler (Ressler & S chactman, 1992)
wished to differentiate these crimes from other ‘stranger murders’, as he had recognised
that s ome r elevant cases w ere i n fact com mitted by offenders know n to the vi ctims.
Cases of serial murder were, up unt il that period, also grouped under the classification
of mass murder (Fox & Levin, 1999).
One estimate by Jenkins (1994) of serial murder in the United States up until the
end of 1992 lists 447 names of serial murderers. Of these, 82 were active between 1900
and 1970, w ith t he r emaining 365 s erial ki llers a ctive f rom 1970 t o 1 992 ( Jenkins,
1994). These figures appear to evidence a staggering increase in the incidence of serial
murder. Y et i t i s i mportant t o not e t hat t hese f igures r epresent i ndividual names of
serial killers and not separate incidents. F or example where two or more people have
worked in cohort to commit the ir c rimes ( team ki llers), the inc ident w ill r eflect the
number of killers. Crimes that are considered mass murders, the killing of a number of
people in the one episode, are not included as part of this data.
McLaughlin a nd M uncie (2001) have r eferred t o the U nited States as t he
‘natural habitat’ for serial murderers. This label is largely reflective of the high number
of cases in the United States as evidenced by research such as that by Jenkins (1994).
However A ustralia ha s not be en protected f rom this phe nomenon. In A ustralia, t he
numbers of recognised cases of serial murder is not as high as those of North American
- 23-
statistics. Table 1 demonstrates t he num ber o f recognised cases o f s erial m urder i n
Australia from the year 1900 onwards. With the exception of Alice Mitchell, who was
not convicted of all the murders that she confessed to, the offenders were convicted of
the n umber o f m urders specified although t here m ay ha ve b een ot hers attributed t o
these offenders. This table also does not include offenders who were not convicted of
two or more crimes as these are not considered to be serial in nature, nor does it include
cases that remain unsolved or without a conviction being obtained.
During the 1980s and the 1990s, the phenomenon of serial murder in Australia
appeared t o be m ore c ommon, a s c ompared t o previous de cades ( Table 1) . In t his
period alone at l east 13 cases of serial m urder e merged and challenged investigators
(Kidd, 2000; M cGarry, 2005; Pinto & W ilson, 1990). The a ctual i ncidence of s erial
crime is c onsiderably lo wer tha n other vi olent c rimes (Goldsworthy, 20 02); how ever,
serial crimes inherently have high victimisation rates, often of three or more victims per
offender, and t hus c an c reate h eightened l evels o f fear i n t he community, particularly
when offences are reported in a sensational way by the media.
Serial Rape
The i ncidence of s erial rape i n Australia also appears t o be an issue o f i ncreasing
importance. Since 1990 in Australia there have b een at l east 23 solved cases of serial
- 24-
rape a s out lined i n T able 2 3. From a comparison of t he i ncidence o f s erial r ape a nd
serial murder in Australia over a similar timeframe, it is evident that serial rape poses a
greater focus of attention for investigators. This can be seen from a comparison of the
number of vi ctims f or each of fence t ype as out lined i n T able 1 a nd T able 2, w here
serial rape has a higher victimisation rate than serial murder.
Table 2: Convicted Serial Rapists in Australia
Date
a
1956-59
1970
1979-90
1982-86
1989-90
1979-92
1984-94
1978-88
1995
1988-96
1988-96
1995-96
1992-97
1995-97
1996-97
1994-98
1995-98
1990-99
1990-2001
1997-1998
1998-2000
1999-2000
2000
1998-2002
2002
1995-2004
2004-05
No.
Victims
16
5
6
18
5
6
2
7
4
4
4
12
8b
5
6
6
3
7
11
7
3
4
4
2
7
2
Offender
State
David Joseph Scanlon
Raymond Edmundsa
Gary Frederick Sutton
George Gerrard Kaufman
Terry John Williamson
Paul Keating
Brett Anthony Major
Robert John Fardon
Troy Allen Burley
George Allan Pryor
Quoc Vinh To
Graham James Kay
Lyall Grant Meizer
David Glen Johnson
Bruno Presta
Donald Wayne Garlett
Shane Francis Gray
Carlos Delgado-Guerra
Shane Ronald Farmer
Gilbert Atwell
Anthony James Daley
Jason Charles Buckley
Skaf & co.c
Thomas John Armfield
Abraham Hzaife
Wayne Anthony Trindall
Afsheen & Azhar Hussein
NSW
NSW
SA
VIC
NSW
SA
SA
QLD
QLD
QLD
NSW
NSW
QLD
NSW
NSW
VIC
VIC
QLD
TAS
QLD
NSW
QLD
NSW
SA
VIC
NSW
QLD
aka “Mr Stinky”. Was also convicted of the double murder of two teenagers
Johnson was believed to have committed crimes against 29 women, was convicted of crimes against 18,
of which convictions for sexual assault of 8 victims are included
c
Offenders Bilal Skaf, Mohammed Skaf were convicted of charges relating to all four victims, Mahmoud
Sansoussi, Mohammed Sansoussi for charges relating to 3 victims and Tayyab Sheikh for charges relating
to one victim.
b
3
This is not a comprehensive list of all incidents of solved serial rape cases in Australia, but one where
convictions for more than one sexual assault incident on more than occasion could be validated through
media reports or court documents.
- 25-
Despite t his hi gher de monstrated incidence, serial r ape r eceives l ess at tention
than serial murder in both the academic research arena and in the general community as
evidenced by the disparity in the reportage of these cases through the media and other
literary avenues such as documentaries and biographical accounts. One reason for this
is that there appears to be less media reportage of such crimes. Another reason may be
that the le gal pr ocesses a re de signed t o p rotect t he r ights of t he of fender b y not
permitting pr evious c onvictions f or r ape a nd s exual a ssault to be br ought i nto a ny
current prosecution for sexual offences.
Rarity and the Investigation: Implications
As de monstrated the o ccurrence of s erial m urder and serial r ape i n Australia i s
relatively rare. The incidence is even rarer when considering the occurrence at a l ocal
or s tate le vel. Incidents of s erial c rimes a re inves tigated by the pol ice of the s tate in
which t hey o ccur. Table 1 and Table 2 indicate t hat cas es of s erial cr ime ha ve
predominately t aken place i n New S outh Wales i n the pa st de cade, w hile ot her
Australian states have had fewer, partly due to smaller populations in those states. It is
believed t hat t he i nfrequent occurrence of s erial murder and s erial r ape contributes t o
inexperience of pol ice i n i nvestigating s uch c rimes. It i s pr oposed t hat f ew of t he
detectives investigating the serial crime incidents in Australia would have had previous
experience in serial crime investigation due to the rarity of these offences.
- 26-
What Makes A Serial Killer?
A number of academic theorists have attempted to explain the aetiology of the violent
serial of fender (see f or e g. E gger, 1984, 1998 ; L eyton, 1986) . These ex planations
emerge from various fields of enquiry and include the social and environmental factors,
psychological dynamics and biological causes. Although there are a number of relevant
theories proposing to provide at least a partial explanation for such offenders only some
of these will be discussed in detail as it is beyond the scope or intent of this thesis to
provide a comprehensive representation of these theories. Many of these theories have
been formulated in response to cases of serial murder with little or no acknowledgment
of t he c rimes of s erial r ape. Other theories however, do assign special s tatus t o serial
crimes of a sexual nature.
Egger (1998) proposes a t heory t hat stems f rom the be lief tha t c riminal
behaviour is a function of the socialisation process. The offender’s past may explain his
or her aggressive behaviour. This is often a favoured explanation of serial murderers’
motivations, as ma ny s erial mur derers ha ve r eported be ing t he vi ctims of c hildhood
abuse (Egger, 1998).
The ps ychopathology o f t he of fender i s a nother factor of ten c onsidered in t he
attempt t o explain the oc currence of serial mu rder (Pinto & W ilson, 1990) . P ublic
perception is that all murderers, particularly serial murderers, suffer from some form of
mental illness (Caputi, 1999). However, the evidence does not support this. A study by
- 27-
Mouzos (1999) on the incidence of mental illness in the homicide offender population
in Australia, found that only “4.4 percent (147) of homicide offenders were recorded as
suffering from a me ntal di sorder at the time of the hom icide inc ident” over t he ni ne
year p eriod reviewed b y t he s tudy (Mouzos, 19 99, p. 4) . M ouzos a lso found t hat a
mentally disordered offender was more likely to murder a family member, which is in
contrast t o the s erial of fender w hereby most serial m urderers us ually t arget pe rsons
unknown to themselves (Mouzos, 1999). There is currently no Australian research that
identifies an overwhelming presence of mental illness among serial offenders.
According to Egger (1998) the term psychopath is redundant, with the accepted
name for the condition being ‘antisocial personality’. In his attempt to develop a theory
of t he or igin a nd de velopment of t he s erial of fender, Giannangelo (1996) however,
contests tha t ‘antisocial’ and ‘psychopathic’ are not i nterchangeable t erms.
Giannangelo proposes that psychopathic serial killers tend to be predatory and exhibit
aggressive narcissistic characteristics in addition to antisocial behaviour. Regardless of
the act ual de finition and differences be tween t hese conditions, pe ople w ith either
disorder are not considered a ble t o e xperience emotions s uch a s l ove and e mpathy
(Egger, 1998) . H owever, a s E gger s tates, pe ople s uffering f rom t hese pe rsonality
disorders are not insane or mentally ill.
Because of the ways in which serial murder differs from other forms of murder,
particularly in regard to motivation and the progression of the offending career, it is not
possible to ascertain if any or all of the above factors contribute to serial murder. Due to
- 28-
the of ten s exual na ture of t his c rime, i t i s ha rd t o g eneralise, a s t here has not be en
enough research in this area. In their discussion of serial murder in Australia, Pinto and
Wilson (1990) warn that “s erial ki llers cannot b e ne atly categorised into a pa rticular
behavioural t ype” a nd t hat “ documentation s hould oc cur w ithin a f ramework w hich
recognises that serial killing is not committed by specific psychological or sociological
types” (Pinto & Wilson, 1990, p. 3).
Other e xplanations f or t he be haviour o f t he s erial o ffender consider t hat
biological precursors can explain behaviour. One biological theory proffered by Fox et
al. (2005) identifies he ad t rauma a s be ing l inked w ith vi olent be haviour. T his i s
particularly r elevant as m any s erial m urderers have suffered f rom s ome form of
childhood abuse, therefore many may have sustained head traumas (Fox, et al., 2005).
As demonstrated, there have been many attempts to identify the causes of serial
offending, s pecifically s erial m urder. There i s a clear gap i n knowledge in relation t o
the literature surrounding serial rape. Explanations are often sought within the existing
literature addressing s exual as sault i n general whilst of ten serial r ape can also be
considered as a p recursor t o the s erial m urderer (Schlesinger, 20 00b). These
explanations however, do not directly contribute to the knowledge of the investigation
of s erial cr imes directly. The aet iology only be comes pertinent pos t-conviction once
thorough ps ychological and psychiatric testing of the offender can be carried out. The
theories of serial criminal offending can be seen to form the basis of some investigative
tools s uch a s c riminal profiling. T he know ledge t hat i s dr awn upon t o c onstruct a
- 29-
criminal profile of the serial offender, often reflects some of the theories of offending.
Terms such as ‘psychopath’ are sometimes used in criminal profiling therefore a level
of know ledge a nd und erstanding o f t hese c oncepts i s e xpected t o s ome e xtent of
investigators.
During an i nvestigation, how ever, ot her m ore s alient f actors a re considered to
be able to inform the investigative process. These perspectives of s erial c rimes, being
the w ay i n w hich t hese cr imes ar e i nvestigated, have r eceived little i n the w ay o f
academic a ttention. A s w ill be i dentified, m uch of t he e xisting r esearch f ocuses on
particular aspects o f t he i nvestigation, s uch a s t he us e of c riminal pr ofiling a s an
investigative tool . This research w ill c onsider a range of i nvestigative t echniques a nd
technologies e mployed during t he i nvestigation w hich c ontribute t o t he investigative
process as a whole, and which have little dependence on the causes of these crimes.
Why is this research into the investigation of serial murder and serial
rape important?
From the review of existing literature addressing the violent serial crimes of murder and
rape, it is evident that there has be en little focus on the investigation of these crimes.
While the t heories of of fending c an i nform t he i nvestigation a bout the ge neral
background of t he of fender, t hey cannot ha ve a di rect i mpact on t he i nvestigation.
Factors that have a di rect affect are the type of investigative tools and techniques that
are utilised in the investigation of serial murder and serial rape. The demonstrated rarity
- 30-
of t hese of fences, a nd t he w ay t hey di ffer f rom t he m ajority of hom icide or r ape
offences, mean that there may not be a developed understanding b y police about how
these crimes should be investigated.
The evi dence conc erning t he i ncidence of s erial m urder and serial r ape al so
substantiates the need for a consideration of the investigative processes of these crimes.
The appa rent i ncrease i n t he i ncidence o f s erial cr ime i n recent years, coupled with a
greater unde rstanding o f t he of fender’s m otives, br ought about b y t heories of s erial
offending, have led to more marked attention on the way these crimes are investigated.
These investigations take place within an organisational context which is influenced by
the or ganisational c ulture w hich w ill be di scussed i n t he f ollowing s ection. It i s
proposed that this organisational culture- in this case, police culture- informs the way in
which the crimes of serial murder and serial rape are investigated.
Research Aims and Questions
This research asks why many incidences of serial murder and serial rape go undetected
by police o rganisations for l ong p eriods o f t ime. This t hesis p roposes to de termine
which factors impact on the investigation of serial murder and serial rape. In order t o
ascertain what t hese factors ar e, several i ssues ne ed to be addressed: the us e o f
investigative t echniques, i n particular t he us e of offender profiling as an investigative
tool; the use of forensic techniques; the availability of investigators to link crimes; and
- 31-
finally the issues that impact on the ability of investigators to solve serial crimes. Thus,
to simplify these issues we can state that this thesis aims at:
•
determine how serial crimes are recognised and what impact this has on
the investigation
•
identify if recognition of serial crimes can be improved to reduce further
victimisation or the period of criminal offending
•
establish whether police practices, in relation to allocation of resources,
impact the investigative outcome
•
examine how i mportant the characteristics of t he chosen vi ctims are t o
the investigative processes and outcome
•
identify which i nvestigative t echniques a re us ed i n s erial m urder a nd
serial r ape cases and t o what ex tent f orensic technologies contribute t o
these investigations
In or der t o a ddress t hese research aims of t he t hesis, case s tudy research of
incidents of serial murder and serial rape that have occurred in Australia and interviews
with f ormer a nd current m embers of N SW Police a nd consultants w ere employed.
These m ethodologies have enabled this r esearcher t o gain a s pecific und erstanding of
the techniques and technologies employed in the investigation of the serial crimes being
studied. T he l evel or de gree of i mpact t hat these i ssues ha d on i nvestigations c an be
further ascertained through the an alysis o f t he i nterviews. The r esearch data ha s b een
analysed within a framework informed by police cultural understandings.
- 32-
The i nformation obt ained f or e ach c ase s tudy was analysed i n or der t o
determine if certain characteristics are present in relation to the offender and the crime,
and the references t o investigative pr actices, issues a nd p ractice. Questions, t his
researcher aims to be address through the analysis of the case studies, include:
•
how inve stigators link ed r elated cases: w hether there was a n intelligence-led
system in place t o a chieve t his; w hether a m odus ope randi or s ignature were
apparent i n t his c ase; a nd ho w linking r elated c ases contributed to t he
investigation of these crimes.
•
which i nvestigative t echnologies and t echniques w ere e mployed i n t he
investigation of t he i dentified cases. W hether t hese t echniques or t echnologies
were vi ewed a s contributing to
the inv estigative out come; tha t is , the
identification of the serial murderer/serial rapist. Which issues surrounding the
use of these technologies were apparent.
There are several questions and issues that the analysis of interviews will aim to
address. Some of these will be aimed at providing a comparison to the material gained
from the case study r esearch, whilst some will be aimed at filling the gaps present in
such research. Thus generally some of the questions and issues to be addressed are:
- 33-
•
how a s eries of related crimes is identified as serial murder or serial rape. How
such a n i dentification i mpacts on a n i nvestigation. W hether c hanges t o t he
processes or the ways crimes are investigated have taken place
•
which investigative techniques and technologies are used in the investigation of
serial cr imes. Whether any i ssues i n t he a vailability or pr ocessing of s uch
evidence e xist. W hether t hese t echnologies c ontributed t o t he out come of t he
investigation.
•
which pol ice pr actices he lped or hi ndered the i nvestigation. H ow t he
investigation changed over time, particularly between related crimes? Whether
there was a reduction i n r esources dur ing l ong periods of of fender i nactivity,
and if so, whether this impacted on the investigation in any way.
This the sis a ims to examine the pr ocesses of inve stigations int o serial crime, and t o
determine if police cultural practices – positive or negative – influence the construction
of a n investigation, particularly int o serial c rimes. The pol ice c ultural pr actices
discussed in this chapter will be used as an analytical framework for this research.
Chapter Overviews
This chapter has presented an overview and discussion of previous research in the area
of s erial m urder a nd s erial r ape, t o c ontextualise t he c urrent s tudy within w hat
- 34-
represents a large proportion of the existing literature addressing these crimes. There is
a large body of research in existence on the topic of serial crime, and more specifically
serial m urder, ho wever much of t his ha s i nadequately addressed t he i nvestigation of
these cr imes. T his c hapter has al so presented an i ntroduction t o t he t opic t hrough a
discussion of the incidences of serial murder and serial rape in Australia, demonstrating
the need for further research to be conducted in this country.
Chapter 2 will propose that an organisational culture of policing as proposed by
Janet C han (1996, 1999b) in he r taxonomy of police c ultural know ledge c omprising
four components, informs and influences the progress of serial murder and serial rape
investigations. Further, an analysis of t he l iterature s urrounding aspects of pol ice
culture that can be considered to influence the investigation of violent serial crimes will
be presented.
Additionally, this chapter will also raise the issue of how victims are perceived
and how the understandings of particular groups in society, and subsequently within the
organisational context, increase one’s vulnerability to serial offenders. This factor has
also been argued to affect the way in which investigations are conducted, whereby the
victimology m ay result in some delay in r ecognising certain people as ‘ victims,’ or
influence the way in which some of these victims are perceived by police.
Chapter 2 will identify t he range of i nvestigative t ools and techniques t hat are
commonly associated with the investigation of violent serial crimes of murder and rape.
- 35-
The issues surrounding the definition and identification of the serial crimes of murder
and rape will also be discussed including a critical overview of the factors considered
when attempting to identify the occurrence of serial murder and serial rape is provided.
As a m ethod o f i nvestigation, the role o f int elligence-led policing p ractices in the
investigation of s erial c rimes will be ide ntified. T he di scussion of t he utilisation o f
intelligence-led policing practices within the context of police cultural understandings
will show that cultural knowledge informs the investigation of serial crimes.
Chapter 3 outlines t he methodological approach e mployed b y t his qualitative
research. As previously identified, this is a qualitative study employing case studies of
serial crime and semi-structured interviews with members of NSW Police, both former
and c urrent. A di scussion of s ome of t he methodological pr oblems encountered in
conducting the research is identified and discussed, in particular the issues experienced
in researching a police organisation.
The following chapter presents a profile and ‘victimological’ timeline of events
for e ach c ase s tudy. A s ummary of ke y events r elating t o bot h t he cr imes and the
investigation were identified in order to later demonstrate some of the research findings
in relation to problems arising from the timeline of events.
Chapter 5 sets out the dominant themes that emerged from the thematic analysis
of the case studies and the semi-structured interviews. It sets these themes up within the
context within which they will be discussed. These themes are grouped into three broad
- 36-
categories w hich will be di scussed i n s ubsequent c hapters: the m ethods e mployed t o
investigate s erial cr imes; the cul tural constructions of t he i nvestigation; and t he
reflections on the use of intelligence-led policing practices in the investigation of serial
crime.
Chapter 6 discusses t he t hemes r elating t o t he m ethods e mployed dur ing t he
investigation of s erial r ape and s erial m urder offences as i dentified from t he c ase
studies a nd s emi s tructured i nterviews. T he c onstruction of a n i nvestigative t eam a nd
the al location of r equired r esources a re di scussed i n t his c hapter. A dditionally, t he
investigative t echniques and t echnologies found t o be c ommonly u sed in serial c rime
investigations a re ide ntified and the the mes emerging r elating to the impa ct of s uch
tools are presented. A theme that emerged in relation to the construction and conduct of
serial crime investigations was the attribution of blame to investigators. This blame was
often a ssociated w ith a pe rceived f law i n t he investigation a nd t his i ssue w ill be
discussed.
Chapter 7 presents the themes that emerged from the case studies and the semistructured i nterviews i n r elation t o t he c ultural k nowledge of p olice. There w ere t wo
dominant t hemes t hat w ill be pr esented. T he f irst i s t he c ompeting s ubcultures w hich
are evident within the police investigation. The second theme is that of the reflection of
dictionary kno wledge on t he i nvestigation of s erial crimes. This di scussion will focus
on the application and influence of cultural knowledge in the form of stereotypes.
- 37-
The f inal analysis cha pter presents the dom inating the me o f the di fficulties
police e xperience in identifying a nd linking a s eries of c rimes, both in r elation to
murder and sexual assault. In Chapter 8 the timeframes of serial crime recognition will
be presented and discussed as will the issues arising from the use of the Violent Crime
Linkage Analysis System. Additionally, the use of criminal profiling as an investigative
tool in the investigation of serial crimes will be discussed, particularly in relation to its
contribution to the investigative processes and outcomes.
Finally, C hapter 8 pr oposes a t ypology d escribing a nd c ategorising serial
murder and serial rape investigations. This typology has evolved from the data analysis
from the themes relating to the linkage of related crimes and subsequent recognition of
the crimes as serial in nature.
The r ecommendations arising from t his r esearch w ill be pr esented i n t he
Chapter 9. These recommendations ar e t wo-fold. T he f irst are r ecommendations
relating to
the inv estigation of s erial c rimes in Australian police or ganisations.
Secondly, following qu estions r aised i n t his t hesis, a reas f or further re search a re
identified. Finally, t he c oncluding arguments w ill be pr esented. T he c onclusion w ill
assess the thematic outcomes of this research within the theoretical framework of police
culture w ith considerations of t he role o f i ntelligence-led pol icing pr actices on t he
investigation of the crimes of serial rape and serial murder.
- 38-
CHAPTER 1: CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF
POLICING
It i s pr oposed t hat a n important a spect of the investigation of s erial crimes is the
organisational ‘sense making’ framework within which an investigation is constructed.
This sense making framework developed by Sackmann (1992) in the context of police
organisations, has been referred to as ‘police culture’ (Chan, 1996). Cultural practices
within a police or ganisation c an a ffect t he outcome of inve stigations in to particular
crimes as it is us ed to inf orm the inve stigative r ole a nd the a ctions employed by
investigators (Innes, 2002).
There ha ve be en s ignificant s tudies i nto t he c ultural m ilieu of the New S outh
Wales Police Force. Most notable are the studies by Janet Chan (1999b, 2003a, 2003b)
and David Dixon (1999b). The cultural idiosyncrasies of the police as an organisation
have been studied by many including Chan (2003a), Dixon (1999c), Innes (2003) and
Van Maanen (1978b). Australian researchers C han (2003a) and D ixon’s (1999c)
research focus is on police culture in the NSW Police. Janet Chan’s focus included the
socialisation of NSW Police recruits in a longitudinal study of the attitudes of recruits
to policing. Chan’s (1997) other research includes studies into the policing of minority
groups and t he c ultural c onstruction of kno wledge t hat s hapes and i nfluences
discriminatory attitudes towards these groups. Chan’s research considers police reforms
- 39-
undergone du ring and f ollowing t he W ood R oyal C ommission i n N SW 4. Her l ater
research also c onsiders t he i mpact of i nformation t echnology on pol icing (Chan,
Brereton, Legosz, & D oran, 2001) . D avid D ixon’s (Dixon, 1999a , 19 99b) research
examines the regulation of policing in NSW which was also in the shadow of the Wood
Royal C ommission’s i nvestigations i nto pol ice c orruption a nd t he s ubsequent
incorporation of the new accountabilities brought about as a result of this.
According to Chan (2003a) police culture is the term that is applied to describe
the ‘ cultural know ledge’ of pol ice or ganisations, s pecifically t he nor ms, va lues a nd
attitudes of members of the organisation. Previous research into police culture and its
influence on t he i nvestigative process h as be en q uite l imited. The t raditional r esearch
into pol ice c ulture ha s not a ddressed t he i mpact of t his c ulture on s erial c rime
investigations.
Policing the Serial: Cultural Influences on the Investigation
The l iterature i n r elation t o pol ice c ulture c an be c onsidered a s f airly broad,
addressing a range of issues from the training of cadets, corruption within senior police
ranks and the recruitment of pol ice t o w ork w ith s pecific c ommunity groups f rom
diverse e thnic a nd cultural ba ckgrounds (Chan, 1996, 1997, 1999a , 1999b, 2003b;
Dixon, 1999b, 1999c ). T he di scussion of t he w ork a nd c ulture of de tectives how ever
4
The Wood Royal Commission investigated allegations in relation to, and the extent of, corruption in the
NSW Police Service; the impartiality in the investigation and prosecution of a range of criminal
activities; and issues relating to the internal promotion systems, and internal commands. See Wood
(1997) for full report
- 40-
has often been restricted to the sphere of corruption and the findings extending from the
Wood Royal Commission in NSW (see Dixon, 1999c). In Australia there has been little
research i nto pol ice cultural practices i n ot her s tates, although a report b y Chan et al.
(2001) analysed t he i mpact of pol ice culture on t he i ntegration o f i nformation
technologies i n t he c ontext of Q ueensland pol ice. T here a re s ome general t hemes
however t hat emerge from t he general l iterature on police cul ture that ha ve some
specific relevance to the i nvestigative pr ocesses of de tectives, particularly s temming
from the work of Ericson (1993) and Innes (2002, 2003).
Police c ulture is the te rm us ed to describe the or ganisational culture within
organisations of policing. According to Schein, the culture of a group or an organisation
refers to:
A pa ttern of sha red basic assumptions t hat t he g roup l earned as i t sol ved its
problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well
enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as
the c orrect w ay t o pe rceive, t hink, a nd feel i n r elation t o t hose p roblems
(Schein, 1992, p. 12).
The term ‘police culture’ has no universal definition as such and is used to refer
to va rious a spects of t he pol ice or ganisation. In g eneral t erms, pol ice c ulture c an be
considered t o r efer t o t he m echanisms e mployed b y pol ice t o de al w ith t he pr essures
that they face working in a job that can be considered as dangerous and unpredictable
(Chan, 1999b) . In hi s di scussion of t he i nfluence o f pr ocess s tructures on
- 41-
the
investigation of hom icide or m urder i n t he United K ingdom, Innes (2002) describes
how t he pol ice or ganisation pr ovides m embers w ith pr agmatic, e xperience ba sed
knowledge and values which “can be employed in ‘doing’ police work” (Innes, 2002, p.
679). Van Maanen (1978b) in his di scussion of pol ice s ocialisation i n an A merican
police de partment, describes t he s eparation of p olice f rom t he m ainstream cul ture as
leading to a new collective group. Van Maanen states that:
when the policeman dons his uniform, he enters a distinct subculture governed
by norms and values designed to manage the strain created by an outsider role
in the community (1978b, p. 292).
The r ules or characteristics of t his oc cupational culture ar e not eas ily r ecognisable as
they are unwritten and informal (Chan, 1999b). As outlined by O’Loughlin and Billing
(2000) in their study int o the positive aspects o f police culture in relation to violence
and corruption, the term usually conjures up negative images of sinister practices and
cover ups . Indeed pol ice c ultural pr actices ha ve been us ed t o pr ovide e xplanations of
police deviance and violence (I. Warren & James, 2000). Paoline III however suggests
that:
Viewing pol ice c ulture as a n oc cupational phe nomena s uggests that o fficers
collectively confront situations that arise in the environments of policing, and
subsequent a ttitudes, v alues, a nd nor ms t hat r esults are i n r esponse t o those
environments.(2003, p.200).
- 42-
In t he context of m urder i nvestigations, Innes (2002) proposes t hat s uch know ledge
relates to how and why such crimes occur and subsequently what investigative methods
detectives s hould employ that are mos t e ffective in solving t hese cases. D ue t o t he
rarity of serial murder and serial rape, the investigation of serial crime poses different
problems f or pol ice i nvestigators. T he know ledge t hat i nforms t he i nvestigation i nto
common incidents of single-victim murder or rape cases is not necessarily appropriate
for t he i nvestigation of s erial crime. T hus t he pol ice or ganisation c an be s een t o
encapsulate t he et hos of i nvestigating m urder ca ses and the as sociated problems t hat
may arise and the organisationally appropriate response to these (Innes, 2002).
This is c onsistent to some e xtent w ith C han’s (1999b) explanations of pol ice
culture, w hich c an be c onsidered a s a m eans of s haring or ganisational knowledge or
cultural knowledge. From the perspective of detectives, the combination of formalised
training and guidelines coupled w ith t he i nformal va lues and know ledge a bout ho w
police work is done, are maintained by this occupational culture (Innes, 2002). Cultural
knowledge as a cknowledged b y C han, can be c onsidered a s a s et of a ssumptions
consisting of four dimensions as adapted from Sackmann (1992). The four dimensions
identified by Sackmann are:
•
•
•
•
dictionary knowledge,
directory knowledge,
recipe knowledge, and
axiomatic knowledge.
- 43-
Sackmann investigated how these forms of knowledge were shared by the members of
an organisation in the United States. These forms of knowledge were utilised by Chan
to elicit an understanding of police cultural knowledge within NSW Police.
Dictionary Knowledge
Sackmann (1992) describes di ctionary know ledge as be ing d escriptions t hat a re
common to a particular organisation. Chan states that dictionary knowledge “provides
definitions and labels for persons, things, and events that police encounter in the course
of their work” (2003a, p. 31). This knowledge is used by police to develop a routine for
assessing pe ople a nd s ituations t o e nable t he t imely j udgement of a s ituation. This
dictionary kno wledge i s s imilar t o t he t ype of know ledge Van Maanen (1978b)
describes as being p assed on f rom ‘ war s tories’ during t he s ocialisation process. This
experience based knowledge is a set of perspectives of people and situations that police
will be in contact with that Van Maanen considers to be collectively held. As outlined
by Chan (2003a), such knowledge and subsequent judgements can be based on class or
race. The Australian Law Reform Commission (1992) produced a report into the impact
of the laws and the legal system on those from ethnically diverse communities and from
various c ultural ba ckgrounds. A mongst i ts f inding, t his r eport c oncluded that pol ice
organisations w ere engaging i n ethnic s tereotyping, p articularly of Aboriginal p eople
and their involvement in criminal activity, which is apparent in the knowledge of police
(Chan, 1999b, 2003a).
- 44-
Chan’s discussion of dictionary knowledge however, refers onl y to the way in
which pol ice us e t his know ledge t o m ake de cisions on t he c riminality o f a pe rson or
group. It is s uggested that t hese s imilar j udgements c an be m ade i n regards t o t he
victims of c rime. Such unde rstandings of t he us e o f c ollective unde rstandings or
dictionary knowledge, have been limited to its application to street level police. Neither
explanation however was discussed by Chan in relation to the use of this knowledge in
the investigation of crimes by detectives. Whilst such labels may be used to inform the
understandings of s treet level pol ice, t here has b een no publ ished r esearch examining
whether they exist or how such labels are used at the level of detectives. The impact of
such judgements will be of consideration to this research, as consideration will be given
to how such knowledge impacted on the ability of police to investigate serial crimes.
Directory Knowledge
Dictionary know ledge as out lined a bove i nfluences t o s ome extent, di rectory
knowledge, which provides descriptive understandings about the appropriate responses
to the situations identified through the use of dictionary knowledge (Sackmann, 1992).
Therefore in the context of a police organisation, directory knowledge refers to the way
in w hich “ operational w ork i s r outinely c arried out ” o r how t hings a re t o be done
(Chan, 2003a , p. 32) . F or pol ice, t he j udgements f ormed f rom t heir di ctionary
knowledge pr ovide t hem w ith a g uide t hat enables them t o m ake s nap de cisions a nd
follow up with quick action based on these labels. For example youths congregating in
- 45-
shopping centre areas are targeted with proactive policing measures (Chan, 2003a). The
use of both dictionary and directory knowledge are described by Schein as necessary to
ensure the safety and protection of officers and reduce anxiety inherent in this risky and
dangerous occupation (Schein, 1985, 1992).
Recipe Knowledge
Recipe knowledge is a f ramework of “recommendations and strategies for coping with
police work” (Chan, 2003a, p. 33) . This form of knowledge is described by Sackmann
(1992) as pr oviding r ecommended a ctions or r ecipes f or a chieving s uccessful
resolutions. Examples provided by Chan (2003a) describe the learnt behaviour of police
to do the m inimum amount of work required of them, where m ore a ctive officers are
looked down on. Because there is a lack of reward for working hard, particularly in a
job considered risky and unpleasant, police are encouraged to do the minimum required
of them.
Devery (2003) identified a pe rvading c ulture a mongst police trainees w here
they observed incidents where reports were not being followed through because it was
not de emed necessary, thus r educing t he pa perwork r equired. T he t rainees t hen
internalised this knowledge, assuming this strategy in their own policing practices. This
recipe knowledge also extends to the “code of silence” amongst police when faced with
accusations o f m isconduct. A s di scussed b y C han (1999b, 2003 a) the f ear of not
- 46-
receiving s upport or ha ving s omeone ‘ watch your ba ck’ i n a da ngerous s ituation i s a
deterrent to informing on fellow officers.
Axiomatic Knowledge
Finally, the explanations for why events occur are referred to as ‘axiomatic knowledge’
(Sackmann, 1992) . In t he c ontext of pol ice or ganisations, a xiomatic know ledge i s
considered as a s et of u nderlying assumptions a bout t he r ole of t he pol ice i n s ociety
(Chan, 1999a , 2003a ). The t raditional r ole o f police i s one of c rime fighting a nd
protecting l ife and pr operty, a pe rception w hich i s e ncouraged b y pol ice t hemselves.
This leads to greater public demand for dramatic police action thus contributing to the
distinction between ‘real’ police work and routine duties (Chan, 1999b, 2003a).
Habitus of Policing Work
According t o C han (2003a) these f our di mensions of c ultural know ledge o ccur a nd
inform t he habitus of p olicing, a c oncept de veloped b y Bourdieu (1990). B ourdieu
describes habitus as a ‘product of history’ in that it is a system of characteristics which
are f ormed t hrough t he integration of pr evious experiences. T his habitus is a s et of
structures w hich m ay b e a dapted t o t he out comes w ithout t he ne ed f or c onscious
consideration of t he pr ocesses i nvolved i n a chieving t he de sired out come. T his i s
because t he de sired end has al ready be en determined by pr ior experience. Thus
- 47-
Bourdieu c onsiders t hat, a s i t i s a p roduct of p ast e xperiences, ha bitus e nsures t hat
correct pr actices are consistent ove r t ime, and are cons idered to be m ore r eliable i n
achieving the desired outcomes than other formal rules and norms (Bourdieu, 1990).
As a product of history however, habitus would be limited by the scope of such
history. This r esearch argues t hat t he habitus would be limi ted in relation to serial
crimes due t o t heir r arity. Therefore t here w ould be i nsufficient p revious e xperiences
upon w hich t o de velop this know ledge. T his l imitation w as r ecognised b y Bourdieu
(1990) when he states that habitus is limited by the social and historical contexts from
which it was developed.
Bourdieu theorises t hat t he ha bitus pr ovides t he c ultural s ense making
framework within the field; that is, the structural conditions within which one operates.
When a pr ofessional e nters a ne w f ield he or she s till r etains t he pr evious ha bitus
produced by the field they existed in previously. Therefore for new police recruits Chan
states tha t the y ne ed to constantly e valuate the ir a ctions unt il the y a djust to the ne w
habitus of the field in which they are situated (Chan, 2003a) .
A ke y c oncept of t he f ield i s c apital, w hich m ay b e e conomic, social,
informational or cultural. Chan (2003a) explains that in policing, the field is a reflection
of t he s ocial, legal and pol itical capi tal. The ‘ currency’ of s uch capital i ncludes a
number of resources both derived from the individual and from the organisation itself.
- 48-
Individual r esources i nclude r ank and experience, while organisational r esources
include the opportunity for promotion and budgetary considerations.
These c oncepts how ever a re not i ndependent of t he pl ayers w ithin the
organisation. Chan (2003a) states that the police officers themselves have an active role
in the development and transmission of cultural knowledge. As such, they can respond
to and incorporate any changes to the field within which they operate. The development
and transmission of police culture can be seen to be a learning process. As outlined in
Chan (1999b) this of ten occurs through the te lling o f ‘war s tories’ by s enior, m ore
experienced officers. As de scribed by Van Maanen (1978a) such anecdotes r elate t o
mistakes ma de b y ot her of ficers a nd le ad to the r ecognition that a lthough mistakes
occur on e ne eds t o p rotect ot hers t o e nsure t hat t hey are pr otected f rom t he
consequences of such mistakes.
There are a num ber of different i nfluences or a spects t hat c ontribute t o t he
nexus t hat i s pol ice cul ture. More s pecifically, some of t hese cul tural as pects c an be
seen to influence the way in which an investigation is conducted or how investigative
techniques or t echnologies are us ed. This research aims t o consider t he way i n which
cultural know ledge c an be s een t o i nform t he i nvestigation of s erial c rimes b y
detectives. A s ha s be en i dentified, t he di ctionary kno wledge w hich i nforms
investigative practice is often informed by what Van Maanen (1978a) described as war
stories. It is proposed however, that since serial crimes in Australia are considered to be
extremely r are, t hat s uch know ledge w ould not be a vailable. T herefore i t i s e xpected
- 49-
that the dictionary knowledge that is employed will be reflective of the ‘war stories’ of
street level policing not of serial crime detection and investigation.
One Part of the Whole - Police Subcultures
Contrary to some traditional perceptions of police culture, Janet Chan (2003a) proposes
that pol ice c ulture i s not a uni form c oncept but one w hich i s di verse a nd that can be
influenced by a range of factors, including the socialisation process (p. 20). In an earlier
study, Chan comments that different extant cultures are identifiable by the position of
officer in the organisational hierarchy (1996). Thus consistent with Bourdieu’s concepts
of field and habitus, this culture can be considered as a reflection of the types of capital
one has, or the response to the challenges that the field poses to them as an individual
or group (Chan, 2003a). O’Loughlin and Billing’s (2000) research into police cultural
expectations among new recruits at the Victorian Police Academy, showed that while
these subcultures may be identifiable based on a n officer’s rank, these subcultures can
be overlapping and naturally discernable. Subcultures can be based on ot her aspects of
the police organisation and one’s place in it such as the nature of one’s role in police
service ( investigative o r ge neral dut y), t he geographic l ocation or gender. For t he
purposes of t he c urrent r esearch, t he e xistence of pol ice s ubcultures i s c onsidered
primarily in relation to detectives.
Ericson (1993), in an observational study of Canadian detectives in their general
investigative duties, commented that detectives can be seen to work within an ideology.
- 50-
This ideology shapes their decision making by providing explanations for their actions,
consistent w ith r ecipe k nowledge. A s a cknowledged i n a n e xploratory s tudy i nto t he
investigative processes of homicide investigations in England, the detective is seen by
the general community as the “hard-working, hard-drinking, fornicating, and swearing
crime-fighter” (Innes, 2003, p. 15) . This picture however, has been seen to evolve and
soften over time, although, as identified b y Innes (2003), the extent of this perceptual
change in perception is debatable.
Consistent w ith the transfer of pol ice cul ture i n general, detective cul ture i s
developed t hrough e xperience a nd t he s ocialisation pr ocess i nvolved i n be coming a
detective. Innes (2003) discusses how ne w de tectives e xperience c ontinual m entoring
by ot her m ore ex perienced detectives. These de tectives can be s een to share bot h the
directory and recipe knowledge required at that level to conduct the work required.
Although de tectives m ay be
considered to be
a s ubculture w ithin t he
organisation as a whole, it is an expectation of this research that subdivisions may exist
relating to a de tective’s pos ition within s pecialised i nvestigation uni ts or l ocal ar ea
commands. This would be consistent with O’Laughlin and Billing’s (2000) contention
that s uch s ubdivisions e xist. These di visions a re pr esent across pol icing ins titutions
internationally, as Ericson (1993) provides an example where friction existed between
two ‘teams’ of detectives, where there was a l ack of information sharing. Ericson also
found t hat t here w as f riction e vident be tween d etectives f rom s pecialised uni ts a nd
- 51-
what he t ermed ‘general i nvestigation detectives’, s uggesting t hat s ubdivisions w ithin
detective teams may be reflective of different knowledge capital.
A long-term field study of two New York City police precincts led to a different
perspective on pol ice s ubcultures (Reuss-Ianni & Ianni, 1983 ). T his s tudy i dentified
two cultures: that of street cops and management cops. While both these cultures share
organisational a ims of combating crime a nd m aintaining c ommunity s afety, R eussIanni and Ianni b elieve t hat s treet cops and m anagement cops have di fferent i deas on
what this means and how this can be achieved. From this perspective, the street cop is
the ‘professional’ cop who has the experience, the ability and the gut instinct to identify
unwelcome a nd de viant pe ople a nd s ituations. Decisions a re m ade b ased on l ocal
knowledge a t t he l ocal l evel, r ather t han using organisational goals an d associated
procedures. Reuss-Ianni and Ianni (1983) contend that in contrast, the management cop
relies on
an ope rational c ulture i n publ ic a dministration a nd organisational
management. T he pr oblems f aced by s treet cop s ar e cons idered on the br oader, city
wide scale. Management cops must prioritise resources based on t his broader problem
and consider other factors such as the political, economic and social limitations evident
(Reuss-Ianni & Ianni, 1983).
What’s Mine is Mine - Ownership of Information
Another i nfluence s temming f rom pol ice c ultural know ledge i s t he c oncept of
information ow nership, w hich i s r eflective of B ordieu’s pr oposition of c apital. T his
- 52-
issue w as r aised in E ricson’s (1993) study of d etectives in which general de tectives
reported that detectives from specialised units were seeking to take credit for cases that
fell within their jurisdiction. The homicide squad was singled out as the one most likely
to t ry t o c laim unde served c redit b y t he ot her de tectives. In hi s s tudy of C anadian
police, Ericson however also described how this concern over ownership of a case also
occurred amongst general de tectives but t o a far l esser ex tent than e vident w ith
detectives f rom s pecialised squads. One i ncident outlined b y Ericson describes how a
detective be came i nvolved i n t he que stioning o f a nother d etective’s s uspect, an act
considered to be poor form. This ill-feeling in such cases may stem from the measures
of accountability in place, with one detective observed in the study expressing concern
that he ha d not reached the required target b ecause a num ber of c ases ha d be en
allocated to his partner (Ericson, 1993).
This pr oblem w ith c ase ownership w as not a lways e vident. Ericson (1993)
records several situations where other detectives were asked for assistance or willingly
forwarded on cases deemed to relate to other investigations that were underway. Innes
(2003) also describes t he s ocial construction of murder s quads or t ask forces w here a
number of de tectives a nd s upport s taff a re b rought t ogether as one t eam i n or der t o
accomplish an efficient and effective i nvestigation. In s uch a s cenario ow nership of
information or ownership of the case as such, could be considered as collective as there
is a shared investigative responsibility. As this research considers cases that have been
investigated by bot h general de tectives a nd t hose f rom s pecialised uni ts, the i ssue of
ownership will be explored.
- 53-
Case Theories and the ‘Art’ and ‘Craft’ of Policing
In hi s cons ideration of detective p ractice and t he w ay i n w hich de tective s kills ar e
utilised in the investigation of crime, Reppetto (1978) states that there is the perception:
…of the detective as a n a rtist, the individual of brilliant insights, a master of
interrogation a nd ot her s kills, w ho e ngages i n a n i ntuitive e xercise w hich
ultimately leads to the solution of a crime (p. 8).
In their discussion of the ways in which detectives carry out police work, Tong
and Bowling (2006) contend that:
The ‘art’ of detective work concerns intuition, instinctive feelings and hunches
towards problem solving in an investigative capacity (p.324).
This art is gained through experience and cannot be taught or developed by the
police s ervice its elf, allowing de tectives to
practice the c raft of pol icing. The
experience gained allows detectives to read not only criminal behaviour but also that of
other actors involved, such as witnesses (Innes, 2003; Stephen Tong & Ben Bowling,
2006). Those w ho have at tained the abi lity t o practice t he ar t of d etective w ork are
considered to have an elevated cultural s tatus (Stephen T ong & B en B owling, 2006) .
According to Tong and Bowling the recognition of this status and quality of the art is
- 54-
not s ubject t o e xternal scrutiny but r ather i nternalised a nd a cknowledged b y ot her
detectives.
The a rt of de tective w ork i s e vident i n how a n i nvestigation pr ogresses. One
strategy employed in an investigation is the use of a ‘case theory’ which directs the line
of i nquiry du ring an investigation (Dixon, 199 9b). Referred to by Innes (2003) as
‘playing a hunch’, a case theory can be seen as a decision making process formed from
knowledge of a cas e and linked to the pe rceived ability o f a de tective to ‘read’ t he
criminal element and the motivations of suspects.
Although s uch a pr actice m ay be originally i nformed b y traditional s ources of
information s uch a s witness a ccounts, D ixon (1999b) and Innes (2003) both
acknowledge that dogmatic dependence on a case theory can have a negative impact on
an i nvestigation. D ixon states t hat ot her l ines of i nquiry t hat are s upported b y other
evidence m ay be ove rlooked or not i nvestigated f urther. Both a uthors r ecognise t hat
evidence that is inconsistent with the case theory may be minimised or ignored. Innes
(2002) discussed the way in which murder investigations are constructed in the context
of the law, the police service, and the crime under investigation in the United Kingdom.
Innes concedes that the existence of an incorrect case theory and the following of false
leads are an important aspect in the development of major crime investigations such as
murder inve stigations. H owever, a ccording t o Innes, “ such di fficulties t end t o be
‘down-played’ in any police accounts of the investigation” (Innes, 2002, p. 682).
- 55-
The ne gative i mpact of an incorrect cas e t heory i s evi dent i n the A ustralian
context of t he investigation of s erial cr ime, with the cas e of H arry B lackburn. Dixon
identifies a cas e of suspected serial rape in NSW, where an incorrect case theory saw
evidence inconsistent with the theory distorted or suppressed (Dixon, 1999b). This case
involved the investigation of a police officer for two separate series of sexual assaults.
The case theory that the police officer, Harry Blackburn, was responsible for the series
of assaults stemmed from another officer’s belief that Blackburn fitted the description
provided b y s ome o f the vi ctims. As i ndicated by Dixon (1999b), t he R oyal
Commission Inquiry into the case found that evidence was falsified to support the case
theory and t hat e vidence s upporting B lackburn’s i nnocence w as s uppressed b y
investigators (Lee, 1990).
Dixon goes on t o state that the a bility of case theories to lead investigators
astray in cases such as Blackburn’s, are “extremes on a continuum which runs back to
everyday, often reliable hunches felt and assumptions made by officers in the course of
their inve stigations” (Dixon, 1999b, p. 48) . Incorrect c ase t heories can l ead to an
inability to identify those responsible for the crimes committed. In the Blackburn case,
the m easures t aken to ensure t hat t he case t heory w as s upported, i ncluding t he
tampering with evidence, led to the inability of others to use this evidence in any new
criminal inve stigation. T hus, the t wo s eries o f r apes t hat w ere unde r i nvestigation
remain unsolved (Lee, 1990).
- 56-
Innes (2003) acknowledges t hat a l ack of c hecks and
balances i n the
investigative process means that an incorrect case theory or an investigator with “tunnel
vision” i s not r eadily i dentified. D ixon (1999b) identifies s everal reports int o police
investigations which have acknowledged this problem and identified the need to have
greater supervision of criminal investigations and greater scrutiny of the case theories.
In discussing the reasoning behind police decision making and the case t heory
that they employ in the United Kingdom, Keppens and Schafer (2004) state that the use
of case theories is inevitable and the problem lies not with their use of case theories but
with t he w ay i n w hich t hey r estrict t he s cope of t he i nvestigation. T his pr oblem i s
considered to be reinforced by the police culture of police organisations as:
…Work is done properly, and a case solved, if a suspect gets convicted. This
orientation t owards positive r esults f avours a n “ inductive” e thos, where t hose
pieces of evidence that points towards the guilt of the main suspects are seen as
more valuable than those that would “falsify” the leading hypothesis (Keppens
& Schafer, 2004, p. 110).
This i s s upported b y C hatterton (1995) who states t hat de tectives w ould use t he
information that they received to achieve the case outcomes that they considered to be
appropriate. In a serial murder or serial rape investigation, such actions could influence
the use of various techniques and technologies. In relation to the Blackburn serial rape
case, this was detrimental to the achievement of the arrest of the serial offender in this
- 57-
case as no further investigation could be carried out due to the incorrect handling of the
evidence.
Investigating Stereotypes
As previously referred to, the application and use of stereotypes in police work, a form
of dictionary knowledge, can be considered an inherent measure of dealing with police
work. A ccording t o a s tudy b y Sanders a nd Young (2002) conducted in the U nited
Kingdom, police culture contains components which are sexist and racist, which affects
the way in which police view society when coupled with the stereotypes held of people
and groups. T he act of a ttributing a l abel t o a gr oup ba sed on t heir r ace a nd t he
subsequent us e o f t his l abel a s a s tandard i n po lice de cision making i s referred t o as
racial profiling (Engel, Calnon, & Bernard, 2002).
In a discussion of the use of profiling in policing, Cameron (1999) claims that
such pr ofiling i s t he r esult of pol ice e xperience, w here t hey d evelop a ‘ sixth s ense’
about different groups of people, which is thought to have “kept many of them alive”
(p. 4) . In order to “protect s ociety from th e sinister e lements” pol ice ne ed some
recognisable s igns as t o where the c riminal be haviour ma y ma terialise (Cameron,
1999).
People who fall within marginalised groups in s ociety are often categorised as
‘worthless’ or vulnerable (Egger, 1998; Fattah, 1997). This labelling of certain groups
- 58-
as w orthless b y society can al so be i nternalised, as de monstrated by the pol ice’s
attention or la ck of a ttention to the vi ctimisation of t hese groups. A ccording t o Innes
(2003) many of these victims were previously involved in criminality or had lifestyles
considered a s de viant. T his l eads t o c onflict in t he c ultural unde rstandings of t he
victims’ place or worth. As a member of a marginalised group they would ordinarily be
considered w ith di sdain, how ever as a vi ctim they a re g iven greater priority (Innes,
2003).
This pr oblem w as recognised a s e arly as 1978 when a c onference i nto police
practices and civil r ights w as he ld in Washington DC. Jean O’Leary (1978) of t he
National G ay Task F orce d escribes how s erial r apes and as saults on gay men and
lesbians were not i nvestigated or followed up b y pol ice. This was found to be due t o
police di scretionary po wers t hat did not i dentify t he serial at tacks o n lesbians as
warranting an investigation. To add to this, only one of the six rapes and eight assaults
was entered into the police’s central computer: this information, if entered, would have
meant a sudden increase in crime would have been detected. The decisions not to report
correctly were made by the local police officers.
A similar attitude towards homosexuality was historically evident in the NSW
Police Force during t he 1960s as ackno wledged by Finnane (1999, pp.11 -12) quoting
the Commissioner’s comments at the time that offences related to “homosexuality and
other forms of perversion” had the potential to provide a serious threat to the youth in
the community.
- 59-
These s tereotypes i nform the di ctionary know ledge t hat pol ice us e t o decide
how t o respond t o s ituations they encounter and thus how t o ‘do pol ice work’. In t he
investigation of s erial m urder and serial r ape, t hese s tereotypes are reflected in the
police response to the victims of these crimes. As will be examined later in this chapter,
the victimology of serial crimes and the social stereotypes that pertain to some victim
groups can be seen to be internalised in the police cultural knowledge. The outcome of
this us e of know ledge i s cons idered t o impact on the de lay in the ide ntification of
crimes as serial in nature.
A Language of Their Own
From a study into police socialisation practices o f NSW Police, Devery (2003) found
that there were incidents where police used the specialised terminology or language of
operational police. This specialised language can be seen to reflect common stereotypes
through the use of derogatory terms to refer to groups of people such as derelicts and
those w ho r esided i n H ousing C ommission properties, for e xample. This s pecialised
language is a form of dictionary knowledge as previously discussed.
The us e of t his f orm of dictionary knowledge is not r eserved f or of fenders or
undesirable types of victims. Devery (2003) also out lined a n i ncident w here a n ol der
woman who raised concerns about unusual noises in her complex was dismissed as just
another ‘ old l ady’ who ‘heard noi ses’. T he op erational pol ice w ho a ttended t hat c all
- 60-
placated the woman and left without adequately searching the area, later explaining that
it was “not uncommon for ‘old ladies’ to complain about this sort of thing because they
were afraid.” (Devery, 2003, p.120). Shortly after it w as found that her neighbour had
been the victim of a home invasion. This labelling of the reporter as an ‘old lady’ and
the s ubsequent j ustification f or i naction b y pol ice took pl ace in the pr esence of a
Student Police Officer, demonstrating the ability of such stereotypes to be transmitted
through t he s haring of c ultural know ledge. These s tereotypes o f di fferent gr oups ha s
been s hown t o i mpede the i nitiation of i nvestigation i nto pa rticular c rimes (Innes,
2003).
According to Innes (2003) the use of formal and informal language is a means
of dealing with the complex and sometimes ambiguous nature of policing. In relation to
the c rime of mu rder, Innes ide ntifies s even t ypes of m urder a s c onstructed b y t he
operational l anguage of police. These s even types as d escribed by Innes (2003) are:
domestic hom icides 5, a rgument m otivated or c onfrontational hom icides 6, c hild
murders 7, c riminal c ause m urders 8, s exual m urders 9, stranger m urders 10 and serial
murders. These cat egories ar e cl osely aligned w ith classifications d erived from
academic r esearch and are l oosely b ased on the motivational f actors inf luencing the
offending be haviour, the vi ctim-offender r elationship, t he ‘ type’ of vi ctim a nd t he
5
Act stems from an argument between people in a relationship, for example husband and wife
Death was an outcome of an argument between two people, such as young men in public settings using
violence
7
Recognised as being difficult cases emotionally for police
8
Death occurs when either the victim or offender is taking part in criminal activity
9
Homicides considered to be sexually motivated
10
Victim is unknown to attacker. This can often coincide with other categories
6
- 61-
offence i tself. As di scussed b y Innes, t his c lassification f orms a s et of s hared
understandings by police, which is used to inform the use of investigative strategies.
Who Could Be Bothered? Results of Accountability in Practice
In NSW the Luster Inquiry of the early 1980s and the Royal Commission inquiries of
the 1990s identified problems in a number of areas of policing including management,
training a nd, most s ignificantly to police pr actice, corrupt pol icing pr actices (Chan,
2003a). T he r ecognition of c orrupt pol icing practices i n N SW a nd ot her pol ice
organisations l ed t o c hanges i n t he m easures us ed t o s crutinise pol ice pr actice. In
conjunction w ith t his c ame t he i ncreasing ne ed for pe rformance b ased accountability
measures.
According t o C han (2003a), i n or der t o achieve t hese f orms of a ccountability
these measures needed to be internalised in the dictionary and directory knowledge of
police. O ne m ethod of achieving t his w as t hrough a n i ncrease i n t he c ompulsory
completion of forms which detailed police work carried out. This measure of increasing
paperwork t o s upport accountable pr actices c an be considered t o h ave b een c ounter
productive w here t his ne ed f or a ccountability can be s een t o i nfluence t he a ctions of
police.
The c onstraints of pol icing a lso created problems f or the m easures of
accountability in place. As outlined by Ericson (1993) detectives were often confronted
- 62-
with of fences w here t here was i nadequate i nformation or evidence with w hich t o
proceed, however the detectives took the time to contact and interview the victim. This
was referred to as a publ ic relations exercise by the detectives interviewed in Ericson’s
study. The concept of consolatory police action as a ‘public relations exercise’ was not
reflected as such in the paperwork submitted by detectives. Ericson comments that the
paperwork produced by detectives was shaped by the organisational guidelines to make
it appe ar as t hough real i nvestigative work ha d be en c arried out . T he occurrence of
these publ ic r elations e xercises appe ared t o be limited to relatively m inor of fences
however, and not crimes such as murder therefore it is not expected that such practices
are relevant in serial crime investigations.
Although t here a re many f ormal m odes of a ccountability f or police
organisations, the police can also be subject to informal modes of accountability from
external sources. One of the most significant of these sources of informal accountability
as identified by Dixon (1999a) is the media. Ericson (1993) illustrates the influence that
such a m ode of i nformal a ccountability c an ha ve on a m urder i nvestigation, w here
resources are allocated based on the predicted public response to a crime.
Discretionary powers
An i ntegral pa rt of be ing a p olice of ficer is the pr actice of us ing the d iscretionary
powers that are inherent in the job. These discretionary powers relate to the application
- 63-
of the laws and regulations and are often shaped by time restrictions, limitations in the
availability of r esources a nd a n of ficer’s know ledge of s uch l aws a nd r egulations
(Corsianos, 2003) . As i ssues of time a nd resources ar e of conc ern here, pol ice
discretion may be considered as the enacting of recipe knowledge as identified by Chan
(2003a). Police officers have the power to act in a given situation, but also the power to
choose inaction (Ericson, 1993).
As outlined by Corsianos (2003), the ability to use discretionary powers is not
reserved for hi gh ranking of ficers but oc curs at all l evels of the pol ice or ganisation,
from street cop to detective. The accountability of such discretionary decision making
however varies at the different levels in the police organisation. According to Ericson
(1993) the nature of detective work occurring away from the usual supervisory controls
experienced by street cops means that a low-visibility autonomy exists for what Ericson
terms as ‘specialized’ police.
Corsianos (2003) suggests that the use of police discretion can lead to unequal
treatment of pe ople or g roups i n c omparable s ituations. T his s uggests t hat pol ice
dictionary knowledge and subsequently directory knowledge can be used to guide the
exertion of this discretionary power, an idea which is supported by Ericson’s judgment
that di scretion i s a c omponent of t he or ganisation a nd not i ndividualistic (Ericson,
1993). As such, the stereotypes subscribed to by pol ice may also influence the use o f
this power when situations occur as one group of people may be seen as more deserving
of police attention than another.
- 64-
(Over) Accountability
The use of discretionary powers as a means of avoiding the processes of accountability
can also be s een in police cultural practices. T he a voidance of pa perwork i s a n issue
raised by Devery (2003), who cites incidents not being followed through as they were
not deemed ne cessary and i t reduced t he amount of paperwork they had t o do. T hese
incidents oc curred in the pr esence o f t rainees, thus reinforcing and c ontinuing t his
culture.
As outlined in Chan (2003b) the high levels of bureaucratic and accountability
measures were s een to be n egatively r eceived b y police r ecruits. The ne ed to be
accountable w as considered to generate a h eavy w orkload a nd e xtra pr essure on t he
recruits. Similar a ttitudes w ere e xpressed in a n umber of s tudies in cluding, but not
limited to, those b y E ricson (1993) and Innes (2003). The m easures o f accountability
are bl amed by police f or di stracting th em f rom real pol ice w ork (Chan, 2003b) . O ne
detective f rom E ricson’s (1993) study e xpressed t he vi ew t hat t hey w ere no l onger
evaluated ba sed on c ase c losure r ates but on t he a mount of pa perwork t hat w as
submitted.
- 65-
Victims of Violent Serial Crime
The c onsideration of the r ole of the vi ctim in the c riminal jus tice pr ocess ha s
become a c entral f ocus for academic r esearch (Zedner, 2002) . A ccording t o Zedner
(2002) the amount of research into the impact crime has on victims and their associated
needs, and t he wide use of vi ctims s urveys have moved t he t opic of t he ‘victim’ into
both criminological and political arenas, making the victim a key player in the criminal
justice system.
Zedner (2002) claims that although the focus on the victim is a relatively recent
phenomenon, the acknowledgement of the study of victimology can be traced back to
1949 when psychiatrist Frederick Wertham r eferred to such a s tudy as a ‘ science’
(Wertham, 1949 c ited in Zedner, 2002). The term ‘victimology’ has been described as
referring t o “the s tudy o f v ictims” (Turvey, 200 2d, p.137) . In general terms thi s c an
refer to victims of natural disasters o r a ccidents (Turvey, 2002d ) or victims of crime.
There ar e many as pects that a re c onsidered t o inform t he s tudy of vi ctims. These
include the of fence tha t was c ommitted against the vi ctim, the vi ctim’s r esponse, the
characteristics of the victim and why the victim was targeted (McLaughlin & Muncie,
2001; Turvey, 2002d). A randomly chosen victim can tell investigators much about the
type of offender that they are seeking (Turvey, 2002d).
Egger (1998) raises a nother r eason t hat i nvestigators s hould consider t he
victimology of serial crimes. Egger argues that often physical evidence from the crime
- 66-
scene o f an incident s uch as s erial m urder m ay be l acking or non -existent. T hus, the
only information that investigators may have to go upon is that pertaining to the victim.
Egger (1990b) claims that the consideration of victim information is essential in a serial
crime investigation. One of the most common features of victims of serial crime is that
they a re unknow n t o t he s erial of fender (Egger, 1990b) , t hus t his pos es problems f or
investigators a s t here m ay appear t o be no c ommon l ink be tween vi ctims unt il s ome
considerable t ime ha s elapsed. In a n i nvestigation, i nformation a bout t he vi ctim c an
also yield a n i nsight i nto how , w here a nd s ometimes w hy t he of fender has s elected
particular victims. Additionally, police knowledge of some groups of victims can also
pose a p roblem f or t he i nvestigation of s erial c rime a s recognition of the vi ctim a nd
their place in a series may not readily occur.
A Reflection of the Offender
As a bovementioned, t he c onsideration of t he vi ctims of s erial c rime c an be us ed t o
draw i nferences a bout the unknow n of fender (Turvey, 2002d) . It h as a lso be en
suggested that some victims may initiate contact with the offender in what is described
as victim precipitation (Egger, 1990b). For example, when a hitchhiker asks a s tranger
for a lift or the victim a sks someone for directions. Victim precipitation has been the
focus of s tudies i n r elation t o t he vi olent c rimes i ncluding r ape a nd s exual as sault
(Marciniak, 1998; P olk, 1997; T hornton, R obbins, & J ohnson, 1981) . Egger (1990b)
states tha t vi ctim pr ecipitation is c onsidered t o be a contributing factor to many
homicides. However, the e xtent to which this a ct of pr ecipitation could play in serial
- 67-
crimes is unknown. Victims may also be targeted because of what they represent to the
offender (Egger, 1990b). This may be their physical appearance or because they evoke
symbolic s imilarities w ith something or s omeone tha t the s erial of fender c onsiders
significant (Fox, et al., 2005).
Serial m urderers o ften deliberately choose vi ctim-disposal me thods tha t w ill
make discovery of the crime difficult. Serial murderers are likely to use extreme forms
of vi ctim di sposal, s uch as bur ying bodi es i n i solated pl aces w here t heir discovery i s
unlikely (Levin & Fox, 1999) . T his i s un like many ot her c rimes s uch a s s pousal
murder, where in most cases there is no a ttempt to conceal the victim, who is usually
discovered relatively soon after death (Fox & Levin, 1999). The method employed by a
serial of fender t o di spose of t he vi ctim’s bod y c an a lso reveal the or ganisational and
planning methods used by the offender (Fox, et al., 2005). As previously outlined, the
categorising of an offender as organised aids in the development of an offender profile
(Ressler, Burgess, & Douglas, 1988).
Rape Myths
In cases of serial rape the issue of identification of crimes as serial is still difficult even
though it is the victims that report these crimes, enabling the police to gain information
about t he of fences w hen r eported. H owever i t i s s till a cknowledged t hat t he r ate of
reportage i s r elatively low i n c omparison t o ot her of fences (Lievore, 200 2). A lower
rate of reporting can mean that the number of cases investigators are able to link may
- 68-
not represent the total number of incidents; this may also lead to a failure to link related
crimes. One of the greatest difficulties investigators face in relation to the victimology
of serial rape crimes is identifying victims who have not previously contacted police.
An issue tha t ma y im pact on the inve stigation of s erial crimes is the w ay in
which these crimes are defined, specifically in regard to the relationship or lack thereof
between vi ctim a nd of fender. T herefore i f offenders w ho do not c onform t o t hese
definition of serial r ape, it may be deduced that both the offender and the victims are
viewed differently by the legal s ystem. If these offences had escalated to murder then
the offender would have been considered a s erial m urderer and allocated the r equired
resources to investigate these crimes. Therefore it must be asked if the characteristics of
the vi ctim a nd t heir r elationship t o the of fender should de termine i f a s eries of r apes
should be considered as serial.
It ha s be en stated that s erial r apists ar e pr edatory i ndividuals, seeking t o gain
control a nd dom inance over t heir vi ctim (Stevens, 1994 ). T his de scription how ever
could a lso a pply t o of fenders w ho c hoose vi ctims of t heir acquaintance t herefore t he
definitional r equirement t hat no pr ior r elationship s hould e xist be tween vi ctim a nd
offender should not deter police from investigating these crimes as they would strangerserial rape cases. It should also be asked that if a series of rapes occurs and is deemed
not to warrant an investigation as serial in nature due to a relationship between victim
and offender could this be seen as a return to the acceptance of some forms of rape such
as that once held for intra-marital rape.
- 69-
Perceptions of the rape victim’s role in the actual offence have been the subject
of debate. According to Abrams et al. (2003) extant ‘rape myths’ can attribute blame to
the victim. According to Burt (1980) rape m yths are stereotypes and false beliefs that
can be p rejudicial t owards t he c rime, t he vi ctim, a nd t he of fender. T hese m yths are
based on unf ounded a ssumptions a nd c ommon e xamples i nclude ‘ only bad girls get
raped’ and ‘women ask for i t’(Burt, 1980 ). These r ape m yths c an include t he general
belief in Lerner’s renowned (Crome & McCabe, 2001) ‘Just World Hypothesis’ where
bad t hings onl y h appen t o t hose who de serve i t. Lerner (Lerner & M iller, 1978)
examined the attributional process of blaming the victim and called it the ‘Just World
Hypothesis’ where, “individuals have a need to believe that they live in a world where
people generally get w hat t hey de serve and deserve w hat t hey get” (Lerner & Miller,
1978, p.1030). It w as ar gued by Lerner t hat pe ople generate t he be lief t hat a vi ctim’s
failure to take pr ecautions a nd nor mal pr eparations t o a void ne gative circumstances
leads to their outcome; that is, their victimisation.
This ide a tha t the vi ctim ha s s ome c ulpability in their ow n victimisation
however, can also be s een t o relate t o a person’s st atus i n society. Lerner s tates t hat
those who are considered as ‘deviant’ or part of the minority including “the foreigner,
and the mentally ill” (Crome & McCabe, 2001, p . 399) are considered as deserving of
the events from which they become the victim.
- 70-
Similarly, Miller and Schwartz (1995) interviewed prostitutes in a Midwestern
city i n t he U nited S tates a bout t he r ape m yths pr evalent a mong c lients, pol ice a nd
people t hey w ould e ncounter ge nerally. It w as f ound t hat c ommon rape m yths
contributed to the violence against these women. Emerging from this study were four
key m yths t hat w ere found t o be us ed t o s upport t he w ilful i gnorance of vi olence
against prostitutes, while incorporating a fundamental belief that prostitutes are public
property, and as such, open to abuse. The four key myths identified that: prostitutes are
unrapeable; no ha rm i s done t o pr ostitutes w hen a ssaulted; pr ostitutes de serve t o b e
raped; a nd, all pr ostitutes ar e cons idered the s ame (Miller & S chwartz, 1995) . Miller
and S chwartz s tate t hat due t o t heir pos ition i n s ociety w hereby t hey op enly s ell s ex,
prostitutes are confronted by a stronger collection of rape myths, the strength of which
is beyond that experienced by other women.
The r elationship be tween t he r ape vi ctim a nd of fender c an also i nfluence
people’s perception of victim blame. The study by Abrams et al. (2003) found that in
some cases people were more likely to attribute blame to the victim when a relationship
existed between the victim and the offender. Those findings were dependent upon t he
levels of benevolent sexism 11 exhibited by participants. Such findings are supported by
other s tudies s uch a s t hat of H azelwood a nd B urgess (2001) into t he i nvestigation of
rape of fences s uggest t hat pol ice of ficers us ed f actors s uch as t he exi stence of a
relationship be tween t he vi ctim a nd of fender t o de termine t he s trength of t he c ase.
Additionally, if the victim were considered to have been forced into the situation where
11
Benevolent sexism refers to attitudes which perceive women conforming to stereotypical roles in a
positive light (Abrams et. al. (2003).
- 71-
the r ape oc curred t hen t he c ase w as c onsidered to be s tronger b y pol ice t han i f t he
victim had willingly gone with the offender.
In a r eview of t he l iterature addr essing pol ice attitudes t o rape, Page (2007)
suggests that in general, police officers accept rape myths whereby decisions on victim
credibility and the ensuing investigation were based on t he conformity of the victim to
stereotypical r ape behaviour and the assault con form to ‘ideal’ ch aracteristics of rape.
As discussed by Page, police culture can be seen to maintain the “rigid attitudes about
the roles and actions of men and women in society” (Page, 2007, p.23) which reinforces
the continued acceptance of rape myths by individual police officers. Thus, what police
officers consider the ‘ideal’ victim and offence shapes the dictionary knowledge of rape
offences a nd i nforms t heir di rectory know ledge of w hat investigation, if a ny, is
necessary.
There are also myths that specifically focus on the victimisation of those within
the c ontext of s ex r oles a nd hom osexuality. M any of t hese m yths a nd s tereotypes
surround male sexual assault, as outlined by Mc Adam and Fitts (1999) in their research
into the responses to the reporting of male sexual assault. One common myth identified
was t hat m ales cannot b e cons idered as vi ctims of s exual as sault b ecause an y sexual
contact i s a pos itive experience for t hem and t herefore not c onsidered as ‘assault’.
Another m isconception i s t hat hom osexuality i s a f eature of t hese of fences w here t he
offenders a re hom osexual a nd t he vi ctims ‘ become’ hom osexual, a m yth s trongly
refuted by McAdams and Fitts. As argued by Mc Adam and Fitts, such myths pervade
- 72-
both t he g eneral c ommunity a nd t he pr ofessions that deal w ith m ales s exual as sault
victims, such as police.
According to Stewart’s (1999) report into the response of NSW Police to cases
of sexual assault, there was dissonance in the way in which incidents were reported and
subsequently addressed. T his us ually r eflected the t ype a nd s everity o f t he s exual
offence r eported, and the t ime t hat pa ssed be tween the of fence and when it w as
reported to police. Stewart s tates tha t thi s inc luded a te ndency not to take s tatements
from victims; this was i n accordance with police protocols at the time of some of the
offences. Additionally, there was a t endency to refer victims to sexual assault services
only when there was forensic evidence to be collected. There was an apparent failure to
provide referrals for victims of indecent assault or attempted sexual assaults.
The Invisible
An issue acknowledged both in Australia and internationally, is that the death of some
members of t he community can oc cur w ithout cr eating an alarm. Specifically v ery
young children and the elderly are two groups whose deaths can be attributed to natural
causes without the necessary evidence to support such a conclusion (Kraemer, Lord, &
Heilbrun, 2004) . T he de aths of e lderly p eople, pa rticularly t hose kno wn t o ha ve
suffered f rom a l ong-term illness, are less likely to be queried as their d eath is at the
least, not unexpected. This factor is often exploited by the ‘angel of death’ female serial
murderer, who uses this to their advantage (Kelleher & Kelleher, 1998).
- 73-
Similarly, the deaths of young children, when under 18 months of age, may not
be considered as suspicious. This is particularly evident if the actual cause of death is
not determinable, it is often attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This
practice, and the serial murderer’s ability to take advantage of these circumstances, was
recently uncovered in Australia with the conviction of Kathleen Folbigg. Folbigg was
convicted of murdering three of her four children over a period of time. The children’s
deaths were originally attributed to SIDS, until investigators found evidence suggesting
that their deaths were deliberate.
There is currently no national system in place in Australia to track the deaths of
children, particularly w hen the cause of de ath h as be en r uled t o be ‘natural’. Some
Australian states h ave monitoring s ystems in place; the NSW C hild D eath R eview
Team (CDRT) provides a benchmark for other systems. The CDRT was established in
1996 12 to m aintain a r egister of de aths of c hildren unde r t he a ge of 17 years (NSW
Commission for Children and Young People, 2008).
This s ystem how ever, d oes not a ppear t o h ave an y i nvestigative cap ability or
use. As stated in their recent annual report, the CDRT has six specific functions:
•
•
•
12
maintain the Child Death Register,
classify deaths according to specific criteria,
identify patterns and trends emerging from the data,
This was introduced following the Folbigg case.
- 74-
•
•
•
undertake research into prevention and reduction in child deaths,
monitor recommendations proposed, and
identify ar eas w here f urther r esearch is r equired (NSW C hild Death Review
Team, 2007).
In addition, t he r eport s tates t hat t he C DRT m akes r ecommendations t o pr event or
reduce child de aths e merging f rom t hese f unctions, for impl ementation by bot h
government a nd non -government a gencies a nd t he c ommunity i n general. W hilst t he
NSW O mbudsmen r eviews de aths where t he child ha s ha d a c onnection t o t he
Department o f C ommunity S ervices 13, ha d b een i n de tention, or ha d a di sability a nd
had lived in some form of residential accommodation, and have the capacity to review
suspicious de aths. T his however i s s eparate f rom t he C DRT. T here i s no a pparent
mechanism f or t his s ystem t o be acc essible b y NSW P olice or an y ot her A ustralian
police agency.
Similar s ystems a re in place in most A ustralian states, although there is
currently no formal review mechanism in existence in the Australian Capital Territory
(Commissioner for Children Tasmania, 2006; NSW Child Death Review Team, 2007).
These systems have similar functions to the CDRT and are restricted to reviewing the
deaths of the particular s tate’s residents, which m eans that there is a gap in recording
the de aths of children w hose de ath oc curs i n a s tate ot her t han i n w hich t hey r eside.
13
Provides support and services for children and families experiencing a range of difficulties including,
but not limited to, child protection
- 75-
Again, as with the CDRT, there appears to be no i nvestigative mechanism available to
state police agencies.
This lack of available monitoring mechanisms that are accessible to police could
also pr ovide one explanation f or t he l ow incidence o f r ecorded s erial m urder b y
females. Although there a re moni toring s ystems in
place, there is no
national
mechanism to assist in determining previous in cidents in other s tates o r j urisdictions.
This ha s the c apacity to result in many cases g oing undetected o r unsuspected.
Therefore t he actual i ncidence of female s erial m urder may b e m uch hi gher t han
generally be lieved, as m any t arget t he groups de scribed above (Holmes, et al., 1998).
Reduced investigative capabilities d ue to a la ck of a vailability of moni toring s ystems
available to police may be a compounding factor.
Without a Trace- The Missing
An i mportant issue t o be cons idered is tha t, in A ustralia a lone, a pproximately 3 5,000
people a re r eported m issing e ach year (James, A nderson, & P utt, 2008) . James et al .
found t hat a m ajority o f pe ople a re l ocated, w ith 90 percent of missing pe rsons i n
Victoria located within seven days and found to have disappeared of their own accord.
For t he s mall pe rcentage t hat a re not l ocated w ithin t welve m onths of be ing r eported
the pol ice do attempt t o trace t hese pe ople. H owever with pol ice r esources b eing
- 76-
restricted, investigators need to prioritise ea ch case b ased upon t he i nformation t hey
have received and their general knowledge and experience.
Research into the investigation of missing person reports has been limited and
erratic, particularly in Australia. There has been little current research in Australia that
extends beyond the consideration of the incidence of missing person therefore much of
the ava ilable acad emic r esearch is da ted. An early research brief t hat cons idered the
findings of two reports into missing persons, considers the investigative responsibility
as resting generally with local police in most Australian states and territories (Swanton
& W ilson, 1989) . This report also considers th e ide ntification of ‘ at r isk’ mis sing
persons and how this was determined. According to Swanton and Wilson (1989) police
categorise m issing pe rsons, w ith t hose considered m ost a t r isk be ing t hose una ble t o
protect t hemselves. T his i ncludes t he e lderly, young c hildren a nd t hose w ho ha ve a
mental or physical disability. The police response to missing persons is driven by both
formal a nd i nformal r isk c riteria us ed t o a ssess t he a ppropriate r esponse (Swanton &
Wilson, 1989).
This ear ly research into missing p ersons also recognises t hat t here were
assessments made which proved to be inadequate. It was suggested that the only way to
ensure an increase i n e ffective as sessments w ould be t o treat all c ases as ur gent
(Swanton & Wilson, 1989). However Swanton and Wilson contend that such a measure
would result in a waste of resources, considering that the majority of missing persons
are l ocated within days of t heir di sappearances. The ne ed for a na tional r egister of
- 77-
missing persons was recognised as being a possible tool to assist in the investigation of
missing pe rsons acr oss s tates, however t he cos t ef fectiveness of s uch a m easure w as
identified as an issue yet to be resolved (Swanton & Wilson, 1989).
Research following this report was largely absent for nearly a d ecade. A report
by H enderson a nd H enderson (1998) considers t he i mpact of m issing pe rsons on t he
general community in Australia. An issue that was revisited in this report was the need
for a n ational a pproach to t he i nvestigation of missing pe rsons. T he e stablishment of
the N ational M issing P erson U nit ( NMPU) was t outed a s a m eans of c oordinating
national ef forts, while a f ormalised crime l inkage s ystem w as r ecognised as an
investigative t ool t hat can be us ed t o p rovide s hared resources (Henderson &
Henderson, 1998).
The Henderson report also discussed the level of satisfaction of the public with
the pol ice r esponse t o t hose r eporting s omeone missing. A s urvey o f t he f riends and
families of a sample of missing persons was conducted to obtain a representation of the
levels of s atisfaction with both police a gencies a nd other or ganisations tha t a ssist in
locating m issing p ersons (Henderson & H enderson, 1998) . T wo i ssues emerged from
this s tudy: t he t imeliness of pol ice a ction onc e t he r eport ha d be en m ade a nd t he
feedback pr ovided b y police dur ing th e inve stigation. However, there w as little
discussion of t he i nvestigation i tself. M any of the r eports w hich followed t hat of
Henderson and Henderson, were based on the findings of this research and therefore do
- 78-
not c ontribute a nything further t o t he unde rstanding of t he i nvestigation of m issing
persons.
A r ecent r eport int o the inve stigation of mis sing p erson reports b y Victoria
Police f ocused on t he l inkage be tween uni dentified r emains and out standing m issing
person cases (Office o f P olice Integrity, 200 6). T his w as i n r esponse t o t hree
complaints about the failure of Victoria Police to identify a reported missing person as
deceased. Of significant interest is this report’s suggestion that:
the e stablishment of a na tional da tabase w ould be t he be st w ay f orward. A
national da tabase w ould ens ure a ll A ustralian Missing P ersons R eports
(irrespective of w hich state t hey w ere r aised in) co uld be m ore ef ficiently
matched to corresponding unidentified bodies (irrespective of which state they
were found in) (Office of Police Integrity, 2006, p.10).
In this 2006 r eport, there is no m ention of the existence of a national database and its
intended purpose for the monitoring of both long term missing persons and unidentified
remains, a s i dentified b y P utt a nd H iggins (Putt & H iggins, 1997) . W hile t his r eport
indicates t hat a f ormal l inkage s ystem ha s no t b een incorporated as an investigative
tool, it specifies the need for another tool, a forensic odontology database to provide an
accessible c ollection of dental r ecords of m issing p ersons (Office of P olice Integrity,
2006).
- 79-
During t he pa st de cade t here ha s be en limited research into the p olice
investigation of mis sing pe rsons int ernationally, w ith the mos t s ignificant r eport
produced by Geoff Newiss (1999). This study looks at nine police forces in the United
Kingdom and examines the pol icies r elating to missing persons r eports. Few of t hese
reports offered any models that could lead to more effective policy and practice in the
investigation of missing persons.
An issue that may impact on the risk assessment of some individuals is that not
all mis sing pe rsons a re residents of A ustralia. According t o t he Department o f
Immigration and C itizenship (Department o f Immigration a nd C itizenship, 2007) just
below 46 4 00 vi sitors t o A ustralia ove rstayed t heir vi sa as of December 2005. W hile
this equates to less than one percent of all visitors for the given period, it can still be
considered as a significant number of people. This acknowledged level of visitors who
overstay t heir vi sas can be s een t o c ontribute t o the di ctionary knowledge of police.
With large numbers of tourists voluntarily becoming untraceable, it may be considered
that t he r eported pol ice pe rspective that ma ny tourists te nd to e xtend their s tay b y
choice, and as such do not require the allocation of investigative resources. It should be
noted that according to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, police agencies
are not considered r esponsible f or l ocating vi sitors w ho ha ve ove rstayed t heir vi sas
(Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2007).
In addition to immigration factors, a study conducted by Henderson, Henderson
and Kieren (2000) found that less than 1% of people in Australia were still missing 18-
- 80-
24 months after they were initially reported missing to police which equates to two of
505 pe ople. This m eans t hat a pproximately 118 of t he 3 5,000 pe ople t hat go m issing
every year in Australia remain so after 18 months. Thus this could be seen to give rise
to the understandable expectations of police that a majority of missing persons will be
located i n t ime or when t hey s ee fit or are a ble t o not ify f amily and friends of t heir
whereabouts.
The Worthless
A factor that may contribute to the difficulty faced by law enforcement in identifying a
series of r elated m urders how ever, i s t he vi ctim s election m ethods of t he i ndividual
serial killer. Often victims from marginal groups are targeted, such as the homeless or
prostitutes, as they may not be reported missing as readily as other members of society
(Fox, et al., 2005). According to Fattah (1997), some groups of victims are considered
“worthless” w hich he de fines as be ing t hose w ho are m arginalised by s ociety du e t o
their lifestyle choices which do not conform to those of the society in which they live.
Fattah identifies pr ostitutes, the ho meless and hom osexuals, a s j ust some of t he
‘outcasts’ that can b e i ncluded. E gger (1990b, 1998) states th at the se ma rginalised
groups are often at a greater risk of being victimised by serial offenders, because their
lifestyle br ings the m int o contact w ith greater t hreats. This fa ctor w as validated in
2003; G ary Leon R idgway appeared i n a S eattle c ourt a fter pl eading g uilty t o t he
murders of 48 females i n the S eattle area s ince 1982. T he majority of the se vi ctims
were prostitutes. Ridgway (quoted in BBC, 2003) stated that:
- 81-
I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without
being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away and might
never be reported missing. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as
many of them as I wanted to without getting caught.
Not onl y doe s s uch a choice i n vi ctims m ake i t di fficult t o i dentify a cas e of s erial
murder, but the response by the community to such crimes may also be reflected in this.
It ha s b een argued that some as pects of a com munity, particularly t he media, do not
consider the de aths o f pr ostitutes a s w arranting a hi gh l evel of m edia c overage
(Fineman & M cCluskey, 1997) . T his l ack o f media attention received can be s een t o
hamper an investigation, because the public is less aware that such crimes have taken
place.
The la ck of a ttention that the vi ctimisation of prostitutes r eceive f rom s ome
police w as hi ghlighted i n a n A merican s tudy of Miller and
Schwartz (1995).
Interviewing a ci ty vi ce officer as pa rt of t he s tudy i nto rape m yth prevalence am ong
clients of prostitutes, police and other, they were told that:
…it was a common belief among local police that when a prostitute was found
dead: “Who really cares? Who really cares? [You’re dealing with] a girl who’s
zero” (Miller & Schwartz, 1995, p. 14).
It w as con cluded that such beliefs b y t hat p articular pol ice d epartment ha d been
indicative of the a ttribution of e xtreme le vels o f vi ctim bl ame (Miller & S chwartz,
- 82-
1995). The prostitutes interviewed in the study of Miller and Schwartz stated that their
crimes of prostitution were considered to be more serious by the criminal justice system
than t he c rimes of r ape a nd vi olence c ommitted a gainst t hem. A lthough t his s tudy
conducted ov er t en years a go, i t doe s d emonstrate t he a ttitudes e xisting in t he pol ice
department studied. Similar attitudes are evident in a later study conducted in Australia,
suggesting that such police attitudes are not restricted to America alone.
Reflecting on their interactions with prostitutes in Australia, referred to as sex
industry workers in their paper, Bridgett and Robinson (1999) comment that prostitutes
are one group in society that are marginalised and thus vulnerable to acts of abuse and
violence. B ridgett a nd R obinson e xamined a NSW Standing C ommittee of S ocial
Issues report (Legislative Council, 1996) which found that there was an extremely high
incidence of violence among this group, although the reporting of these crimes is low.
It w as a lso f ound t hat those w ho of fend a gainst pr ostitutes f requently ha d a p rior
history of sexual offences and would target prostitutes as they believed that there was a
lesser chance of conviction.
As discussed by Bridgett and Robinson (1999), these vi ctims of sexual assault
often f eel unf airly t reated b y both t he l egal and he alth s ystems. T hose w ho ha ve
reported an assault describe t he di sbelief with w hich their r eport w as r eceived by
police. Bridgett and Robinson also identify that there have been claims where a woman
has reported a sexual assault to police and were told that it was, “part of their job and
consequently w hat they de serve” (Bridgett & R obinson, 1999, p.4) . Victims ar e al so
- 83-
faced w ith inadequate outcomes in the c riminal jus tice s ystem, whereby attitudes
expressed can be seen to reinforce the myths that prostitutes deserve to be victimised or
that it is not as serious.
It i s of ten cont ended by academics i n t he field, and by at l east on e s elfconfessed serial of fender (Anonymous, 1998) , that t he s erial of fender d epersonalises
his victim. However according to Egger (1998), victims of serial crimes such as murder
are often depersonalised by society as well. Particularly when victims are drawn from
the ‘ worthless’ cl asses, many pe ople justify the mur derer’s a ctions b y deeming t hat
victims ‘ had it c oming t o them’ (Lerner & M iller, 1978) . T he vi ctim i s no l onger o f
interest to society but becomes, according to Egger, ‘less-dead’ in that the undesirable
groups have been cleansed from society by the offender. According to Turvey (2002d)
investigators who share this perception of victims may not deem their victimisation as
warranting a thorough investigation.
Chapter Summary
Police c ultural know ledge c an be s een t o i nform pol icing pr actice a nd s hape
decisions m ade i n t he f ield. T his know ledge and t hus i ts r esulting a ctions a re not
uniform a s t here are id entifiable s ubcultures e xistent in policing o rganisations. T he
cultural knowledge and more specifically the dictionary knowledge inherent within the
organisation can l ead t o recognisable outcomes in t he w ay i n which an investigation
may be condu cted.
The pol ice pe rception of t he vi ctims a nd t he kno wledge t hat
- 84-
informs t heir unde rstanding of t he va rious g roups, c an l ead t o t he ov erlooking o f
valuable information by police and the delay in the recognition of these crimes as serial.
As a consequence i nformation from the f irst in cident of w hat b ecomes a s eries o f
related crimes can be lost and impact on the investigation of subsequent crimes.
In Chapter 2 the issues relating specifically to the investigation of serial crimes
will be discussed. There are a range of investigative issues that are of consideration to
this the sis. The a bility of inve stigators to identify c ases of s erial c rime ha s be en
considered as having a direct impact on t he progress of an investigation. Such an issue
may also be compounded by the type of victims in such offences which can hinder the
ability of police to link such crime. The use of technological aids and other techniques
will also be discussed in relation to their role in the investigative process.
- 85-
CHAPTER 2: INVESTIGATING SERIAL CRIME
There ha ve be en r ecent s cientific d evelopments i n pol ice w ork t hat c hallenge t he
traditional approaches to policing (Tong and Bowling, 2006). In their presentation of a
typology of t he l ogic driving t he way which detective work i s done, t hey identify the
profiling of offenders and the use of forensic science and new information technologies
as developments which have an influence on the way that detective work is carried out
(Stephen T ong & B en Bowling, 2006) . T his t hesis c onsiders t he i nfluence of t hese
practices on the inve stigation of vi olent s erial crimes in Australia. The way i n which
investigative t ools a nd t echniques a re ut ilised i n t he i nvestigation of t hese c rimes,
particularly criminal profiling and forensic evidence will be examined.
Additionally, w ith t he i ntroduction of ne w m odels of pol icing c ome
investigative tools to enhance the investigative capabilities. This new model is referred
to as int elligence-led po licing, a nd r efers t o t he us e of i nformation t echnology a nd
scientific methods in the analysis of the crime scene (Tilley, 2003) and in investigative
practice. T he concept o f intelligence-led pol icing and its r elevance to s erial c rime
investigation will a lso be a ddressed in this c hapter. It will be de monstrated that
intelligence-led pol icing pr actices c ontribute t o problems i n t he w ay in which pol ice
culture informs the investigation of serial crime.
As pr eviously s tated, t he prevalence of s erial c rime is di fficult to determine.
This m ay be due t o t he na ture of s erial c rimes, such as s erial m urder, where t he
- 86-
geographic m obility o f t he of fender a nd t he a bsence of a r elationship between the
victims a nd t he of fender, f urther ha mpers t his i dentification pr ocess. Due t o t hese
factors, the a bility of inve stigators to detect the serial nature of t hese murders is
subsequently affected. Serial r ape c ases m ay also be di fficult t o detect as r ape and
sexual assault incidents are generally recognised to be under-reported crimes (Lievore,
2002). Thus investigators may not be aware that related incidents exist. This is further
complicated when related crimes oc cur ac ross di fferent pol ice com mand areas- either
regional or national. One description of a serial murder investigation proffered by Ogan
and Alison describes it as:
…combining a s it d oes the involvement a nd s crutiny of
the pr ess, the
complexity of m ultiple m urders, c ontradictory a nd competing i nformation,
concerns around t he worries of t he local community and t he i nformation
overload involved in the case (Ogan & Alison, 2005, p.24).
This de scription though a ptly relevant to the in vestigation of s erial crimes today , is
describing the W hitechapel or ‘ Jack t he R ipper’ m urders of t he 1880’ s. T his can be
seen t o hi ghlight t hat t he challenges confronting pol ice i n t he i nvestigation of violent
serial crimes remain the same more than a century on.
- 87-
Traditional Investigative Techniques and the Serial Problem
Traditional i nvestigative t echniques, such as the int erviewing of the vi ctim’s
family and friends, often provide little information in serial cases, due to factors such as
the lack of victim-offender relationship and the motivation that drives the offender. In
order to identify a suspect or gain information about a suspect, investigators often use
interviews. T his i nformation i s una vailable w hen i nterviewing f amily a nd f riends of
serial victims. Canter (2003) in a discussion of geographical profiling, comments that
often i n a m urder i nvestigation, the vi ctim is often considered a s t he ‘starting poi nt’.
Questions about the victim’s lifestyle and habits are posed by investigators, looking for
the situation in which the victim may have encountered their killer. Due to the frequent
absence of a victim-offender relationship prior to a serial offence and therefore a lack
of r ecognisable m otive, the us ual s trategies em ployed by i nvestigators seldom
contribute to an investigation (Fox & Levin, 1998).
Investigators often need to rely heavily on information from the public. This is
often a chieved t hrough m edia announcements, requesting information a bout s uch
crimes t o b e r eported t o i nvestigators. Investigators mus t a lso utilise a va riety of
techniques a nd t echnologies i n t heir s earch f or t he s erial of fender, a s s uch e vidence
may b e t he onl y i nformation w hich c an a id a n arrest and c onviction. In m ost m urder
investigations, the investigators can often gain a wealth of information from the crime
scene (Rossmo, 1995). However, in many serial murder cases, there is often no known
crime scene as the victims are found at a different location, referred to as the disposal
- 88-
location. The ‘Truro’ murders, which occurred in South Australia, illustrate this point.
The offenders di sposed of t heir vi ctims’ remains a t va rious l ocations unr elated t o t he
actual crime scene (Hoysted & Kidd, 2002).
Scientific and Technological Advances
A factor considered important in the investigation of serious crimes such as murder is
the col lection of evi dence f rom t he crime s cene (Mouzos & M uller, 2001) . T he
exploratory study of Mouzos and Muller (2001) considered the factors which contribute
to the a bility of inve stigators to solve c riminal c ases, i ncluding t he us e of f orensic
technologies. According to Mouzos and Muller, investigators consider the securing of a
crime s cene o r s cenes as ne cessary t o solve a crime s uch as m urder. T he presence o f
forensic s pecialists at t he cr imes s cene/s w ere also considered as an important f actor
(Mouzos & M uller, 200 1). T his e nsured t hat e vidence w as pr eserved, c ollected a nd
uncontaminated. C onversely, one o f the m ajor i mpediments to a murder investigation
was considered to be the length of time taken for the forensic analysis to be completed
(Mouzos & Muller, 2001).
Improvements i n f orensic t echniques s uch a s DNA a nalysis and f ingerprint
technology have i ncreased the ability o f pol ice i nvestigators t o l ink r elated c ases and
thus identify cases of serial murder (Evans, 1996) or serial rape. Such techniques have
become increasingly important in linking cases using evidence found at crime scenes,
- 89-
and could thus pr ovide a m echanism f or cl assifying r elated cases as s erial m urder or
serial rape.
Fingerprinting i s pe rhaps one of t he ol dest f orensic t echniques used by p olice
investigators a nd h as b een us ed f or ove r one hu ndred years i n A ustralia (New S outh
Wales Police, 2005). There are commonly two forms of prints. The first, patent prints,
are visible to the naked eye such as fingerprints left after contact with ink, blood or oil
(Genge, 2004). The second, latent prints, are the other form of prints and cannot be seen
with the na ked eye, and r equire pow der o r ch emical t reatments t o make the m vi sible
(Genge, 2004). According to Genge (2004) improvements in fingerprint technology has
allowed f or t he de tection of f ingerprints f rom s urfaces w hich w ere pr eviously
considered to be fingerprint ‘black holes’.
The technology of fingerprint identification is still the onl y means of uni quely
identifying an i ndividual (PMSEIC, 2000 ). The N ational Automated F ingerprint
Identification S ystem ( NAFIS) w hich ha s be en i mplemented unde r t he national
CrimTrac or ganisation aims to improve the a bility t o m atch a nd i dentify fi ngerprints.
This system ideally aims at making information available between police organisations,
which increases the effectiveness of fingerprint analysis and pos sibly i dentification in
cases w here a s uspect or vi ctim is f rom a r egion or jur isdiction other t han where t he
crime took place. NAFIS was declared operational in 2001, and allows police to do an
immediate s earch of ex isting r ecords when processing an of fender af ter an arrest
(Mobbs, 2001).
- 90-
In their discussion paper on serial murder in Australia, Pinto and Wilson (1990)
discuss t he us e o f de veloping f orensic t echnologies. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
profiling i s a m ethod t hat a nalyses m aterials s uch a s bl ood, s emen, or other hu man
tissues to identify a suspect biologically once samples are given for comparison. This is
a t echnology t hat i s c onsidered t o h ave i mproved t he i nvestigation i nto s erial c rimes
(Pinto & Wilson, 1990). Traditional DNA testing of humans analyses the nuclei DNA.
However hum ans ha ve a s econd f orm of DNA r eferred t o a s m itochondrial ( MDNA)
which can be t ested when there is insufficient n uclei D NA pr esent (PMSEIC, 2000) .
According t o the P rime M inister’s S cience, Engineering a nd Innovation C ouncil
(PMSEIC), the acquisition of mitochondrial DNA techniques has been considered since
2000 (PMSEIC, 2000 ). However, t he recent t rial of the accused murderer of British
tourist, Peter Falconio, highlighted the absence of such technology: samples were sent
to t he United K ingdom for te sting by t he F orensic S cience S ervice w ho pe rformed a
new D NA an alysis p rocedure (AAP, 2007 ). C onsistent w ith N AFIS, the N ational
Criminal Investigation DNA Database (NCIDD) was operational from 2001 which is a
central d atabase and matching s ervice of DNA p rofiles s ubmitted from a ll A ustralian
police agencies (Mobbs, 2001).
The an alysis o f f ibres is anot her forensic t echnique that has be en gaining
increasing prominence in the criminal justice arena over the past few years. The science
of trace fibre analysis is based upon the assumptions of Locard’s Principle which states
that “every contact leaves a t race” (Erainçlioglu, 2004). In simple terms, every time an
offender comes into contact with the victim or the crime scene, they will leave traces of
- 91-
themselves and take traces from the victim or scene with them. For example brushing
up against the victim will lead to a transfer in fibres between both parties. However as
outlined by Erainçlioglu (2004) although a trace may be pr esent there is no guarantee
that t he t race w ill be de tected. O ne of t he m ost c ommon f orms of t race e vidence i s
fibres (Lane, 2004). Lane (2004) identifies two types of fibres- natural and man-made.
Natural fibres include those of animal, vegetable and mineral origin, while man-made
fibres can be identified as natural polymers, synthetic polymers or inorganic fibres.
There are several different methods that can be employed to analyse fibres. The
most common method is through the use of a comparison microscope. However, due to
the increase in the number of man-made fibres produced and their similarities, further
testing of the se f ibres were of ten r equired. In order t o do t his, doubl e r efraction or
birefringence, infra-red s pectrometry and p yrolysis g as c hromatography can be u sed.
These m ethods ana lyse di fferent ch aracteristics, such as l ight or i nfra-red a bsorption,
and gas components (Lane, 2004).
According to the PMSEIC, “Australia has a high quality capability but limited
capacity i n forensic cr iminalistics. For s ome t race m aterial t here i s a cr itical s hortage
both of c apability and capacity” (PMSEIC, 20 00, p.10) . T hus although t here a re
forensic techniques available to analyse trace fibres, it is uncertain to what extent these
technologies are available or in use in Australia.
- 92-
A t echnique t hat has b een us ed for s ome d ecades i s f orensic odont ology.
Forensic odontology refers to methods of identification, being the matching of teeth to
pre-existing record to identify an individual; and the comparison of teeth to bite marks
that may have been left by an offender (Genge, 2004). The use of forensic odontology
is particularly useful in cases where remains are unidentifiable by other means such as
DNA pr ofiling or vi sual i dentification. H owever one of t he pr oblems w ith f orensic
odontology is that it relies on records of the victims teeth being in existence in order to
gain a comparison (Evans, 1996) . Forensic odo ntology c an a lso be ut ilised t o a id
investigators in identifying pos sible vi ctims pr ior to records b eing available (Evans,
1996). For ex ample, a person has been found but more information is required before
police c an i dentify a po ssible vi ctim, a nd t hen forensic odont ology can pr ovide an
estimate of age.
Another t echnology u sed in the inve stigation of s erious c rimes is ba llistic
technology, which refers to the science of firearms and bullets including the motion in
which t hey t ravel (Evans, 1996) . F rom t he m arkings on f ired bul lets, i t c an be
determined which weapon it was fired from because the barrel of each firearm is unique
(Evans, 1996). This form of identification is used to identify a suspect and also to link
crimes where the same weapon was used to commit various crimes. Although ballistic
technology is well presented in the literature, in Australia few crimes are gun-related. A
recent r eport i dentifying t he us e of w eapons i n hom icides i n A ustralia f ound t hat
firearms were used in relatively few incidents (Mouzos & Houliaras, 2006). Less than
one in ten female victims were killed with a firearm, while 19 percent of males were
- 93-
killed using this same weapon (Mouzos & Houliaras, 2006). The incidence of firearms
to commit s erial c rimes, particularly s erial mur der, is r are. Within the s cope of thi s
current study, there was only one case of serial murder that involved a firearm and the
use of ballistic identification.
The e stablishment of D NA da tabases i n s ome countries s uch as t he U nited
Kingdom and Australia, has allowed for the linkage and prosecution of cases that were
considered t o b e be yond t he i nvestigators’ ability to close. A r ecent example of t he
successful use of this technique is the case of Steve Wright who was prosecuted for the
murders of five women in England in January 2008 (Rayner, 2008). DNA evidence was
presented to link the offender to three of the victims. DNA linkage was also evident in a
series of rapes in the United States. The offender was identified after the federal DNA
database l inked a D NA sample f rom t he of fender w ith evidence obt ained in at l east
nine r ape cas es ac ross d ifferent j urisdictions (Snyder, 2005) . Some o f t hese c ases, as
identified by Snyder (2005) date back to 1974.
Improvements in the use of technologies for the processing of fingerprints, trace
fibres and ballistic evi dence ha ve positively impa cted on the s olvability of c riminal
cases (Evans, 1996; G enge, 2004) . S uch t echnologies may al so enable a r eduction i n
the linkage blindness often experienced in cases of serial murder. The contribution of
such systems to the investigation of serial crimes in Australia has not been addressed by
previous research; the current study aims to ascertain how such techniques are used in
cases of serial crime in Australia.
- 94-
Media as an Investigative Tool
Due t o t heir rare a nd violent na ture, s erial m urder cases command considerable
attention in the media (Fox, Levin and Quinet, 2005). Factors such as the age and sex of
the vi ctims, t he num ber of vi ctims a nd t he a mount of or t ype of vi olence evi dent
increases t he publ ic i nterest i n such cases and t herefore results i n increased m edia
coverage (Canter, 2003). This is supported by Innes (2002) who states that crimes of an
unusual na ture of ten attract i ntense m edia i nterest. These i nclude t hose t hat i nvolve
high levels of violence, child victims or where the crimes are considered to be linked to
other offences, thus identifying the crimes as newsworthy (Greer, 2003; Innes, 2002).
The media however can have various roles extending from their main function of acting
in t he public i nterest; how ever, Innes pr oposes t hat s uch interest pl aces a s ignificant
amount of pr essure on s uch i nvestigations. T his pr essure i n t urn e mphasises t he ne ed
for detectives to achieve a good result (Innes, 2002).
According t o Innes (2002) police i nvestigating these c rimes c an be s een to
collude with the media, encouraging them through the use of what he terms “rituals of
display” (Innes, 2002, p.676). S uch r ituals i nclude p ress a ppeals f rom the vi ctim’s
family, crime r econstructions a nd interviews with the s enior inve stigating of ficer.
These practices were considered by detectives studied by Innes to have two purposes.
The f irst of t hese w as t o manage t he m edia r eportage of the c rime, e nsuring tha t the
coverage di d not damage t he progress o f t he i nvestigation. Detectives considered t hat
the second purpose was to use the media as an investigative resource, whereby contact
- 95-
can be m ade w ith pot ential w itnesses a nd i nformants i n a t imely and cost-efficient
manner (Innes, 2002) . The m edia’s coverage of hi ghly publ icised i nvestigations
impacts upon the amount of information produced from these murder enquiries.
Innes (1999) comments t hat w hen pol ice are c onfronted b y a m urder
investigation that is not progressing towards identification of an offender, they may use
the media through a range of strategies as part of their wider investigative practice. This
use of t he m edia f or t he i nvestigation of s erial cr imes ha s al so been referred t o a s
‘police public relations’ (Chavez & Gibson, 2004; Gibson & Chavez, 2004).
According t o C havez a nd G ibson (2004) an important pa rt of a n investigation
into serial crimes is the management of public relations. They describe public relations
during a s erial c rime inve stigation a s ha ving t hree pur poses w hich are c onsidered t o
have goal-oriented functions. T he first of these is media relations, which refers to the
interactions w ith t he m edia pe rsonnel. T his i ncludes t he r elease o r w ithholding of
information relating to the case at hand to media outlets. This can be driven by the need
to achieve a specific purpose. Chavez and Gibson describe the media relations during
the investigation into the serial murderer known as the Son of Sam in New York City.
In this case the media was manipulated by both the police and government in order to
“facilitate t heir i nvestigation, c ontrol t he f low of ne ws t o t he publ ic, a nd i nfluence
public perceptions of the case” (Chavez & Gibson, 2004, p. 13) . Thus this can be seen
to obtain specific outcomes from the police-media relationship.
- 96-
The s econd f unction of publ ic r elations i s crisis m anagement. C havez a nd
Gibson (2004) explain that this is a response to the public reaction to crimes like serial
murder which gain widespread attention and create concern in the general public. The
third function of public relations identified by Chavez and Gibson is to provide public
information. T his c an be di sseminated i n va rious w ays a nd can t arget s pecific
information at particular audiences.
Public relations exercises can be driven by different motivators. In what may be
seen as positive stereotyping, Ericson (1993) describes the priority designation of some
cases to be investigated based on the judgment that the prioritisation of such cases was
good publ ic r elations. E ricson out lines t wo t ypes of c ases generally d esignated hi gh
priority due to public relations reasoning. The first are cases involving high profile or
special vi ctims where p ressure is applied from the pol ice hi erarchy to prioritise them.
The ot her t ype of cas e i s where t he s uspect is high pr ofile a nd c ould m ake e ffectual
complaints to both the police hierarchy and the public.
Media s trategies of ten used in serial murder i nvestigations, as out lined b y
Gibson a nd C havez (2004), can i nclude ne ws r eleases, t elevision pr ograms, publ ic
meetings, news conferences, radio announcements and media briefings. The use of such
media s trategies can ho wever cr eate pr oblems f or i nvestigators. Chavez a nd G ibson
(2004) highlight the di fficulties inve stigators f ace when ba lancing t he needs of t he
investigation a nd t he interest of t he publ ic. A ccording t o C havez a nd G ibson, pol ice
aim to receive t he maximum a mount of i nformation a bout a s eries o f crimes w hile
- 97-
releasing t o t he publ ic onl y a limited amount of inf ormation from the ir inve stigative
files. At the same time however, they need to ensure that the minimal information that
they do r elease t hrough m edia out lets adequately notifies t he public of the pr oblem
posed by the serial offender without creating public panic.
When divulging to the media information pertinent to the crimes, investigators
often attempt to withhold specific de tails r elating to the c rimes. These unpubl icised
details remain only known to the investigators and the offender and therefore are often
referred to as ‘polygraph ke ys’ by C havez a nd G ibson (2004). S uch pol ygraph k eys
would be us ed b y i nvestigators t o v erify i nformation t hat they m ay receive f rom a
suspect; that is, in a confession.
As outlined in Canter (2003) media coverage of high profile cases can be seen
to place p ressure on
the i nvestigating pol ice t hrough t he m edia’s uninformed
speculations as to motives and possible offender. Canter discusses the murder of a high
profile t elevision pr esenter i n London, w here s uch m edia s peculations w ere
widespread. In this cas e t he m edia w as s een by pol ice t o be s preading s o much
misinformation that they were impacting on the public’s ability to share information of
relevance to the investigation. The detective interviewed stated that he felt the need to
strongly reject such claims publicly in order to ensure that the public did not receive a
distorted view of the ‘facts’.
- 98-
The i mpact of t he m edia need not have a ne gative i mpact on a n i nvestigation.
Turvey (2002b) notes that the dissemination of information through the media can be a
useful tool for gaining information from previously unidentified victims and witnesses.
Without some of the information about the crimes being m ade available to the public
through the press, members of the public who possess valuable information would not
know its value and t herefore w ould not c ontact pol ice (Chavez & G ibson, 2004) .
Although, a s C anter (2003) points out , t his c an a lso l ead t o i nformation ove rload f or
police i nvestigators, where l arge am ounts of i rrelevant i nformation w as supplied b y
members of the public, disguising the ‘crucial’ information from immediate attention.
The media can also be actively used by investigators to ‘communicate’ with the
serial of fender. T urvey (2002b) emphasises t he need f or i nvestigators t o m onitor t he
media coverage t o obs erve i f t he offender’s behaviour reflects any of t he i nformation
presented in the media. Canter sees this as indicating not only whether the offender is
watching t he i nvestigation, but whether h e or she i s learning or r eacting t o
that
information about the investigation disseminated through the media. In addition Fox et
al. (2005) discuss a c ase w here an investigator p ublicly t aunted the s erial o ffender i n
the m edia, pr ovoking a response f rom t he of fender i n t he f orm of f urther of fending
behaviour which led to his arrest.
When media outlets gain access to confidential information that is considered as
key t o i dentifying a n o ffender t his c an s eriously impact f urther i nvestigations. S uch
information used t o s ecure a s coop, can be gained t hrough b ribing p eople i nside t he
- 99-
investigation, such as the police, for information that they can use as an exclusive scoop
(Fox, e t a l., 2005) . The disclosure o f k ey i nformation can l ead t o changes i n the
offender’s be haviour s uch a s r elocating f rom a n a rea he or s he learns i s be ing s taked
out by police (Chavez & Gibson, 2004).
The r easons or j ustifications f or s uch r eporting a re va ried, a lthough i n a ll
examples di scussed the crimes c an be s een as ‘ newsworthy’ as de scribed by Innes
(2002). A s tudy conducted b y C hermak (1998) of c rime s tory s alience found t hat t he
number of victims af fected by a cr ime w as one predictor of t he s alience of a story in
newspapers. This could thus explain why a case of serial murder, which by definition
involves a number of victims, receives such detailed attention in the mass media. In his
analysis o f t he m edia i n t he c ontext of m urder i nvestigations, Innes (2002) considers
that hi gh pr ofile c ases result in media a ttention that s crutinises the r eputation and
competence of t he i nvestigating pol ice or ganisation, be coming a s ignificant s ource of
pressure on the investigation and the judicial process.
- 100-
Resources
Another important aspect of the investigation of serial murder and serial rape is
the w ay i n which resources ar e allocated. A s tudy c onducted b y M ouzos a nd M uller
(2001) on factors related to the solvability of murder investigations in Australia found
that one of the main issues raised by investigators was the lack of resources available.
This i ncluded a l ack of a ppropriately e xperienced i nvestigators, s upport s taff, a nd
analysts. Another i mportant pr oblem, which was i dentified b y M ouzos a nd M uller a s
hampering in vestigations, was t he l ack of t ime de voted t o t he investigative process.
This was due to the practices that an investigator can work on only one murder case at a
time. T his s tudy how ever, di d not f ocus on s erial m urder or s erial c rimes i n g eneral.
Thus the relevance of this study to these crimes although not directly related, may be
inferred and aid in the development of a research strategy.
According to Innes (1999, p.270), “wider moral conceptions of the seriousness
of murder” are responsible for the substantial resources available for the investigation
of such crimes. This however is seen by Innes to be dependent upon the progress of an
investigation a nd t he l evel of publ ic c oncern about the c rimes be ing inve stigated.
According to Innes, when an investigation is not progressing significantly, investigators
are placed under increased pressure to reduce the allocated level of resources available.
One w ay i n w hich t o s ecure a nd s ustain a dequate l evels of r esources t hroughout a n
investigation, i s t o de velop a hi gh m edia pr ofile f or t he case t hus creating a ‘ public
concern’ (Innes, 1999).
- 101-
In his e xamination of th e s olvability of hom icide c ases in the U nited States,
Marché (1994) suggests that the allocation of police resources can be dependent upon
the number of victims and the race of the victims. This is seen as being due to the level
of community interest in the solution of such cases when there are a number of victims.
One e xplanation i n r elation t o r ace s uggests t hat a pr eference t owards w hite vi ctims
may be du e to
economic f actors in
a c ommunity (Marché, 19 94). E ven i n
predominately non -white ar eas, Marché s urmises t hat t he com munity conc ern for
sustaining its white tourist or commuter presence would be reflected in the availability
of pol ice r esources as t here w ould be a greater c hance o f s olving t he case due t o the
community interest (Marché, 1994). Therefore i t w as s uggested that gr eater r esources
may be allocated to the investigation of c rimes a gainst w hite vi ctims due to the hi gh
level of community concern in both white and non-white communities.
The pe rspective on police r esources dur ing a s erial m urder i nvestigation i n
Australia is cons idered b y H agan (1992) when he s tates t hat s uch cr imes r aise
enormous challenges in this regard. Hagan suggests that the forming of a task force is
an effective and efficient appr oach to dealing with the di fficulties tha t s erial c rime
investigations pos e. T his s upport f or f ormation o f t ask f orces ha s be en c ountered b y
Fleming (1994) who cites s everal s erial m urder cas es i n America w here t ask forces
were considered to have performed poorly. F leming i dentifies a r ange of r easons f or
this lack of performance, including the decentralised nature of some of these task forces
and the poor focus demonstrated at an operational level.
- 102-
Intelligence-led Policing in the Context of Serial Investigations
The t raditional vi ew of policing a s a c raft ha s be en e volving w ith t he i ntegration of
increasingly c omplex t echnologies and s cientific m ethods i nto t he i nvestigation of
crime (Stephen Tong & Ben Bowling, 2006). Tong and Bowling (2006) suggest that a
new pol ice pr ofessionalism ha s e merged, c alling f or de tectives t o w ork w ith other
branches in the police organisation. This has led to a more scientific approach to doing
police work that requires detectives to possess specialised knowledge and expertise.
The relatively n ew con cept of i ntelligence-led pol icing offers m ore e ffective
ways of investigating crime. Technologies such as the development of forensic science
techniques i ncluding D NA a nalysis (Crim T rac, 2008a ), and computer a pplications
such as the Crime Linkage Analysis System (Mouzos, 2001), play an increasing role in
the inve stigation of ma ny c rimes. However a greater e mphasis on s uch t echnology
exists when the crime being investigated is serial in nature.
Tilley (2003) comments tha t there i s no p recise philosophy that underpins t he
notion of intelligence-led policing. Tilley states that:
Intelligence-led policing is essentially about doing the practical business of
policing m ore s martly, i ncorporating m odern i nformation t echnology a nd
modern methods (Tilley, 2003, p.321).
- 103-
The introduction of intelligence-led policing is considered to be the response to
calls f or m ore ef fective and
cost-efficient policing pr actices (Ratcliffe, 2003) .
Additionally, e xternal p ressures, such as t he growing d emands o f globalisation a nd
technological enhancements and the inability of traditional reactive models of policing
to respond adequately to these pressures, furthered this drive towards a smarter way of
policing (Ratcliffe, 2003). Within the domain of policing, Ratcliffe (2003, p.2) asserts
that in the early 1990’s in the UK, there was a recognition of reduced public confidence
in police who were seen to be “losing the battle on the streets” coupled with an increase
in the reliance on the private security industry.
As out lined by T illey (2003), intelligence-led p olicing c an be s een i n some
respects a s a r eturn t o t raditional pol icing, w here t he de tection a nd a pprehension of
offenders is a priority within a policing framework which considers law enforcement as
the key function of police organisations. The focus of this model is to identify offenders
and either i ncapacitates t hem or ef fect changes that reduce the ir ability to commit
crime. T his c an be a chieved t hrough t he us e of c omputer te chnologies, w hich Tilley
states has enhanced capabilities to manage information concerning criminals and their
milieu. This e nables pol ice to enact a s marter r esponse to criminal of fending (Tilley,
2003).
This s ame t rend ha s be en reflected on an i nternational s cale. Intelligence-led
policing is s aid t o ha ve or iginated i n t he United K ingdom and was introduced i n
Australia in the late 1990s (Ratcliffe, 2003). It has been well established internationally
- 104-
since the year 2000 (Sheptycki, 2004). In his discussion of this model, Ratcliffe (2003)
states tha t int elligence-led pol icing, a s pr ovided b y t he U K N ational Intelligence
Model, f ocuses on f our m ain e lements: the ta rgeting of a ctive o ffenders; the
management of crime and disorder hotspots; the application of preventative measures;
and finally, the investigation of linked series of crimes.
Tilley (2003) expands on t his, stating t hat i n or der t o achieve t hese f our
elements of focus, intelligence-led policing is informed by intelligence products. Four
types of i ntelligence p roducts are out lined b y Tilley: s trategic assessments; tactical
assessments; target pr ofiles; and pr oblem pr ofiles. S trategic a ssessments i nform t he
allocation of pol icing resources by pr edicting long t erm t rends that are considered t o
have some predictive function, whereas tactical assessments are considered to be short
term. The offender descriptions or target profiles are used to inform the police actions
aimed at these offenders. Finally, Tilley identifies problem profiles as a measure for the
identification of a series of offences or crime hotspots. These intelligence products can
be i nformed b y a r ange of s ources w hereby i nformation i s not onl y t raditionally
received but actively sought, and thus may not be in the public domain. According to
Tilley, this c overt ga thering of int elligence inf ormation has be en formalised by the
intelligence-led policing paradigm.
As de scribed b y S heptycki (2004) police ha ve al ways u sed some form of
intelligence t hrough t he gathering of i nformation or know ledge a nd t he t ranslation of
such knowledge into action. This is consistent with beat police gathering knowledge at
- 105-
a local level although this has become increasingly difficult with urbanisation and the
greater geographic r esponsibility of pol ice: thus ‘ local’ pol icing can be considered a
misnomer. S heptycki not es t hat over t he pa st f ew de cades a r ange of a nalytical and
investigative t echniques ha ve be en used more f requently. T hese i nclude surveillance
devices a nd computer facilities thus le ading to this r eliance on
intelligence-led
information ga thering processes. T he m ove t owards a m ore s ystematic f orm o f
intelligence gathering has been demanded by the increased sophistication and increased
mobility of offenders (Tilley, 2003).
According to Ratcliffe (2003) intelligence-led policing aims at attaining greater
efficiency i n pol icing. H owever, w ith i ts i ntroduction, i t ha s be en c oupled w ith ot her
efficiency m easures w ithin a policing organisation which can be s een t o conflict with
intelligence-led pol icing. T hese m easures of accountability, as pr eviously m entioned,
attempt to quantify many aspects of policing such as police response times with the aim
of achi eving m easurable i mprovements (Ratcliffe, 2003) . T hese d emands f or
accountability could, according to Ratcliffe, lead to a reduction in the effectiveness of
intelligence-led pol icing a s i t gets l ost i n the pr ocesses of a ccountability a s
responsibility f or va rious f unctions get s hifted between t hose i n t he o rganisational
structure.
Using Intelligence-led Policing in the Investigation of Serial Offences
- 106-
One aspect of intelligence-led policing is of most interest to this research. That is, the
identification and investigation of a s eries of crimes linked to the one offender, a key
focus identified by Ratcliffe (2003). This emphasis on t he targeting of serial offenders
has been demanded by the growing recognition of such offenders. As demonstrated in
the ea rlier di scussion of t he i ncidence of s erial murder and serial r ape i n Australia,
serial offenders pose a number of issues for investigators which are often exacerbated
by factors such as offender mobility and the victimology of such offences. In order to
meet t hese de mands pl aced on i nvestigators, t he de tection of s erial c rimes led to the
increased use of intelligence-led policing measures.
As previously examined, Australian police organisations can be seen to utilise a
number of w hat can be considered as ‘ intelligence-led’ a pproaches. T his i ncludes t he
national fingerprint identification system, (NAFIS). This new system was introduced in
2000 f ollowing t he r ecognition t hat t he pr evious na tional f ingerprint s ystem ha d
reached its capacity (Crim Trac, 2008b). The initial system which was designed in 1986
however, w as s uperseded b y those ut ilised i n Europe, t he U nited S tates and New
Zealand. NAFIS has since b een heralded as incorporating the latest technology (Crim
Trac, 2008b) . The f ormat of t his s ystem a llows f or t he e xchange of i ntelligence bot h
nationally and internationally (Mobbs, 2001). Another similar national comparison and
matching system is the National Criminal Investigation DNA Database (NCIDD) which
is a warehouse of DNA profiles (Crim Trac, 2008a).
As t he c ases o f s erial m urder and serial r ape considered by t his research ha ve
been investigated over a relatively long period, being up t o fifteen years, it is expected
- 107-
that the pr ogressive impl ementation of int elligence-led policing w ill be vi sible in the
investigative practices employed. Particular attention will be given to the incorporation
of ViCLAS into police practice, a system purported to reduce the problems associated
with investigating serial crimes, as will be examined below.
Police Subcultures and Intelligence Gathering
The integration of intelligence-led policing initiatives into police practice is not without
problems. S tudies have f ound t hat s ome of t he di fficulties i n i ncorporating t he us e of
technologies i nto pol icing pr actice can
be ex plained within the context of the
occupational culture. One study considered the i ntegration of intelligence-led policing
systems i n pol ice or ganisations i n s everal c ountries, i ncluding t he U nited K ingdom,
Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands (Sheptycki, 2004).
Sheptycki (2004, p.32 2) comments tha t “ the int roduction of c riminal
intelligence a nalysis int o the pol ice s ector casts ne w li ght on
the occupational
subcultures t hat c omprise i t”. S uch oc cupational s ubcultures c an b e w ithin a n a gency
but s ubcultures c an a lso e xist be tween a gencies. W hilst S heptycki r ecognises t he
detective and street cop s ubcultures, he al so discusses t he i ntelligence analyst. T he
position of crime analyst is considered a ‘new profession’ which has been instituted in
an e stablished or ganisation a nd t hus t his ne w r ole n eeds t o be a ccommodated.
Sheptycki d escribes one analyst as b eing t reated inappropriately, assigned t o do tasks
unrelated to the analysis of intelligence. This was considered as due to the entrenched
- 108-
attitudes and behaviours within the detective and street cop culture, which were unable
to adapt to the needs of an intelligence-led approach.
These findings by Sheptycki were supported by the Chan, Brereton, Legosz and
Doran report i nto t he i mpact of i nformation t echnology on pol ice pr actices i n
Queensland (2001). T hey found t hat t here were di stinct c onflicts be tween t he
operational culture and the new information technology culture. One of the key issues
in relation to this conflict that emerged was the perceived lack of understanding of the
needs of operational police.
Chan et al. (2001) also found that there was a shift in perceived status of the role
of ope rational pol ice. One r espondent i n t heir r esearch e xpressed t he vi ew t hat
operational pol ice w ere now s upporting i nformation t echnology a nalysts when “ they
should r eally be s upporting us ” (Chan, e t a l., 2001, p.99) . T hese i ssues of c ultural
conflict ar e f urther ex acerbated by i ntra-cultural r elations be tween pol ice a nd c ivilian
information technology workers.
Chan et al . (2001) revealed that pr oblems as sociated with data ent ry and
communications tha t e merged during th e s tudy w ere a ttributed to the c ivilian
information t echnology analyst’s l ack of knowledge about pol ice work. The i nclusion
of c ivilians in this r ole also raised issues o f a vailability of te chnological s upport a s
civilians w ere not available out side nor mal w orking hou rs unl ike ope rational pol ice
working shifts. Chan et al. (2001) also found that whilst civilians could be considered
- 109-
useful f or f reeing up po lice t o c onduct ope rational dut ies, t he t rend t owards ut ilising
civilians was devaluing the role of police.
Further conflicts have been found to exist between the detective subculture and
that of the inf ormation te chnology or int elligence an alyst. A s out lined b y Sheptycki
(2004) there is a l evel of personal prestige that comes with a detective making a ‘ good
pinch’ and as s uch can l ead t o advancements i n their careers. In contrast, analysts do
not r eceive ade quate ac knowledgment of t heir r ole. A s s tated b y S heptycki hi gher
status i s g iven t o c rimes t hat ha ve be en de tected r ather t han t hose t hat ha ve be en
prevented, thus acknowledgment of the analysts’ contribution to crime prevention can
be m inimised. A dditionally, t he oppor tunity f or car eer adv ancement ava ilable t o
detectives who have received acknowledgment for a cas e is not similarly available for
the analyst which can lead to the creation of friction within the organisation (Sheptycki,
2004).
A r esult of s uch conflict be tween pol ice s ubcultures i s i nformation or
intelligence hoarding (Sheptycki, 2004). According to Sheptycki information hoarding
is a symptomatic of the culture which allocates prestige and status to those who make a
good pinch. Therefore there is a motivation to hoard intelligence as it is considered as a
valuable com modity t hat can be pr esented when “it can realize i ts be st r eturn”
(Sheptycki, 2004, p.321) for t he hol der. T he ho arding o f i nformation m ay not b e a
deliberate a ction but m ay r esult f rom a di slike f or t he pa perwork i nvolved i n
intelligence-led a pproaches (Sheptycki, 2004) . This w ould be c onsistent w ith C han’s
- 110-
recipe knowledge which can be seen to inform police actions as a means of coping with
the demands of police work (Chan, 2003a).
This hoarding of information is contrary to the demands of the intelligence-led
policing m odel w hich relies on t he s haring o f i nformation b etween officers a nd
organisations t o pr ovide a n accurate r epresentation of t he l aw and or der pr oblem
(Sheptycki, 2004) . T hus S heptycki s tates t hat t his l ack of i nformation e xchange
hampers the a bility o f int elligence-led policing systems t o make an accurate and
efficient analysis of the intelligence it holds.
Whilst S heptycki’s r esearch w as in
organisations, t he p rocess of
the c ontext of int ernational p olice
change i s s omething experienced b y a ll pol icing
organisations tha t a re i ncreasingly reliant on int elligence-led approaches. S heptycki
describes the integration of various intelligence-led approaches into police practice and
the r esponse a pparent i n t he pol ice c ultural a ttitudes t o t hese ne w s ystems. It i s
expected that s imilar r esponses ma y be e vident in this r esearch of serial cr ime
investigations.
- 111-
Joining the Dots: Crime Linkage
A c ommon problem for inve stigators is be ing able to identify s imilarities be tween
related cases. The ina bility to discover s uch similarities is r eferred t o a s l inkage
blindness as defined by Egger (1990a, pp.164-165):
...the ne ar total lack of sharing and coordinating investigative information and
the lack of a dequate networking by l aw enfor cement ag encies. This lack o f
sharing or ne tworking i s a pr evalent c ondition o f today’s law e nforcement
officers and their ag encies. Thus, linkages ar e rarely established among
geographic ar eas o f t he c ountry be tween similar c rime pa tterns o r m odus
operandi.
A factor which has been considered as paramount in the successful investigation
of s erial cr imes is the a bility of inve stigators to link these cr imes at an early s tage
(Egger, 1998) . There are s everal w ays i n which this can be achi eved. However t he
efficacy of t hese m ethods r elies on a num ber of de pendent i ssues. T raditionally, a
method of de termining i f s everal c rimes a re related i nvolves c omparing any evident
modus operandi a nd/or s ignature (Keppel & B irnes, 2003; K illmier, 199 7). H owever
this can raise difficulties when there is not the means to compare such information.
Another f actor w hich affects a n i nvestigation i s t he l ack of i nformation
exchange be tween the v arious pol ice areas. This means that some serial crimes could
- 112-
go undetected. In order to counteract the problem of linkage blindness that is associated
with s erial c rimes, i ncluding how t o i dentify possible vi ctims, t here has be en a
movement b y A ustralian police tow ards int elligence-led pol icing. A ustralian pol ice
organisations introduced the ViCLAS system in various states, to address the problems
that arise when cases occur across jurisdictional boundaries. This introduction occurred
in the mid-1990’s following the highly publicised cases of Ivan Milat and John Glover
in NSW and Paul C harles D enyer i n Victoria (Killmier, 1997; M ouzos, 2001) . This
intelligence-led a pproach a ims a t targeting s erial of fenders a nd c losing t he gap i n t he
shared knowledge amongst police organisations nationally.
The Violent Crime Linkage Analysis S ystem (ViCLAS) was developed by the
Royal C anadian M ounted P olice, a nd r ecords a r ange of i nformation o n a r ange o f
offences i ncluding: all s olved a nd uns olved hom icides, pr edatory s exual as saults,
unidentified remains, outstanding missing persons and non parental abductions (Putt &
Higgins, 1997) . T he term “ outstanding mis sing pe rsons” r efers to those s till mis sing
after 60 da ys or t hose t hat ha ve di sappeared u nder c ircumstances c onsidered t o be
suspicious (NMPU, 200 5). The i nformation c omes f rom an “ analysis of victimology,
suspect i nformation, m odus ope randi, f orensic and be havioural da ta” (Mouzos, 2001,
p.6). The data recorded can then be com pared to determine if any c ases share s everal
common factors, according to a range of criteria set b y the analyst. According to Putt
and H iggins (1997) the Vi CLAS includes data r elating to hom icides and pr edatory
sexual a ssaults f rom 1975 i n a n a ttempt t o a id i nvestigators i n c learing up t hese
offences and to identify possible cases of serial crime.
- 113-
According t o M ouzos (2001), the A ustralian ViCLAS int elligence a nalysts
provide assistance to detectives with the collection and analysis of information during
an investigation. ViCLAS analysts are also able to liaise with other police organisations
and other a gencies i n a timely and effective m anner. This ef ficient ac cess t o relevant
information is considered important to the outcome of an investigation (Mouzos, 2001).
Although t here i s a n i ncreasing r ecognition of f emale s erial m urderers as
acknowledged by Hickey (1997), little has been done to target this problem. As will be
discussed, female s erial m urderers us ually t arget vi ctims w ho a re know n to them in
some cap acity. T his pl aces l aw e nforcement at a pos sible advantage, a s t hey m ay be
able to identify r elated crimes e arlier. In Australia, the Vi CLAS was impl emented in
order to increase the ability of investigators to link similar crimes believed to be part of
a s eries of of fences b y t he one of fender. However, the t ypes of of fences t hat ar e
recorded by V iCLAS ar e r elatively un related to the t ypes of of fences t hat f emales, in
particular f emale serial m urderers, w ould be l ikely t o commit. T here i s c urrently no
national registry tracking the questionable deaths of children and elderly people. These
two demographics are perhaps t he m ost vul nerable t o female s erial murderers; t he
deaths of some groups of vulnerable victims are not easily monitored or tracked as they
are the responsibility of different agencies.
Although ViCLAS wa s originally ope rational i n N SW, c ooperation between
this program and NSW Police has since been limited. NSW Police and Victorian Police
withdrew their pa rticipation s ome t ime a go and t hus were no l onger s ubmitting cases
- 114-
for entry in the system. According to at least one source, ViCLAS was being actively
used by Queensland police in 2007 dur ing a sexual assault investigation (Lion, 2007).
However, at the time of w riting it a ppears tha t thi s s ystem h as now be en
decommissioned na tionally although t here ha s b een no public r ecognition that thi s is
the situation. To date this system has not been formally replaced with another s ystem
and a s s uch t he onl y m eans a vailable t o l ink r elated c rimes a re t hrough the s tandard
police r ecording s ystem ( such as C OPS i n N SW) and through t he us e of f orensic
techniques s uch a s DNA a nd f ingerprints. A s t he V iCLAS s ystem w as ope rational
during t he t imeframe c overed b y t his r esearch, t he c ontribution of t his s ystem t o t he
investigation of violent serial crimes remained a consideration.
While many s upport t he us e of a f ormalised l inkage a nalysis s ystems (Egger,
1990a; K illmier, 1997) Canter, M issen a nd H odge (1996) are of the opi nion that
systems such as ViCLAS are too expensive. They argue that the resources allocated to
such systems would be better invested in traditional investigative practices. Canter et al.
state that in countries where police jurisdictions are geographically large, serial crimes
will usually occur within that jurisdiction thus rendering a linkage system unnecessary.
However C anter et al. focus upon t he a bility of t hese l inkage analysis s ystems t o
identify an offender, offering an example of a case where the offender was not recorded
in the linkag e s ystem u sed in that p articular ju risdiction. They f ail t o acknowledge,
however, that linkage analysis s ystems are designed to identify other crimes or events
that exhibit similar characteristics and thus may be investigated as serial.
- 115-
The Picture of Evil - Serial Offender Typologies and Criminal
Profiling
Is There a Typical Serial Offender?
There are several typologies for categorising serial murderers, but only a few typologies
for serial rapists, one of which has recently been amended to apply to serial murderers
as w ell, a lthough there a re specific t ypologies derived for t hese o ffenders. S ome o f
these typologies will be discussed along with the issues that the uses of such typologies
raises. It m ust be not ed that a lthough t hese t ypologies appear t o di fferentiate c learly
between t he di fferent types of s erial of fenders, no of fender c an be f itted e xclusively
into one c ategory (Hazelwood & Burgess, 2001 ). Such t ypologies are o ften used by
investigators and c riminal pr ofilers t o pr ovide a f ramework w ithin w hich t hey c an
operate to identify a possible suspect.
Such typologies, such as the serial rape typologies proposed by Groth, Burgess
and Holstrom (1977) and the Massachusetts Treatment Centre Rapist Typology Version
3 (MTC:R3) (Knight, 1999; Knight, Warren and Reboussin, 1998) are derived from the
motivations of t he of fender. T he t ypologies developed f or s erial m urderers a re
primarily organised according to the offender’s motivational factors, and generally refer
to male s erial m urderers. According to Hickey (1997), this i s t o enable a greater
understanding of why serial m urderers commit t hese a cts. T he m ost c ommonly
- 116-
referenced typology s pecifically for m ale of fenders w as de veloped by H olmes and
DeBurger (1998). However, a t ypology that has also been recognised in the academic
literature i s t hat of K elleher and Kelleher ( 1998) w hich is t argeted at f emale s erial
murderers and derived from a study of 100 offenders.
Organised versus Disorganised
The U S F ederal B ureau of Investigation (FBI) h as f ormulated a cl assification system
for s erial of fenders t hat c ategorises of fenders based on t heir a ctions and a pparent
motivations. This c lassification system identifies of fenders a s e ither or ganised or
disorganised and is a pplicable t o a s ubgroup o f serial m urderers. For t his s ubgroup,
crimes a re cons idered as m otiveless and ar e i dentified as s ex-related cr ime (Godwin,
2000). T hese ca tegories ar e us ed to aid the c riminal pr ofiling pr ocess, a s the y a re
derived f rom s uch pr actices. T he t erms ‘organised’ and ‘disorganised’ a s out lined b y
Ressler et al (1988), refer to both the characteristics and personality of the offender and
the characteristics of the crime scene.
Ressler et al. (1988) state that t he or ganised m urderer i s us ually i ntelligent,
skilfully e mployed and able t o interact s ocially, of ten as a popular m ember of t heir
community. They can usually sustain sexual relationships and are sexually competent.
Although a s a child t hey m ay h ave h ad a r elatively s table c hildhood w ith steady
financial r esources, di scipline w ould ha ve be en i nconsistent or a bsent. D uring t he
commission of t he crimes whose t rigger m ay b e stress, this offender m ay ha ve be en
- 117-
under the influence of alcohol yet been able to control his mood. After the crime he will
follow the news to determine his situation and may change jobs or move if he believes
he is in danger of detection or to avoid detection. The organised murderer usually plans
his c rime. H e ga ins c ontrol ove r t he vi ctim t hrough t he us e of r estraints a nd
conversation. The body of the victim is usually hidden in a location separate from the
murder scene and little evidence and no weapon are left nearby.
In c ontrast, t he di sorganised m urderer a ccording t o R essler e t a l. (1988), i s of
low int elligence, and may be e mployed in an unskilled area if e mployed a t a ll. He is
unable to interact socially, cannot maintain sexual or social relationships and is usually
sexually incompetent. He has had an unstable childhood, where discipline would have
been harsh. At the time of the crimes he would be anxious but not under the influence
of dr ugs or a lcohol. H owever, after t he c rime his i ntake of dr ugs and a lcohol m ay
increase. T he c rimes are us ually unpl anned a nd s pontaneous. V iolence i s us ed t o
subdue the victim. After death, the victim is usually left where he or she died without
any attempt to conceal the body. The weapon is usually left with the body with a large
amount of evidence.
Criminal Profiling
Once a case of serial crime has been identified, there is often a large number of suspects
because of
the e xtent of oppor tunities to of fend (Turvey, 2002a ). Therefore
investigators need to utilise investigative techniques which may help reduce the range
- 118-
of suspects. Often, the traditional method of deduction is the most useful tool in which
suspects can be eliminated due to lack of opportunity. However, in some serial crime
investigations, suspects are few, although there is an enormous number of people who
were capable of committing such an offence.
The or igins of c riminal pr ofiling are di fficult to identify. The f irst p erson
considered t o pr offer a criminal pr ofile i s fictional c haracter, S herlock Holmes, t he
creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Petherick, 2005). As a tool used by detectives in
the investigation of crimes, one of the first attempts to develop a profile of the offender
was with the kidnapper of Charles Lindburg Jr. in 1932. This attempt was deemed to be
rudimentary a nd not ve ry successful (Evans, 19 96). T he f irst s uccessful us e of t his
technique came from an attempt to identify an offender following a series of bombings
in N ew Y ork C ity w hich s tarted dur ing 1940 a nd c ontinued ove r a pe riod of s ixteen
years (Evans, 1996; Petherick, 2005). A profile was developed by Dr James Brussel, a
psychiatrist, who predicted many things about the offender, including that he would be
wearing a doubl e-breasted s uit w hen a rrested. T he pr ofile pr ovided b y Brussel l ed t o
the i dentification and arrest of G eorge M etesky, r eferred to as t he ‘Mad B omber o f
New Yor k’ (Petherick, 2005) . T his l ed t o t he i ncreased us e of t his t ool i n t he
investigation of serious crimes.
The t echnique of criminal pr ofiling c an he lp reduce t he num ber of p ossible
suspects or help identify a possible suspect. Criminal profiling has been defined as the
technique of interpreting behavioural patterns from a crime so as to construct a list of
- 119-
‘characteristics’ or a ‘profile’ of t he pr obable of fender (Kocsis, 1999) . According t o
Wilson (foreword, Kidd, 2000, xi):
criminal pr ofiling i s increasingly be coming a major source of attention in the
popular m edia. T his i s i mportant, a s pr ofiling i s one of t he t ools t hat o ffers
great promise to the investigation of not only murder, but all forms of violent
and serial crime.
Keppel and Walter (1999) state tha t a c riminal profile c an aid investigators to
identify: the s ignature o f the offender t o enhance cr ime l inkage; w hat characteristicsphysical, be havioural or de mographical- that m ay be pos sessed b y an uni dentified
offender; and ways in which the offender may be apprehended. Once an offender has
been apprehended Keppel and Walter posit that t he c riminal pr ofile can be u sed b y
investigators to develop useful interview techniques and identify areas where evidence
may be found.
There are s everal di fferent m ethods us ed to form a cr iminal pr ofile. These
methods i nvolve sourcing different i nformation a nd a nalysing t his i nformation
according to different frameworks. The difference in methods results in the production
of c riminal pr ofiles w hich, i n s ome c ases, m ay differ t o pr ofiles f ormed us ing ot her
methods. T hese v arying forms of of fender pr ofiling are of ten referred to as ‘of fender
profiling’, ‘psychological profiling’ and ‘criminal investigative analysis’ (see Petherick,
2005 for discussion). There are two main ways in which a criminal profile is derived.
These t echniques a re di stinct f rom t he f rameworks of i nformation us ed to pr ovide a
- 120-
profile. T he t wo m ethods us ed t o f orm a pr ofile a re r eferred t o as t he i nductive a nd
deductive methods (Turvey, 1998).
According t o T urvey (1998) inductive m ethods i nvolve t he pr ofiling of
behaviour, crime scenes and victims from known behaviours, that is, derived from other
similar inc idents. This method of pr ofiling is often based on statistical inf ormation
derived from previous cases of a similar nature. The resulting profile is therefore based
on generalised information, not all of which is specific to an individual case, which can
lead to inaccuracies and may implicate innocent people more frequently. However, due
to its more user-friendly nature, inductive profiling methods are the most common form
of profiling.
The de ductive m ethod of pr ofiling r equires t he a nalysis of s pecific c rimes,
crime s cenes and victims, exclusively based on evidence obt ained -forensic and
otherwise (Turvey, 199 8). This m ethod can more accu rately i dentify the s erial
murderers MO and signature, enabling the linkage of other related cases. The signature
must be i dentified and established i n order t o i dentity t he offender, us ing this profile.
As it is based on information specific to the offences investigated, the deductive profile
avoids generalisations, l eading t o greater a ccuracy of t he profile. The pr ofile can also
be modified and r edeveloped as t he of fender’s b ehaviour changes and d evelops ove r
time. The f ormation of s uch a pr ofile r equires t rained s pecialists who ha ve t he
specialised knowledge a nd s kills t o interpret i nformation f rom t he cr ime s cene. The
- 121-
expertise required and the fact that it is case specific means that it is often considered as
the most accurate method of profiling (Turvey, 1998).
The pr ocess of of fender pr ofiling is ba sed upon t he a bility t o c lassify these
offenders into understandable concepts. These categories can be as simple as sex, race
or occupation, and be as complex as the methods of serial murderer and the organised
or di sorganised be haviour pa tterns of t he s erial murderer o r ra pist. Criminal profiling
has be come popul arised be cause i t a ppears t o pr ovide a s imple m ethod f or l aw
enforcement personnel to track down serial offenders who terrorise the community.
These f orms o f c riminal pr ofiling bot h rely on pr evious e xperience- that is
previous acts of serial crime in the form of typologies. Once an incident of serial crime
has be en r ecognised, t he t argeting o f pos sible s uspects be comes di fficult due t o t he
large number of offending opportunities in the general population, thus profiling is used
to r educe t he s cope of the i nvestigation. The pe rceived usefulness of t he cr iminal
profiling process and outcomes, by police investigators of serial murder and serial rape
in Australia will be considered at a later stage in this thesis.
Geographic Profiling
Another f orm of pr ofiling u sed i n t he i nvestigation of s erious c rimes i s g eographic
profiling, also referred t o as ‘spatial m apping’ (Hickey, 2002). Thi s form of profiling
- 122-
seeks t o identify geographic s imilarities be tween related crimes. As pr eviously
discussed, the distance serial offenders travel to commit their crimes varies, indicating
their le vel of mobi lity (Egger, 1990a ; H ickey, 1 997). G eographic pr ofiling c onsiders
these f actors of distance, t he mobility of of fenders a nd t he de mographics of t he
locations of the ir c rimes (Hickey, 2002 ). G eographic pr ofiling also i dentifies ‘mental
maps’, the cognitive images that the offender might have about the surroundings of his
or her crimes (Hickey, 2002).
According to Hickey (2002) the more comfortable the offender becomes when
committing hi s or he r crimes, the f urther he or s he is w illing to travel to of fend. By
mapping w here t he s erial of fender’s c rimes ha ve oc curred a nd t heir s equence, i t i s
possible to identify a possible area to which the offender may be attached. This may be
an area i n which he or she l ives, w orks or ha s some c onnection t o. T his c an a id an
investigation by identifying an area where investigators can commence door knocks for
information or to reduce their suspect sample by determining who has a c onnection to
that region (Hickey, 2002).
Geographic pr ofiling ha s be en credited a s a ke y investigative t echnique t hat
contributing to the arrest of Joseph Thompson, a serial rapist active for 12 years in New
Zealand (Canter, 2003; Manning, 1997). According to Detective Inspector Manning, it
had become apparent that “traditional criminal investigation methods were unlikely to
be s uccessful i n this p articular case” (Manning, 1997, p.2) , a nd research i nto t his
technique ha d l ed pol ice t o de velop a pr ofile b ased on t he p rinciples o f ge ographic
- 123-
profiling, and c riminal pr ofiling t o s ome e xtent. C anter (2003) describes tha t w ithin
three months of researching and developing this technique, the offender was identified
and arrested. Manning d escribes t he us e of t his profiling t echnique a s “ an e xtremely
viable a nd va luable i nvestigative t ool” (Manning, 1997, p.8) in the inv estigation of
serial rape offences.
Chapter Summary
As described in this chapter, there are a number of issues that can be considered to have
an impact on the out come of a s erial c rime inve stigation. The a bility of pol ice to
identify a nd l ink i ncidents of s erial m urder a nd s erial rape a ppear t o be of upm ost
importance to achieving a positive investigative outcome. However, as discussed, there
are numerous other factors that can also influence the progress of an investigation.
The i ncreased reliance on investigative t echnologies such a s t hose in t he
forensic sphere can be seen to aid in the ability of investigators to not only link offences
but a lso i dentify offenders. T echniques s uch as c riminal pr ofiling are impor tant tool s
complementing traditional investigative practices.
The relatively n ew mod el of pol icing, intelligence-led policing, has al so be en
discussed. T his m odel has be en increasingly prevalent in policing p ractices bot h
nationally and internationally. This model of policing can be seen to be influenced by
- 124-
police cultural knowledge and practice, particularly in the police ability to link related
crimes, a supposition that will be explored in this research.
- 125-
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
There are several gaps in the current knowledge about the investigation of serial murder
and serial rape. Previous studies into the different aspects which can contribute to the
investigative pr ocess h ave be en limited and few ha ve considered s erial cr ime as a
separate investigative issue. As previously stated, serial crime poses several issues for
investigators tha t may n ot be a pparent i n ot her investigations a nd t hus t his r esearch
aims to identify how serial crime investigation can be seen to differ.
Research Question
The r esearch que stion directing this r esearch was how can i ncidents o f serial cr ime
remain undetected for long periods of time? In order to answer this question, the use of
a range of investigative tools, techniques and technologies was examined to determine
how their use contributed to achieving the investigative outcome.
- 126-
Research Aims
First and foremost, this r esearch aimed to compile and systematically analyse a
previously disparate body of procedures, practices and experience-based knowledge of
investigators of serial crimes. Thus, this research aimed to bridge the gap in academic
knowledge of t he m ethods e mployed t o i nvestigate s erial c rimes i n A ustralia a nd t he
issues and problems that arise in the practices and techniques employed. The use of a
range of investigative tools, techniques and technologies in the context of serial crime
investigation were considered. This has also been deliberated on within the framework
of pol ice c ultural know ledge. B y e xamining t he use of i nvestigative t ools, t echniques
and technologies i n the cont ext of pol ice cu lture, the ex istence o f a di ctionary
knowledge pe rtaining t o s erial m urder a nd s erial r ape was identified. H ow t his
knowledge is used was examined in light of the decisions made by detectives in relation
to the way in which these crimes were investigated.
This r esearch also aimed to ascertain how police c ulture impacts on t he
investigation of t he s erial c rimes of m urder a nd r ape. It ha s be en argued t hat police
culture is a mul tifaceted construct (Chan, 199 9b), t herefore consideration has be en
given t o i ts va ried n ature a nd how di fferent o utcomes c an a rise f rom the c ultural
influences t hat pervade and s hape pol icing. T hus t he w ay i n w hich aspects of pol ice
culture r eflect on an investigation of s erial cr ime has be en identified and examined.
Police pe rceptions of the i nvestigative pr ocess are important s ources of i nformation,
allowing such reflections to emerge through analysis.
- 127-
Of pa rticular int erest is the pol ice c onstruction of vi ctimhood a nd ho w t his
relates t o t he br oader arguments a bout oc cupational c ulture a nd t he ba rriers t o
investigative pr actice. T he be aring of t his c onstructed know ledge on t he i nvestigative
response will be c onsidered. As di scussed i n t he pr evious c hapter, international
research has indicated that the victimology of serial crimes can impact on the progress
of the inve stigation (Turvey, 2002d) . This r esearch attempts to pr ovide a n A ustralian
perspective on this phenomenon.
The research literature suggests that characteristics of convicted serial offenders
can be us ed t o i dentify offenders s till a t l arge (for e xample E gger, 1998 ). T he us e of
intelligence-led policing practices to identify and proceed with an investigation against
serial offenders has been examined and the effectiveness of these practices, in particular
investigations, was ex plored. The timeframe of t his research covers the lead up t o the
implementation of s ome f orms of int elligence-led policing pr actices, specifically
ViCLAS. O f i nterest w as how t hese w ere i ncorporated i nto br oader investigative
practice.
Methodology
This research has used a qualitative research approach to address the abovementioned
research ai ms and r elated issues. According t o Denzin and Lincoln (2005) qualitative
research is the study of a range of empirical materials through interpretive practice to
- 128-
gain a n und erstanding o f a s ubject. A s t his w as a qua litative s tudy w hich s ought t o
answer questions raised by the research literature surrounding the investigation of serial
crimes, a grounded theory approach was utilised by this research. Developed by Glaser
and Straus, grounded theory uses inductive strategies to analyse data and is considered
a com parative m ethod of ana lysis (Charmaz, 2003). Grounded t heory m ethods enable
the r esearcher t o a nalyse t he da ta w ithout pr ior h ypotheses, i n or der t o g enerate a
theory.
There were t wo methods t hat w ere em ployed i n this qua litative s tudy: cas e
studies a nd s emi-structured i nterviews. T his us e of t wo m ethods, i n c onjunction w ith
the extensive literature review, triangulation, was designed to ensure depth and detail of
data was obt ained. A ccording t o G olafshani (2003), triangulation is a s trategy
employed t o i mprove t he va lidity a nd reliability of r esearch findings, a nd c an b e
defined as t he c ombining o f m ethods or d ata t o achieve t his. B urns (1997) considers
that t he us e of m ultiple sources of data “makes a case s tudy report m ore convincing”
(Burns, 1997, p.86) through t he c orroboration of t he findings. Breitmayer, A yres a nd
Knafl (1993) state t hat t riangulation pr ovides c ompleteness a nd c onfirmation of
information.
According to Richards (2005) the nature of qualitative records means that there
is no consistency in the detail, style, source and reliability. As such, more than one form
of data should be used. This is particularly important, when the research is attempting
to “learn from the data, rather than test a t heory already arrived at” (Richards, 2005, p.
- 129-
35). Therefore, t riangulation provides for s ystematic comparison of data sources. It is
for t hese pu rposes t hat t his m ethod w as c hosen, a s i nformation r elating t o t he
investigation of s erial c rimes w as not r eadily available f rom one s ource but f rom
various sources.
Selection of Cases
The t imeframe w ithin w hich bot h m ethodologies were dr awn was from 19 90 t o the
present d ay. Due t o the r arity o f s erial m urder and serial r ape i n Australia, a br oad
timeframe w as de emed appropriate i n or der t o e nsure t hat a s ufficient s ample s ize of
cases from which to select was possible. This also allowed for the researcher to gain a
sufficient sample for both the interviews and case studies. For incidents to be included
the inve stigation must h ave occurred within the stated timeframe al though the act ual
crimes may have occurred outside this period, as it was the investigation of the crimes
that was of interest, not the actual crime itself.
Through a ne gotiation p rocess, pe rmission t o a ccess N SW P olice c losed c ase
files and personnel for i nterview were obt ained. During t his process, contact had also
been made w ith South Australia P olice a nd Victorian Police to attempt to negotiate
similar access. This was not successful. I was advised by South Australian police that
they would not consider my research proposal. This was partially due to the very recent
nature of the S nowtown case w hich at tha t time w as s till the s ubject of le gal
proceedings against some of the offenders. Victorian Police advised that their approval
- 130-
processes would take some time- up to twelve months. As will be outlined later in this
chapter, extensive de lays ha d already b een experienced with NSW Police and given
time restraints it was decided that this avenue would not be pursued.
Stage 1: Case Studies
Incidents of serial murder and serial rape in Australia were identified for analysis based
on their suitability for thematic case study analysis, based on the information available.
This information included a range of documents and records that were either publicly
available or accessed from NSW Police. Case studies provide information in relation to
the i ssues s urrounding i nvestigative t echniques a nd pol icies. The cas e s tudy analysis
provided information a bout t he pr essures on po lice t o s olve t he c rime through t he
utilisation of secondary data such as biographical and media accounts of serial crimes
which detail f actors r elating to the investigation. The use of cas e studies as a f orm of
research allows for the focus upon several factors, resulting in often highly detailed and
extensive i nformation (Neuman, 2003) . A ccording t o N euman (2003), case s tudies
allow f or t he a nalytical investigation of an i ssue. F urthermore, case s tudies can help
link the micro to the macro. This is consistent with the proposed use of case studies, in
that the indi vidual c haracteristics of the inve stigation into specific inc idents of s erial
crime ( micro) will be s tudied i n r elation t o i ts contribution t o t he und erstanding of
investigative practices of serial crime as a whole (macro).
- 131-
There a re di fferent t echniques t hat can be em ployed to conduct case s tudy
research, from obs ervations t o interviewing to doc ument a nalysis (Burns, 1997) . T he
technique t hat t he cur rent r esearch utilised is d ocument a nalysis. Document analysis
was f avoured here as i t was de emed the m ost ap propriate method to enable ac cess t o
the case study data being sought.
Similar s tudies in
America examining the ps ychological a nd o ffender
characteristics of serial murder have also used case study research. Giannangelo (1996)
used case s tudies o f American serial ki llers to
determine w hich psychological
characteristics were prevalent, while Egger’s (1998) use of case studies enabled him to
develop a n understanding of a r ange of i ssues r elated to serial m urder i ncluding
offender characteristics and investigative issues.
These case studies were conducted to provide further evidence in relation to the
issues surrounding investigative techniques and policies, as many biographical accounts
of serial crimes detail factors relating to the investigation. By comparing investigators’
opinions of such practices and having accounts of these practices presented by a third
person, t he c onsistency and r elevance of s uch o pinions w ere gauged f rom t his da ta.
Such information was also utilised as an aid in the development of interview questions
as w ell a s f urthering t he f indings f rom s uch i nterviews. Themes ide ntified from the
research literature and strongly r epresented in the cas e s tudy da ta w ere i ncorporated
into t he i nterview s chedule i n t he hope of g aining m ore de pth i n i nformation.
Additionally ma ny is sues tha t w ere p ertinent to an investigation m ay no t ha ve be en
- 132-
apparent i n t hese a ccounts a nd t hus t he i nterviews e nabled a richer, m ore i nclusive
picture of t he i ssues relating to investigative pr ocedural and r esource i ssues.
Specifically, indications a s to why pa rticular inve stigative te chniques w ere e mployed
over others may not be evident from the case study data.
Sample
In order to determine which cases were to be included in the analysis the population of
offenders who could be considered as serial had to be determined. This was achieved
by i dentifying c ases i n Australia w here a n of fender or t eam of of fenders ha d be en
convicted of c rimes ( rape/sexual a ssault or m urder) a gainst t wo or m ore i ndividuals.
This w as a ccomplished by ut ilising th e ma terials lis ted in ‘Sources o f Information’
section which follows.
As previously discussed in the introduction, there are criteria recognised by law
enforcement agencies in Australia, which are used to determine whether crimes can be
defined as s erial i n nature (Cook & H inman, 19 99a; M ouzos, 2000; P into & W ilson,
1990). T hese d efinitions i n c onjunction w ith t he i dentified t ypologies of s erial
offenders, were used to determine the suitability of cases for inclusion in the population
of known convicted serial murderers or serial rapists in Australia. These were presented
in Tables 1 a nd 2 i n t he i ntroduction. The de cision t o us e bot h t he formal definitions
and the typologies as guidelines in this research, stemmed from the number of problems
that arise w hen relying on traditional de finitions of s erial c rime a lone. Additionally
- 133-
cases s uch as t he S nowtown murders which are recognised as ‘ serial’ i nternationally
would ot herwise ha ve b een e xcluded. A s discussed pr eviously, there ha s be en m uch
critical di scussion of s ome of t hese ba sic d efinitional f rameworks (Fox, e t a l., 2005;
Hickey, 1997).
Cases were excluded if there were inadequate convictions recorded, if offenders
were de emed t o b e ‘ mass’ ki llers, pr ofessional or c ontract ki llers, o r i f t hey di d not
conform to the definitional criteria or typologies previously discussed. For instance, the
case of P eter D upas w as or iginally excluded f rom t he popul ation a s onl y one m urder
conviction had been obtained. This however changed in 2004 when he was convicted of
a second murder and is currently awaiting trial for a third (AAP, 2006).
From the ten recognised incidents of serial murder that have occurred during the
stated timeframes, five of these cases were selected for inclusion in this research. There
were a number of reasons why particular cases were selected as outlined in Table 3.
- 134-
Table 3: Selected Incidents of Serial Murder for Case Study Analysis
Offender Name
No. of Victims
State
Reason for Inclusion
Paul Charles Denyer
3
VIC
• Availability of doc uments a nd
Kathleen Folbigg
3a
NSW
• Availability of doc uments a nd
records
• Example of investigation from state
other than NSW
records
• Example of female serial murderer
John Wayne Glover
6
NSW
• Availability of doc uments a nd
Ivan Marko Milat
7
NSW
• Availability of doc uments a nd
records, including cl osed case f ile
from NSW Police
• Example of investigation in NSW
records
• Example of investigation in NSW
• Example of m issing pe rsons
investigation
Snowtown
a
12
SA
Convicted of the manslaughter of a fourth child
• Availability of doc uments a nd
records
• Example of investigation from state
other than NSW
• Example of m issing pe rsons
investigation
Three of these o ffenders com mitted their crimes in New South Wales, na mely
John Glover, Ivan Milat, and Kathleen Folbigg. Paul Denyer committed his crimes in
the s tate of V ictoria while the s eries of c rimes r eferred t o of ten a s t he S nowtown
murders oc curred i n S outh A ustralia. T hese c ases ha ve be en chosen on t he ba sis t hat
the investigations occurred within the determined timeframe and based on the amount
of i nformation a vailable on e ach c ase. Although there were s ome other high pr ofile
serial murder cases that occurred during the timeframe were considered by this current
- 135-
research, the cases were excluded based on the lack of available information about the
investigation.
These ca ses that f ormed the s ample were al so selected due t o the
differences be tween each of t he cas es: t he vi ctims, the of fender, the i nvestigations at
different poi nts of t ime b y different pol ice f orces a nd t he w ay i n which t he m edia
portrayed the investigation of these crimes.
By conducting a comparison of these different cases, it was considered possible
to gain a greater understanding of how various aspects of a serial crime can influence
the w ay in w hich t he crimes a re i nvestigated. A s h as be en di scussed i n pr evious
chapters, the phe nomenon of f emale s erial cr ime of fenders ha s be come i ncreasingly
recognised. Therefore i t w as al so considered important t o include a cas e of a f emale
serial m urderer, t o de monstrate how t raditional pol icing t echniques could ove rlook
these i ncidents. T he num ber of c ase s tudies c hosen ha s be en s upported b y previous
studies of s erial c rime tha t aimed t o identify the i mpact of s pecific of fender
characteristics on issues of int erest to those r esearchers (Egger, 1984; G iannangelo,
1996).
As illustrated in the review of the research literature, it appears that serial rape is
at the very least as prevalent as serial murder in Australia. Therefore, the inclusion of
such cases was considered as paramount to understanding the investigative techniques
employed by A ustralian police, as t hese cr imes a re considered t o present comparable
issues to investigators. F our c ases of s erial r ape w ere i ncluded in this c ase s tudy
research, all of which were committed in NSW. The selection of cases was based upon
- 136-
the quantity and quality of information available on each and it was coincidental that all
cases o ccurred i n NSW. As discussed pr eviously, cases of s erial r ape rarely gain t he
same coverage as serial murder through biographical accounts and the like. Sources of
information i ncluded newspaper ar ticles and records, t he r ichness of da ta f rom t he
newspaper articles w as often not com parable to that available for s erial murder cas es.
The of fenders o f i nterest t o t his r esearch w ere Wayne Anthony Trindall, D avid G len
Johnson, Anthony James Daley and Bruno Presta.
Table 4: Selected Incidents of Serial Rape for Case Study Analysis
Offender Name
No. of Victims
State
Reason for Inclusion
Anthony James Daley
7
NSW
• Availability of doc uments a nd
David Glen Johnson
8
NSW
• Availability of doc uments a nd
Bruno Presta
5
NSW
• Availability of doc uments a nd
Wayne Anthony
Trindall
6
NSW
• Availability of doc uments a nd
records
records, i ncluding partial closed
case file from NSW Police
records, i ncluding c losed case f ile
from NSW Police
records, i ncluding partial closed
case file from NSW Police
As can be seen in Table 4, all cases chosen were from NSW. This was primarily due to
the quantity and quality of the information available about these cases.
- 137-
Sources of Information
In order to conduct case study research, a variety of materials were drawn on to provide
details of these crimes. When conducting a document analysis, there are two forms of
evidence, being documents and records (Hodder, 2003). Documents and records can be
distinguished b y t he pu rpose f or w hich t hey w ere c reated. As out lined b y H odder
(2003) records ar e of ficial t exts and refer t o a f ormal and often legal t ransaction,
whereas doc uments are texts t hat are f ormed f or pe rsonal us e. Examples of r ecords
include m arriage ce rtificates and drivers lic ences w hilst doc uments a re in formal te xts
such as letters, memos, and field notes (Hodder, 2003).
Documents
The doc uments u sed in t his r esearch included publicly a vailable biographical te xts,
newspaper articles, radio transcripts, television documentaries and previous case study
research, de pending upo n t he a vailability o f s uch r esources. In hi s di scussion of c ase
study m ethodology Burns (1997) contends t hat w hile s ome doc uments m ay not be
entirely accurate or unbiased, they provide a means to corroborate evidence from other
sources. B urns a lso s tates t hat doc uments c an pr ovide greater d etail a bout e vents a nd
issues than would otherwise be obtained from interviewees.
- 138-
General Internet s earches us ing s earch engines s uch as G oogle and Alta V ista
were also used to obtain information on cases of interest, although care was needed to
ensure the accuracy of the information presented. It is interesting to note that there was
little inf ormation available on the Internet on Australian cases w ith the ma jority of
sources referring predominately to cases in the United States and the United Kingdom.
One A merican-based website, Tru tv ( www.trutv.com) for merly known a s C rime
Library (www.crimelibrary.com) and C ourt T V ( www.courttv.com), does i nclude
accounts of some of the more notorious Australian cases of serial murder such as that of
Ivan Milat, John Glover and the Snowtown murders. Other Internet sites provide brief
accounts l acking de tail. Many of t he A ustralian Internet s ites w ere m edia-based and
related to television programs, media reports and the like. However incidents of serial
rape w ere largely absent f rom s uch s ources w hether t hey b e A ustralian or A merican
cases. Information on serial r ape cas es w as l argely d rawn from ne wspaper a rticles,
biographical texts, and in some cases court judgements, as indicated in Table 5 below.
The us e of Internet s ources c an identify i ssues r elating t o the credibility a nd
reliability of the information presented, as there are few regulations to ensure that the
information c onforms t o a ny a cademic s tandard (Scott, 1996) . In a n a rticle a dvising
how to assess Internet sources, Scott (1996) states that when considering a source one
should:
… C heck reliability a nd c redibility by v erifying the author, his or
her
affiliation, date, and the source of publication; check perspective by assessing
- 139-
biases p resented in t he information o r its s ource; a nd c heck t he pu rpose by
determining its scope, coverage, and level (Scott, 1996, p.46)
This pr ocess w as c arried out w hen de ciding whether to i nclude Internet s ources.
Several w ere excluded w hen t he a uthor’s c redibility could not be a scertained or t he
website on which the information was posted was considered to have a purpose that did
not support an unbiased, academic approach. This included serial killer fan websites.
The us e of s econdary s ources s uch as t he doc uments out lined a bove ha s been
accepted as app ropriate materials f or c ase s tudy r esearch. In pa rticular, Giannangelo
and K eppel a nd Birnies (2003) have pr eviously accepted t his us e of s econdary
materials in studies of serial crime. The recent study by Mouzos and Muller (2001) also
used secondary m aterials. A ccording t o Egger (1990b) media r eports ar e a
comprehensive source for gaining information of serial crimes which have been used in
several studies into serial crime including his own (Egger, 1984 cited in Egger, 1990b).
Newspaper indices were used to identify and obtain relevant newspaper articles
for t he s elected cases of focus. The i ndices of contribution i nclude Lexis.com and t he
Proquest ANZ Newsstand and the databases of t he Sydney Morning Herald, the Daily
Telegraph, ABC Online and BBC News Online. Some ar ticles w ere from t he author’s
own collection.
Similar to the review of Internet sources, the newspaper articles and other media
sources w ere j udged on their credibility. A l arge proportion of t he newspaper articles
- 140-
quoted t he r elevant pol ice or ganisation a s t heir s ource and t hus t hese articles w ere
deemed to be cr edible. This w as r einforced by similarly w orded articles appe aring at
the s ame time f rom va rious ne wspapers indi cating tha t th e inf ormation came f rom a
published m edia r elease f rom pol ice. T his a pplied t o bot h br oadsheet and tabloid
newspapers, w hich of ten pr esented t he s ame i nformation i n t heir r eports, a lthough
stylistically they may have differed.
Documentaries and biographical t exts w ere as sessed similarly. M any of t he
authors to such texts were journalists who had conducted their own research in addition
to the inf ormation gleaned from inve stigators th emselves. Although the writing s tyle
would vary- some more sensationalist than others- the basis for credibility came from
the s ources t hey cited. S ome of t he doc umentaries i ncluded i nterviews w ith t he
detectives and consultants that had been part of t he investigative team on these cases.
Therefore the information obtained from these was deemed to be credible.
Records
A number of databases were also used to obtain court decisions relating to the cases of
interest. These databases include the Australasian Legal Information Institute, CaseLaw
NSW a nd Lawbook O nline. T hese d ecisions often r elated t o t he appeal a gainst
convictions or s entences a nd t hus w ere s elective i n t he amount of case s pecific
information that was detailed within. As information regarding the investigative process
- 141-
was of i nterest, these m aterials only c ontributed if a poi nt r egarding the inve stigation
had been questioned during an appeal.
Access t o official pol ice records i n t he form of closed case f iles and Briefs of
Evidence from N SW P olice w ere obtained i n a number of ways. A l ist of c ases of
interest was forwarded to the research contact at NSW Police who then forwarded these
on to NSW P olice A rchives. The cases t hat w ere av ailable at N SW P olice A rchives
were t hen relayed and access a rranged at t he s torage f acility. For a num ber of cas es,
such files were not present at NSW Police Archives and the actual location could not be
determined. One case, that of Ivan Milat, was not present at NSW Police Archives and
for s ome t ime t he e xact location of t he f iles c ould not be de termined. Initially it w as
advised that t he ent ire cas e cl osed case f ile ha d been lost al though there w ere
reassurances t hat i t w as ‘ on disk’ how ever not a t t he N SW Police A rchives t herefore
access would need to be at another location. While I expressed a willingness to review
this case file at any location at which it would be available, access was not forthcoming.
It was la ter thou ght that the cl osed case f ile h ad been ‘found’ w ith a f aculty w ithin
NSW P olice and although access w as t o be a rranged through t he r esearch contact at
NSW Police, this never eventuated. It is still unclear as to why this was the case. After
18 months of waiting and due to time restrictions on conducting the methodology, this
was not pursued any further.
Access to other files, usually Briefs of Evidence, were gained primarily through
another r esearch contact at t he B ehavioural C rime U nit of N SW P olice. This cont act
- 142-
had been conducting their own PhD research into similar cases of serial crime and thus
had been i n possession of a num ber of r elated files. These f iles w ere accessed at t he
NSW P olice H eadquarters at P arramatta w here t he Behavioural C rime U nit i s ba sed,
although there were extensive delays in gaining approval to access the files once a new
unit c ommander w as i n place. M any of t he files accessed were br ief an d incomplete
with documents, reports or pages of information absent. Other Briefs of Evidence were
available to view f rom the le ad investigator a t the loc ation that the y w ere c urrently
positioned at. It was noted with interest at the time that for some cases there appeared to
be no closed case file or Brief of Evidence in existence. Whilst one would assume that
they h ad e xisted a t one t ime, t hey w ere now c onsidered e ither l ost or simply ‘held
somewhere unknown’.
Due t o t he highly c onfidential na ture of t hese f iles, doc uments c ould n ot be
removed and all files had to be viewed at their location. Prior to gaining access to any
documents, U WS E thics A pproval w as r equired b y NSW P olice ( See Appendix A ).
NSW P olice di d not ha ve an ethics r eview pr ocess i n place, instead accepting t he
veracity of the processes of the university ethics review s ystem. In order to allow for
later analysis of the information obtained from these files, notes were taken for coding
and analysis.
The records obtained from NSW Police would be accurate and credible sources
of inf ormation relating to the inve stigative techniques tha t contributed t o t he
investigative outcome, and with Briefs of Evidence, to the prosecution. However, these
- 143-
sources would not p rovide a c omplete r epresentation of aspects of t he i nvestigation.
Information relating to inve stigative te chniques tha t w ere not p resented i n t he
prosecution of the case would not be included in Briefs of Evidence. Also missing from
such s ources w ould b e i ndications a s t o w hy s ome c ases w ere not i nvestigated at t he
time they were reported. Such sources would also not detail opinion as to why specific
methods were not used, or the usefulness of particular investigative methods.
Availability of Sources
Table 5 details the various sources utilised to inform this research. Not all sources were
available for all cases, for example court decisions were not accessible for all relevant
cases. This contributed to a disparity in the amount of detailed information available on
comparable cases of serial crime.
Table 5: Sources of Information Used in Case Studies
Sources of Information
Documents
Offender
Name
Snowtown*
Milat
Folbigg
Glover
Denyer*
News
Articles
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Documentary
Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Book
3
2
1
1
1
Book
Chapter
3
4
1
Y
2
Web
1
1
1
1
1
Trindall
Johnson
Daley
Presta
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
-
- 144-
Records
Police
Court
Case
Brief of
Decisions
File
Evidence
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
N
Y
Y
Y
N
N
N
N
Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
N
N
* P olice cas e f iles o r B riefs o f Evidence w ere n ot s ought f or t hese o ffences as t hey o ccurred i n s tates o ther t han
NSW an d w ould h ave r equired s eparate U WS E thics A pproval an d r esearch ap proval f rom t he s tate police
organisations
The sources out lined a bove w ere not ex haustive. Several ne wspaper articles w ere
excluded due t o t heir comparable content t o ot her articles from t he s ame print da y or
commercially r elated paper. Some books w ere also excluded due t o t he lack of ready
access t o these s ources over prolonged p eriods of t ime m aking a comprehensive
thematic analysis of the source not possible.
Case Study Analysis
The a im of thi s c ase s tudy analysis w as to identify if t he ke y t hemes t hat ha d been
identified from the research literature relating to the investigation of serial crime, were
evident in the documents and records obtained on e ach case. The identification of the
types of resources and techniques utilised by police during a serial crime investigation
was of importance.
In or der t o c onduct t hese c ase s tudies w ith uni formity, a c oding s ystem w as
established ba sed on t he r esearch l iterature t o identify i ssues t hat t he records and
documents m ight a ddress. S imilar t o a s urvey q uestionnaire, t his f ramework of br oad
thematic clusters set out the issues and themes related to the aims and questions of this
thesis and this framework was consistent across all eight case studies (see Appendix B
for e xample of t hematic c lusters). S uch a f ramework a lso a llowed f or ease i n c oding
- 145-
variables i ndentified as t hemes f rom t he r esearch l iterature, in the da ta a nalysis s tage
which will be discussed below.
The i nformation obt ained f or e ach c ase s tudy was a nalysed i n or der t o
determine i f cer tain characteristics w ere pr esent i n relation to the of fender and the
crime, and the references to investigative practices, issues and practice.
The information derived from these case studies of serial crime w ere ana lysed
and used to contribute t o the development of interview questions, as details about the
investigation are discussed in such sources. The information from the case studies was
essential to addressing the a ims of thi s s tudy, s pecifically in regard to the us e,
efficiency and accuracy of the various techniques and technologies considered, such as
criminal profiling.
Methodological Issues: Case Studies
One of t he m ain p roblems t hat ar ose f rom the r esearch was t he contradictory
information t hat w as pr esent. A lthough t here w as a general c onsensus of i nformation
across the various sources, a few occasions existed where information from one source
contradicted or w as ab sent f rom a nother. This ma de it di fficult to determine the
accuracy of information, as it was unknown if this additional information was the result
of poe tic l icence of a uthors or j ournalists or good i nvestigative j ournalism. Any
information that could not be confirmed by at least one other source or by the interview
- 146-
data w as not c onsidered b y this r esearch. T his di d not a pply t o records w hereby
information in Briefs of Evidence and the closed case files was often not disclosed to
the media or other outlets as they are official records of NSW Police.
Another issue which had to be addressed when using this methodology was the
lack of availability of records. At the outset it was hoped that coronial reports and court
transcripts coul d be ac cessed. H owever co ronial findings w ere of ten de emed not
available to the public and court transcripts were too expensive to obtain for all cases
reviewed. A s pr eviously di scussed, s elected c ourt t ranscripts w ere a vailable f rom t he
Australasian Legal I nformation Institute website (www.austlii.edu.au) however m any
of t hese were r elated t o a ppeals and t herefore of ten di d not contain the de pth of
information about the investigation of these crimes required for this research.
However i t w as l ater f ound t hat t he i ncidents of s erial m urder a nd s erial r ape
were not presented to the Coroner therefore access was not required. Additionally, from
reviewing and analysing the cour t t ranscripts t hat w ere av ailable i t be came cl ear t hat
there was very little information relating to the actual investigative processes employed,
other t han i f t hey contributed t o t he pr osecution c ase. E xcluded f rom t ranscripts w as
information c oncerning the r ange of i nvestigative pr actices ut ilised r egardless of t he
contribution that these had to the outcome. Therefore it was decided that as information
from this source was limited it would not be used further.
- 147-
The r ecords av ailable f rom N SW P olice, B riefs of E vidence and closed cas e
files, a lso pos ed s ome pr oblems. T he B riefs of E vidence onl y i nclude i nformation
relating to the investigation that can be used to obtain a conviction. Other information
regarding t he i nvestigative pr ocesses em ployed that f ailed to culminate i n a us able
result is not included in these files. For example if police had interviewed a number of
people who were unable to provide any relevant information, this fact is not included in
a Brief of Evidence, resulting in an incomplete picture of the investigation.
Similarly, the c losed case f iles accessed were no t al ways comprehensive with
some ‘ files’ c ontaining the B rief of E vidence a nd a s mall a mount of a dditional
paperwork. Other f iles were s imply i ncomplete, w ith some o f t he c ontents of a box
appearing to be missing or some of the boxes/files to be absent. It was also difficult to
gain access to some files. There were a number of cases that had been identified to me
as being in the possession of the Behavioral Crime Unit. However, when I spoke to the
contact with the unit, the files were not always accessible. As her research had been on
the us e of criminal pr ofiling i n t hese i nvestigations, t his doc torial r esearch m ay h ave
been seen to compete with her own research interests.
As was illustrated in Table 5, not all cases were available to be reviewed. The
records for these cases were not stored at the NSW Police Archives, and there was no
available s ystem t o determine w here s uch cas es would be. This i ssue ho wever i s not
unique t o NSW P olice. Similar ex periences ac cessing pol ice files w ere r eported by
- 148-
Brookman (1999) in her doctoral research into the patterns of masculine homicide and
violence in England and Wales. Brookman (1999, p. 48-49) states that the idea that:
police murder files would be neatly filed in some secured and centralised area
for the respective forces could not have been further from the truth.
Therefore it ma y be s uggested tha t thi s ma y b e a c ultural p ractice existent a mongst
some other police forces and not unique to NSW Police or even to Australian policing
organisations. N otably a bsent in this pr esent s tudy w ere the f iles of the inve stigation
into Ivan Milat. As detailed above, these were reportedly ‘lost’. However it is surmised
that one reason for the unavailability of these files may be that Milat is currently under
investigation for ot her cases. Therefore t here may ha ve be en concern about t his
researcher gaining access to relevant materials.
Stage 2: Interviews with NSW Police Detectives and Professionals
Members of t he NSW P olice and ot her p rofessionals, such a s c riminal pr ofilers who
have worked on serial crimes in an investigative or consultative capacity, were selected
for i nterview. An i nterview format w as s elected to ascertain the police pr actices and
the use of investigative tools used in the investigation of serial murder and serial rape,
as s tated b y t he i nvestigators t hemselves. T he opi nions of t hese i nvestigators a re
essential i n e stablishing how be neficial s uch t ools are, and if pol ice pr actices as
previously outlined, impacted on the investigation and to what extent.
- 149-
Interviews of t he investigators o f s erious c rimes ha ve be en used i n nu merous
studies. T he s tudy b y M ouzos a nd M uller (2001) that aimed to ide ntify f actors tha t
impacted on the a bility of inve stigators t o s olve m urder cas es u sed t his t echnique, i n
addition to using secondary resources. Many issues may not be apparent in these case
study accounts and thus the interviews will enable a richer, more accurate picture of the
issues. Data from interviews may also identify lacunae arising from the case studies. As
outlined by Kiger (1990) media reports can be problematic sources of information, as
they m ay s ensationalise r eports f or c ommercial be nefit. These s emi-structured
interviews are aimed at providing a more accurate, realistic and inclusive overview of
the investigative process. By comparing the investigator’s opinion of such practices and
the recording of such practices with the accounts by a third person, the accuracy, depth
and applicability of such opinions can be determined.
Interviews were chosen as the preferred method over surveys, although surveys
would have been easier to administer and analyse, particularly as s ome of t he c ases
occurred in other A ustralian states. Had this research ex tended into other s tates of
Australia then a survey method would have been considered. According to Fontana and
Frey (2003), one of the advantages to using semi-structured interview formats is that a
greater depth of data can be obtained. This was considered to be due to the qualitative
nature of such interviews in contrast to structured interviews which are considered by
Fontana and F rey t o be qua ntitative i n na ture. One of t he f actors c onsidered w hen
choosing an appropriate methodology for this research was the higher response rate to
interviews in comparison to surveys (Neuman, 2003), which had been initially expected
- 150-
in this research. The choice however, of semi-structured interviews was mainly due to
the varying nature of investigations- inherently no two investigations are identical. As
the c ases f ocused upo n oc curred ov er a pe riod of a pproximately fifteen years,
investigative techniques may have changed, as too may have the technology available
to investigators. Additionally, some issues of interest such as missing persons, were not
apparent in all of the considered cases.
Interview Method
The i nterviews w ere s emi-structured i n n ature, i ncorporating bot h c losed a nd op en
questions. T his f orm of i nterview s tructure allows f or f urther p robing of i ssues t hat
arise during the interview process, for example when response is unclear and/or needs
further e xplanation. As s tated by G ray (2004) semi-structured i nterviews pr ovide
flexibility in the int erview pr ocess a llowing: q uestions to be e xcluded if ir relevant;
questions to be reordered to reflect the flow of the interview; additional questions to be
asked t hat ha d not be en a nticipated pr ior t o t he i nterview. The i nterviews w ere ea ch
conducted ov er an a pproximate one -hour pe riod, and w ere f ace-to-face i n a ll but one
interview. W hen a f ace-to-face i nterview w as not f easible, a t elephone interview w as
conducted. This was at the request of the participant. The face-to-face interviews were
recorded us ing an audio recorder and t ranscribed at a l ater date. The f acility t o audio
record was not available at the time of the telephone interview, and notes were made of
the participant’s responses.
- 151-
Construction of Interview Schedule
The construction of the interview schedule was informed by the research questions and
the pr eliminary ana lysis of t he cas e s tudy da ta. The com mon themes t hat w ere
identified f rom t he c ase s tudies w ere i ncorporated i nto t he i nterview s chedule ( see
attachments t o Appendix A), which w as ba sed o n the f ramework of t hematic cl usters
developed for t he case s tudy an alysis. Due t o the va rying n ature o f s erial cr imes and
their inv estigation, an i nflexible i nterview s chedule w ould not ha ve b een pr acticable
nor effective in extracting the desired information relating to the issues of interest. This
is c onsistent w ith Gray’s (2004) contention t hat s emi-structured int erviews a llow f or
greater flexibility in both the way in which questions are asked and which questions are
deemed relevant to the interviewee.
As can be seen in the interview schedule, themes were loosely addressed by the
questions t o a llow f or the i nvestigators experience and pe rception t o e merge. For
example, if the case study data analysis identified a particular investigative technique as
making a c entral c ontribution t o the i nvestigation, t he que stion w ould a sk a bout
techniques i n general. S uch a format also a llowed f or m e t o follow up and i dentify
specific issues that were raised in the case study analysis but not by the interviewee.
- 152-
Participants
Recruitment
Non-probability s ampling p rocedures were em ployed f or t his qua litative as pect o f t he
research, e mploying t he s nowballing a nd pur posive s ampling t echniques (Sarantakos,
2005). T his m ethod of s ampling was chosen as t his r esearch did not ai m to g ain a
representative out come. Indeed, a s pr eviously discussed, t he na ture of vi olent s erial
crimes precludes the pretence of ‘representativeness’ due to its varying and rare nature.
Participants were drawn from the research population employed by NSW Police
currently or previously, or who were identified by NSW Police to have contributed to the
investigation of s erial c rime. It ha d been originally pl anned t hat pa rticipants c ould be
identified from the s pecific cl osed case f iles; however, due t o the ex tensive de lays i n
accessing such files, this was not possible.
Two methods were employed to recruit participants. The first method identified
participants through ‘snowballing’. Snowballing is a process whereby one key individual
is us ed t o l ocate ot her individuals w ho m ay b e s uitable r esearch pa rticipants i n t he
research (Bernard, 2000). According to Bernard, this method of sampling can often gain
access to and ‘open doors’ to ‘elites’, who are those whose opinion ‘really counts’. This
process proved to be successful where one contact led the researcher to four participants,
- 153-
one of whom also provided another participant. There w ere a num ber of ot her persons
recommended by participants in this sample; however these persons were unavailable or
did not meet the criteria for participation in this research- such as t heir role i n a s erial
crime investigation preceded the study timeframe. This method of sampling also enabled
contact with former members of NSW Police who otherwise would not have been easily
identifiable or c ontactable. However, w hile a num ber of ‘ elite’ i ndividuals w ere
identified t hrough t his m ethod of s ampling ve ry f ew a greed to participate. T his w as i n
contrast t o B ernard’s (2000) belief t hat t he us e of t his s ampling pr ocedure ‘ opened
doors’ to the elite.
The s econd m ethod w as t o di rectly t arget t he research popul ation of current
NSW P olice t hrough a memorandum w hich w as c omposed a nd di stributed a cross t he
network vi a E mail t hrough t he N SW P olice i nternal c ommunications pr ocesses. T he
memorandum out lined t he r esearch a nd requested t hat a nyone w ho ha d w orked i n a ny
capacity on a case of serial rape or serial murder within the given timeframe, to contact
the researcher. Although this was considered to be the most direct method of identifying
compliant participants, this resulted in very few responses. Only one of these was from
someone who had worked on a case of serial crime. The other responses were from those
in a n e ducation r ole w ithin N SW P olice w ho w ere i nterested i n r eceiving n ews o f t he
outcome of t his r esearch. T his method w as considered as a pur posive s ampling
technique a s out lined b y S arantakos (2005), whereby the di stribution of t he
memorandum targeted a s pecific gr oup, w ith the unde rstanding t hat t heir ex periences
would be relevant to the research.
- 154-
Sample
Six interviews were conducted which represented the investigations of five incidents of
serial murder and serial rape. Of these, five were face-to-face interviews while the other
was c onducted ove r t he t elephone. T he f ive f ace-to-face i nterviews w ere w ith NSW
Police detectives who had been the lead investigator of their respective cases. The sixth
participant w as a f orensic a nthropologist w ho w orked i n a c onsultative capa city w ith
NSW Police, providing services consistent with a criminal profiler.
As t his r esearch’s aim was t o collate d ata t hat would generate a s aturation of
qualitative da ta r ather th an attempting to create a ny s ort of s tatistical or qua ntitative
outcomes, there was not the intention to interview large numbers of individuals. It was
anticipated that int erviews w ould be obt ained from a s ma ny s uitable p articipants a s
possible ( for e xample c hief i nvestigator, s enior f orensic t echnician). A lthough t he
detectives int erviewed were all c onsidered the chief inve stigator/senior inve stigating
officer, t here w as no r esponse f rom ot her m embers of t he i nvestigative t eam. In
particular, participation from f orensic t echnicians w as s pecifically r equested in the
memorandum to NSW Police members, however none was forthcoming. This may have
been pa rtly du e t o t he general r esponse f rom t he F orensic S ervices G roup of N SW
Police, w ho w ould not a cknowledge t he research a pproval g iven b y NSW P olice.
Attempts to gain additional a pproval me t w ith resistance during the r esearch process
and due to time constraints further attempts were not made.
- 155-
Confidentiality and Consent
Prior to the interviews, participants received a consent form and Information Statement
detailing the aims of the research (Appendix A). Participants were informed that the y
could withdraw from the s tudy at any time. Participants were given sufficient time to
read the Information Statement, ask the r esearcher an y qu estions t hey m ay ha ve ha d
and c onsider t he c onsent f orm. Interviews w ere conduc ted at a t ime and place
convenient to the participant and suitable for the purpose. The forensic anthropologist
received verbal advice of the Information Statement and gave verbal consent.
Participants w ere given the opt ion t o r emain anonymous i f t hey p referred. T his
was outlined in the Information Statement and the consent form (Appendix A). It ha d
initially be en envisaged that s ince s erial c rime inve stigations invol ved large te ams of
personnel, a l arger num ber of i nterviews w ould be obt ained. U nder t hose c onditions,
anonymity could have been maintained with greater ease as several members of the one
task f orce could be i nterviewed. None of t he participants how ever, requested
anonymity. Had a ny of the pa rticipants r equested a nonymity, their pos itions a s le ad
investigators of t heir r espective c ases w ould ha ve m eant t hat a nonymity could not be
maintained. Additionally, a s th e pa rticipants predominately inve stigated different
incidents of s erial crime f rom one another, anonymity would ha ve be en di fficult t o
maintain as the case itself would have identified them.
- 156-
Most participants did make a num ber of comments that were “off the record” or
could onl y be us ed i f i t w as not a ttributed t o t hem. As s omeone not a ssociated w ith
NSW Police or the investigation, it demonstrated that whilst they were comfortable in
making these statements to me with the confidence that I could be trusted in how that
information was used, their concern related more to possible repercussions they could
face f or airing s uch views. Due t o t he l imited number of i nterviews o btained, t hese
statements were not included in the an alysis as t hey could be di rectly associated with
the case and thus the participant. In hindsight, some of these statements may have been
available for inclusion in the research had anonymity been a universal given from the
outset and in the context of a larger research sample.
Comments ma de b y ot her me mbers of te ams inve stigating inc idents of serial
murder and serial rape have also been utilised. Although not participants in this study,
their c omments w ere a lready pa rt of th e publ ic record thr ough media in terviews a nd
documentaries.
Interview Transcription
Consistent w ith a g rounded t heory a pproach as i dentified b y C harmaz (2003), t he
interviews w ere t ranscribed by m e as i t w as de emed more s uitable t o allow f or t he
saturation of material and increasing my familiarity with the material. This also ensured
that confidentiality of material was maintained as there were often comments made “off
- 157-
the r ecord” w hich pa rticipants w ould not ha ve be en c omfortable w ith a t hird pa rty
being privy.
Analysis of Case Study and Interview Data
As w ith the inf ormation extracted from the c ase s tudies, the int erviews were
subject t o a t hematic a nalysis. A c omputer pr ogram, Q SR N Vivo 2, s pecifically
designed t o analyse qu alitative da ta w as us ed t o aid the ana lysis of the i nterview
materials. This program allows the researcher to clarify concepts that emerge from the
data, t hrough or ganising t he ke y t hemes o r i ssues i n c ategories or nod es (Bazeley &
Richards, 2000) . T hese themes a re elicited f rom t he da ta t hrough t he recognition of
patterns of information from otherwise disorganised or random information (Boyatzis,
1998).
Due to the nature of the sources of information for the case studies, NVivo was
not a suitable option for a large proportion of the case study materials, therefore manual
coding of the various sources was required. This was done manually using the coding
framework used in NVivo.
Consistent w ith e mploying a gr ounded t heory a pproach t o t his qua litative
research, the analysis was not conducted separately. During the analysis process of the
interviews, issues were raised in relation to investigative factors such as the formation
of task forces. This led to a return to the case study data to ascertain if this was evident
- 158-
from these sources for b oth the cases identified by the participants, but also the cases
not covered her such as the Snowtown case. This narrowed the scope of the research as
using methods to triangulate the data identified which of the themes recognised by the
research literature were evident in the data.
Methodological Issues: Interviews
There were s everal difficulties experienced during this stage of the methodology. The
identification of participants proved difficult as one of the contacts at NSW Police was
not forthcoming with information that they were meant to provide. This led to a change
in the methodology as a planned pilot study could no longer be conducted as the closed
case files were not available. As participants were to be drawn from these closed case
files al ternative r ecruitment m easures w ere r equired. T his pr ocess w as ve ry t ime
consuming, pa rticularly as m uch time was s pent a waiting pr omised i nformation f rom
the NSW Police.
Ethical Considerations
My intention to ascertain from NSW Police whether access to closed/completed police
case files could be made available for the purpose of this study led to issues relating to
confidentiality and pr ivacy. In accordance w ith t he U niversity of W estern S ydney
Ethics Approval which was obtained, assurances had to be given to NSW Police in the
- 159-
research p roposal s ubmitted t o t hem, that the inf ormation that w as s ought f rom the se
closed case files w ould be s pecific t o investigative pr actices onl y and conf idential
information or i nformation of c urrent ope rational i nterest w ould be t reated w ith t he
greatest respect and confidentiality (See Appendix C).
As t he i nclusion o f confidential i nformation or i nformation of
current
operational i nterest w ould not be nefit o r c ontribute t o t he r esearch i n any w ay, t hese
assurances were readily given. The recording of information of this nature or relating to
the victims of these crimes was onl y recorded if it was already public knowledge. For
example, a vi ctim’s na me or the e mployment of a vi ctim a s a p rostitute w as onl y
recorded i f publ ic s ources s uch a s books , ne wspaper a rticles or m edia releases, a nd
publicly a vailable c ourt t ranscripts ha d p reviously m ade s uch i dentifications. O nly
information pertaining to the use of investigative practices, techniques and technologies
were o f int erest to this r esearch. All doc uments containing confidential i nformation
related to this research have been stored in a secure locked location, to which only the
researcher has access.
Research Limitations
One of the limitations to this research is the small number of interviews conducted with
current and former members of NSW Police who had investigated serial crimes. It had
been aimed to conduct interviews w ith more i nvestigators how ever t here w ere a
number of di fficulties e xperienced i n r ealising t his g oal. T he di fficulty experienced
- 160-
generally stemmed from t he t imeframe of t he cas es cons idered in this r esearch. As
cases o f s erial m urder a nd serial rape t hat ha d b een investigated as far b ack as 1990
were of interest, it was found that a number of key people involved in the investigative
process o f va rious c ases ha d retired f rom t he f orce and were una ble t o be cont acted.
Whilst t his pr oblem ha d be en pr edicted, t he br oad t imeframe t hat ha d be en a imed a t
reducing t his problem b y increasing t he num ber of cases t hat f ell within t he scope o f
the study, failed to adequately address this issue.
Another issue was the willingness of investigators to participate in the research.
On a few oc casions, t he na mes o f i nvestigators who ha d worked t he cases s pecified
were given to the r esearch contact at N SW Police. After cont act w as made i t w as
determined that they either did not wish to participate in the research or were unable to
make t hemselves ava ilable f or i nterviewing du e t o their cur rent cas e l oad. I r eceived
explanations that such interviews about the way in which the crimes were investigated
were not a ppropriate. I f ound i t di sconcerting w hen I would s ometimes s ee t he s ame
people w ho us ed t hat e xcuse, g iving i nterviews with t he m edia f or doc umentaries on
these cases.
As pr eviously outlined, a m emorandum di stributed t hrough t he N SW P olice
email communications network resulted in the id entification of one p articipant. There
were no other ex pressions of i nterest t o pa rticipate i n this r esearch w hich was
considered surprising as numerous detectives that were experienced in the investigation
of serial crimes had appeared in television documentaries about the incidents of serial
- 161-
crime that they investigated. This was also reflected with those detectives approached
directly t hrough the research cont act at NSW Police. D ue t o t he large num ber o f
investigators who had played a role in serial crime cases, it was expected that a greater
number of responses would have been received. Again, it was also hoped that forensic
technicians w ho had a role i n a s erial cr ime i nvestigation w ould r espond t o t his
memorandum but no such response was received.
This response could be largely attributed to the researcher’s status as an outsider
to t he pol ice or ganisation, a nd pol icing i n ge neral. T he di fficulties i n c onducting
research within pol ice o rganisations a s an ‘ outsider’ w ere examined by R einer and
Newburn (2008) who de scribe how suspicions a bout outsiders c an affect t he
information that the researcher receives as restrictions are imposed. This could be due
to c oncerns t hat t he pu blication of c ertain i nformation c ould “ endanger or di scourage
witnesses or make specific detection methods widely known and hence less effective”
(Reiner & Newburn, 20 08, p.358) . T hese c oncerns w ere r aised dur ing t his c urrent
research, w here t hose i n the o rganisational hi erarchy expressed concern that t he
information may be used for purposes other than research, or that information that was
still of i nvestigative va lue t o a ctive c ases could be di vulged t hrough publ ication.
Although assurances w ere given t hat c hecks w ould be put i n pl ace t o p revent t hese
problems, the concerns raised were considered to be too great for some in NSW Police.
According to Pogrebin (2002) having an inside contact in a police organisation can be
helpful f or r educing s uspicions a nd t he a ssociated c oncerns, how ever t his d id not
provide much benefit in this research with those that held strong concerns.
- 162-
Reiner a nd N ewburn (2008) contend t hat pa rticipation in initiation rituals can
lead to some l evel of acceptance. These r ituals i nclude going for a d rink af ter a s hift
and ot her s ocial a ctivities. H owever, a s t his c urrent r esearch di d not r equire t he
presence of the researcher within a particular pol ice unit or department for any period
of t ime, a cceptance c ould not be a chieved t hrough t hese m eans. T he m ajority o f t he
detectives who were i nvolved i n t he i nvestigation of s erial m urder or s erial r ape
incidents were part of different units or located at different police stations within NSW.
Although the int erview s ample w as s maller t han originally intended, the
interviews were designed to build on a nd enrich the data obtained from the case study
analyses. This function was not affected.
As there was a sample timeframe of over fifteen years, changes in investigative
practice, the availability of forensic techniques and technologies have occurred and will
occur in the future. While this research does not pretend to provide an insight into all
cases of serial crime in the past or seek to predict the investigation of serial crimes in
the future, there are a number of considerations stemming from the research that could
aid in the future construction of serial crime investigation. As will be discussed in the
following chapters, this research has i dentified areas t hat have i mpacted on the
investigation. These issues will be di scussed further in relation to its i mpact on the
investigation of serial crime.
- 163-
CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDIES – OVERVIEW AND
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
This cha pter pr esents the cas es selected for t he cas e s tudy m ethod. These cas es are
introduced through t he presentation of an ove rview of t he case a nd a v ictimological
timeline for each. This timeline is used to consider the development and progress of the
investigation within the cont ext of t he cas e as a whole. The use of th e victimological
events as the framework for the timeline was necessary to illustrate the investigation, or
lack of, as a whole as s ome cas es w ere not i nvestigated at t he t ime t he of fences
occurred. This victimological time line would differ f rom the time line of the a ctual
investigation a s i n a nu mber of cases s uch as Milat, S nowtown a nd Trindall, t he
investigation into these offences did not occur at the time of victimisation but up to ten
years after the event.
- 164-
Introductions…Serial Murderers
Paul Charles Denyer
In 1993, P aul C harles D enyer s talked t he V ictorian s uburb of F rankston killing t hree
young women and a ttempting t o a bduct a f ourth, ove r a r elatively s hort s even w eek
period. T he t hree m urder vi ctims w ere vi olently stabbed t o d eath, how ever non e was
subjected to a s exual as sault. Denyer w as i dentified after a pos tman made a report t o
police of a suspicious person in a vehicle, which matched the description of a vehicle a
police of ficer ha d pr eviously i dentified as be ing ne ar t he l ast m urder scene. As t he
vehicle did not display any number plates, the police officer had recorded the vehicle’s
details from the registration sticker, enabling identification of Denyer.
- 165-
Table 6: Denyer- Timeline of Victimological Events 14
Date
Event
11 June 1993
Elizabeth Stevens, aged 18, is reported missing after failing to return home
12 June 1993
The body of Elizabeth Stevens found in Lloyd Park
8 July
Roszsa Toth, 41, is violently attacked at gunpoint while walking home from
work. The attacker attempts to drag her into bushland. Roszsa escapes and seeks
assistance from a passing motorist.
Police search the area but cannot locate her attacker.
13 July
Debbie Fream, aged 22, goes missing after leaving her twelve-day-old son with
a friend while she drives to the local shop for milk.
Debbie Fream’s remains are found in a paddock by the farmer.
30 July
Natalie Russell, aged 17, goes missing after riding her bike home from a local
College.
31 July
Natalie’s remains are found eight hours later in bushes near the bike track.
A piece of skin, believed to be from the killer is found on her body.
Paul Denyer is identified after his vehicle was noted by police as being in the
area where the murder of Natalie Russell took place.
Denyer is questioned by detectives at his home before being taken to the police
station for formal questioning.
1 August
Denyer confesses to the three murders after requests for DNA samples are
made.
15 December
Denyer pleads guilty to the murder of the three women and abduction of a
fourth.
14
Derived from Petraitis (1995) and Swanborough (2004)
- 166-
Kathleen Folbigg
In 1999 after the death of her fourth child, and the deaths of her three previous children,
the deaths of Kathleen Folbigg’s children were investigated by NSW Police. Although
the de aths of he r pr ior children C aleb, P atrick and S arah w ere attributed t o S udden
Infant D eath S yndrome or na tural caus es, the c oincidence of l osing f our c hildren t o
similar caus es r aised questions. F ollowing t he d iscovery of Folbigg’s di aries b y he r
husband w ho p assed t hem ont o pol ice du e t o t heir r evealing n ature, f urther
investigations into the d eaths as s uspicious were i nstigated. Folbigg was convicted of
the murder of three of her children and the manslaughter of her fourth child.
- 167-
Table 7: Folbigg- Timeline of Victimological Events 15
Date
Event
1 February 1989
Caleb is born at the Western Suburbs Maternity Hospital, Waratah Newcastle.
Folbigg is living in Mayfield, Newcastle.
20 February 1989
Caleb, 19 days old, dies. Post-mortem is conducted and the cause of death
attributed to SIDS
Police officer from Mayfield attends residence to extend sympathies. Attends
3 June 1990
hospital with Craig Folbigg (husband) for formal identification
Patrick is born at the Western Suburbs Maternity Hospital
18 October 1990
21 November 1990
Patrick is taken, semiconscious, to hospital. Later suffers seizures.
Doctors believe that Patrick had suffered a catastrophic asphyxiating event,
possibly causing the damage to occipital lobes of the brain, causing blindness
and possibly seizures.
13 February 1991
Patrick, eight months old, dies. Doctor states death due to asphyxia caused by
an epileptic fit on death certificate.
14 October 1992
Kathleen Folbigg decides to move house. Kathleen and Craig move to
Thornton, Maitland
Sarah is born at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle
30 August 1993
Sarah, ten months old, dies. Remains taken to Maitland Hospital.
Detectives from Maitland Police Station attend scene. Do not take further
action although discrepancies exist in timeframes given by Kathleen and
Craig.
31 August 1993
Post-mortem conducted on Sarah. Although abnormalities noted, cause of
death attributed to SIDS.
Folbiggs move to Singleton or Glendalea.
7 August 1997
Laura is born in Singleton Hospital
1 March 1999
Laura dies, aged 19 months.
Detective Senior Constable Bernie Ryan is assigned to review death of Laura.
19 April 2001
Kathleen Folbigg arrested and charged with the murders of her four children
21 May 2003
Kathleen Folbigg found guilty of the murders of Patrick, Sarah and Laura and
the manslaughter of Caleb and the infliction of grievous bodily harm.
a
15
There is some discrepancy between sources as to the exact location at this time.
Derived from Benns (2003), Marks (2003)
- 168-
John Wayne Glover
Between January 1989 and March 1990, six women, mostly elderly, were murdered and
several others were sexually assaulted, molested or assaulted. These crimes occurred in
the North S hore a rea of Sydney. These crimes o ccurred i n a range of areas i ncluding
nursing hom es, retirement vi llages and publ ic s treets. In 1990 a s uspect, J ohn W ayne
Glover w as i dentified: however he was not a rrested until a fter c ommitting hi s s ixth
murder whilst under police surveillance. Glover was convicted in 1991 o f the murders
of the six women.
- 169-
Table 8: Glover- Timeline of Victimological Events 16
Date
11 January 1989
Event
Margaret Todhunter, 84 assaulted in Mosman. Offence not reported to police
until December 1989 as she was a visitor to the region. Report made to
Queensland police after her return to Queensland and following the media
coverage of the crimes.
1 March
9 May
Gwedoline Mitchelhill, 82, is murdered in Mosman
Lady Winifred Ashton, 84, is murdered in Mosman. Strangled with own
pantyhose
6 June
Marjorie Mosely is sexually molested in a nursing home in Belrose
24 June
Lillian Travey and Jean Mc Gilchrist are sexually molested in a nursing home in
Lane Cove
8 August
Euphemia (Effie) Carnie is assaulted in Lindfield
6 October
Phylis McNeil is sexually molested in a nursing home in Neutral Bay
18 October
Doris Cox, 86, is assaulted in her retirement village in Mosman
2 November
Margaret Pahud, 85, is murdered in Lane Cove
3 November
Olive Cleveland, 81, is murdered in the same nursing home in Belrose where
4 November
Mosely was attacked
North Shore Murders Task Force is established
23 November
11 January 1990
Muriel Falconer, 92, is murdered in Mosman
Daisy Roberts is sexually molested in Greenwich Hospital
Chatswood detectives identify John Glover as a suspect in the last assault. After
being contacted by police Glover attempts suicide. Staff at the hospital give
detectives the suicide note with ‘no more grannies’ written on it.
18 January
Chatswood detectives interview Glover and photograph him for identification
purposes
End January
Suicide note and photograph passed on to Detective Inspector Mike Hagan,
head of the task force investigating the murders and assaults
Task force detectives interview Glover. Glover put under 24-hour surveillance
19 March 1990
Joan Sinclair, 60, is murdered in her home while police had the property under
surveillance for over seven hours. Glover is found in the bathtub after
attempting suicide
November 1991
John Glover pleads not guilty to six counts of murder on the grounds of
diminished responsibility. The jury find him guilty of all counts.
16
Derived from NSW Police closed case file, Kidd (2000, 2008), Writer (1992)
- 170-
Ivan Marko Milat
Ivan M arko M ilat w as c onvicted i n 1996 w ith the m urders of s even pe ople a nd t he
attempted murder o f an other. Milat’s m urder v ictims di sappeared over a t wo year
period f rom l ate 1989 t o 1992, w hile reportedly backpacking f rom S ydney t o t he
southern regions of NSW. All of these individuals were reported missing to authorities
within an average of one month from the date of the last known contact. Of the seven
murder vi ctims, only o ne, S imone S chmidl, was t ravelling a lone. T he r emaining
victims w ere tr avelling in the f ollowing pairs: Deborah E verist and J ames G ibson;
Gabor Neugebauer and Anja Habsheid; and Caroline Clarke and J oanne Walters. The
first r emains were unc overed i n t he B elanglo S tate F orest s outh of S ydney i n 1992.
However it was over 12 months before the remains of the other victims were uncovered
in the same region.
- 171-
Table 9: Milat- Timeline of Victimological Events 17
Date
Event
December 1989
Deborah Everist and James Gibson, both 19, contact family/friends for the last
time
15 January 1990
25 January
Deborah and James are reported missing to police
Paul Onions is the victim of an attempted robbery and assault near Bowral after
accepting a lift while hitchhiking
DecemberFebruary 1990
A camera belonging to James Gibson is found near Galston Gorge, on the north18
January 1991
western outskirts of Sydney
Simone Schmidl, 19, contacts friends for the last time, and is reported missing
four days later
25 December 1991
30 January 1992
Anja Habschied, 20, and Gabor Neugebauer, 21, contact family for the last time
Anja and Gabor are reported missing to the German police and Australian
Embassy
April 1992
September 1992
Caroline Clarke, 21, and Joanne Walters, 22, last seen in Sydney heading south
The remains of Caroline Clarke, and Joanne Walters, are discovered in the
Belanglo State Forest
October 1993
The remains of Deborah Everist and James Gibson are discovered
12 October 1993
Task Force ‘Air’ is formed to investigate these murders
1 November 1993
The remains of Simone Schmidl are discovered. Two days later the remains of
Anja Habschied and Gabor Neugebauer are uncovered nearby
November 1993
Paul Onions contacts NSW Police and recounts January 1990 incident
December 1993
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Rod Milton and social anthropologist Dr Richard
Basham provide a profile of a suspect
February 1994
Onions’ report recognised as significant to investigation
Surveillance on Ivan Milat commences
22 May 1994
12 November 1994
20 July 1996
Ivan Robert Marko Milat is arrested
Ivan Milat is ordered to stand trial
Ivan Milat is convicted of seven counts of murder and one count of attempted
murder
17
Derived from Bellamy (2004), Brown (2002), Hoysted and Kidd (2002) and Whittaker and Kennedy
(1998)
18
Reported dates of the discovery of the camera vary across the various sources
- 172-
Snowtown Murders
The four year period from 1994 t o 1998 w as dotted with the disappearances of twelve
people who lived in or around the area of Snowtown in South Australia. However the
absence of some of these individuals went unnoticed and unreported. In 1999 during a
lengthy investigation into the disappearance of three of the missing individuals, police
discovered t he r emains of e ight pe ople i n a di sused ba nk va ult. S hortly t hereafter,
another three bodies were uncovered on a property associated with one of the offenders.
One of the victims had been discovered several years prior but was not associated with
this c ase unt il a l ater s tage. J ohn B unting, c onsidered t he pr imary m otivator, R obert
Wagner, Mark Haydon and James Vlassakis were convicted of these murders.
- 173-
Table 10: Snowtown- Timeline of Victimological Events 19
Date
Event
16 August 1994
Skeletal remains of an unidentified young male adult were discovered in a field
in Lower Light
1995
Clinton Trezise is reported missing
1997
Barry Lane disappears
Late 1998
Elizabeth Haydon disappears
May 1999
Task Force ‘Chart’ is formed
20 May 1999
Remains of eight individuals are discovered in disused bank vault after a year
long missing persons investigation
21 May 1999
John Bunting, Robert Wagner and Mark Haydon are charged with murder
23 May 1999
Remains of a person are recovered from Bunting’s former residence
26 May 1999
The remains of an additional person are recovered from Bunting’s former
residence
2 June 1999
June 1999
Vlassakis is arrested and charged with murder
Unidentified body discovered in 1994 is identified as Clinton Trezise from
dental records
2001
Vlassakis confessed to four murders
16 October 2002
Trial of Bunting and Wagner begins
9 September 2003
Bunting found guilty of eleven counts of murder
Wagner found guilty of seven counts of murder. Wagner had pleaded guilty to
an additional 3 murders prior to the trials commencement
The jury could not reach a verdict on a 12th charge of murder
19
Derived from Boston (2004), Kidd (2000), McGarry (2005), and Pudney (2005)
- 174-
Introductions…Serial Rapists
Anthony James Daley
Between 1998 a nd 2000 , A nthony J ames D aley attacked at l east s even women, aged
between 21 a nd 40 years of a ge. T hese of fences w ere c ommitted i n t he s uburbs of
Parramatta, west of Sydney, and Leichhardt in Sydney’s inner west. Daley targeted his
victims after dark when they were alone, often when they were making their way home
from w ork. Daley threatened his vi ctims w ith e ither a kni fe or a s crewdriver be fore
sexually assaulting them.
- 175-
Table 11: Daley- Timeline of Victimological Events 20
Date
Event
5 September 1998
A 26-year-old woman is attacked as she gets out of her vehicle at a golf club in
Parramatta. Victim is threatened with a knife, dragged into nearby bushes and
sexually assaulted.
31 October
A 22-year-old victim is walking from a bus stop in Leichhardt, when she is
threatened with a screwdriver and sexually assaulted.
5 November
While walking from a bus stop, a 40-year-old victim is attacked as she reaches
her house in Leichhardt. Offender produces a knife.
20 April 2000
A 30-year-old woman parks her car in the garage of her Parramatta home, the
offender approaches threatening her with a screwdriver and sexually assaulting
her.
12 May
A 35-year-old woman drives into her garage in Westmead. As she leaves her car
she is attacked and sexually assaulted by Daley who has a knife.
23 June
A 25-year-old woman attempts to leave a car park in her vehicle when the
offender enters the vehicle. Victim is sexually assaulted at knife point.
26 June
7 July
Strike Force Sapelo is formed
A 21-year-old victim is walking to her vehicle from the Westmead Railway
station when she is attacked at knife point. She is dragged into the front garden
of a house, where the offender attempts to sexual assault her.
14 July
Daley is arrested on the Great Western Highway at Parramatta
20
Derived from NSW Police closed case file, Cowper (2000), Toy (2000) and court documents ("R v
Daley," 2002)
- 176-
David Glen Johnson
Twenty nine women were the victims of David Johnson. From 1995 t o 1997 J ohnson
was convicted of crimes against 18 of these victims. Of these victims, eight related to
charges of sexual assault. A majority of these women were the victims of sexual assault
or attempted s exual assault whilst ot hers m anaged t o di srupt t he offender before s uch
acts c ould be a ttempted. J ohnson, know n publ icly as t he ‘ Western S uburbs R apist’,
would break into the victim’s residence in the early hours of the morning, usually with
the i ntention of sexually assaulting hi s vi ctim. He us ually stole ite ms f rom the
residences, of ten m oney a nd/or j ewellery, be fore a pproaching hi s vi ctim w hile they
were as leep. Frequently, J ohnson w ould m ake s exually s uggestive c omments t o hi s
victim. In response to these attacks, Task Force Ardmore was set up in early May 1997.
Johnson was arrested later that month after fingerprint evidence linked him to some of
the reported incidents.
- 177-
Table 12: Johnson- Timeline of Victimological Events 21
Date
13 November 1995
Event
A 60-year-old woman sexually assaulted in home. Property is stolen from
premises. Fingerprints left at scene
15 November
A 56-year-old woman is indecently assaulted. Victim is spoken to. Property is
stolen.
26 November
Attempted assault 45-year-old. Victim is spoken to. Property is stolen from
premises.
4 December
Attempted assault 68-year-old. Victim is spoken to. Property is stolen from
premises.
5 January 1996
Attempted assault 46-year-old. Victim is spoken to. Property is stolen from
premises.
8 January
Attempted assault 46-year-old. Victim is spoken to. Property is stolen from
premises.
11 January
Attempted assault 23-year-old. Victim is spoken to. Property is stolen from
premises.
23 January
Attempted assault 35-year-old. Victim is spoken to.
Attempted assault 36-year-old later that same night. Victim is spoken to.
7 February
Property is stolen.
A 46-year-old woman sexually assaulted. Victim is spoken to. Property is
9 February
stolen from premises.
17 February
Attempted assault (non-complainant). Victim is spoken to.
19 February
Attempted assault 61-year-old. Victim is spoken to.
Attempted break and enter.
Attempted break and enter at another location that same night.
21 February
1 March
Attempted break and enter. Victim is spoken to.
Break enter and steal
Attempted sexual assault at another location. Victim is spoken to. Items from
the other location are found at this scene. It is established that the offender had
attempted to assault the victim at this location previously.
Task Force Ardmore is set up to investigate these crimes.
12 March
Indecent assault of 27-year-old. Property is stolen from premises. A torch is
found at the scene.
24 April
21
Sexual assault of non-complainant victim
Derived from NSW Police closed case file, Keogh (1997), Riley (1997) and Warneminde (1997).
- 178-
Event (continued…)
Date
23 May
Indecent assault of 31-year-old. Victim is spoken to.
9 June
Break and enter. Offender disturbed.
31 July
Break and enter. Victim is spoken to.
10 August
Sexual assault of 24-year-old victim. Victim is spoken to. Property is stolen
from premises.
27 August
Attempted sexual assault. Victim is spoken to. Property is stolen from premises.
2 September
Attempted break and enter. Victim is spoken to.
16 October
Break and enter. Victim is spoken to.
2 January 1997
Break and enter. Victim is spoken to.
26 January
Repeated sexual assault of 36-year-old. Victim is spoken to. Property is stolen
from premises.
4 February
Attempted break and enter. Victim is spoken to.
20 March
Johnson is identified from a fingerprint match from the first case
21 March
Search warrant is executed on Johnson’s property. Johnson evaded police.
28 March
Johnson is arrested.
- 179-
Bruno Presta
Over an eight month period in 1997, Bruno Presta targeted young males aged 15-21 in
the g eneral a rea of Liverpool i n S ydney’s w est. In e ach c ase, P resta us ed a gun t o
threaten his vi ctims int o complying w ith his ins tructions. His vi ctims w ere f orced or
coerced into his vehicle, from where they were taken to his home and drugged, bound
and sexually assaulted for s everal hour s. These as saults w ere vi deotaped by P resta.
These t apes w ere di scovered by pol ice and used later i n court. After P resta ha d
completed his assaults he would dump his victims at a different location to where they
were kidnapped.
- 180-
Table 13: Presta- Timeline of Victimological Events 22
Date
Event
28 March 1997
At 10.30pm a 15-year-old boy walking home from a party is forced into vehicle
at gunpoint. He is taken to Presta’s home where he is drugged and sadistically
sexually assaulted.
21 April
A 17-year-old boy is on his way home late at night when offered a lift by the
offender. Presta produces the gun and takes the boy to his house where he drugs
and sexually assaults him.
12 May
A 21-year-old male is jogging in the early hours when grabbed from behind and
threatened with a gun. He is taken to the house where he is sexually assaulted.
29 October
While waiting at a bus stop late at night in Claymore, an 18-year-old is forced
into a vehicle at gun point., taken to offender’s house and sexually assaulted.
Report is received by Detective Faucett who initiates investigation.
2 November
A 15-year-old boy walking home in the early hours is forced into a vehicle at
gunpoint. He is taken to the home where he is violently sexually assaulted.
Investigation into all five crimes commences.
November
Identification of Presta via phone records leads to the execution of a search
warrant and arrest.
August 1998
22
Presta convicted is 26 charges relating to the assaults.
Derived from NSW Police records, Rowlands (2000) and court documents ("R v Presta," 2000)
- 181-
Wayne Anthony Trindall
Wayne T rindall w as convicted of t he vi olent s exual a ssaults of s ix w omen a nd t he
attempted sexual as sault of a s eventh between 1995 and 2004. A m ajority of t hese
offences o ccurred i n t he D arlinghurst a nd Kings C ross a reas in Sydney. T he vi ctims
were p ersuaded by t he offender t o leave w ith him of ten on the pr etence of t aking
photographs of t he vi ctims or pr oviding dr ugs. A m ajority of t hese v ictims w ere
described a s pr ostitutes a lthough not ne cessarily w orking at t he t ime t hese of fences
took place. A Task Force was initiated in 2004 after initial DNA analysis linked three
offences.
- 182-
Table 14: Trindall- Timeline of Victimological Events 23
Date
Event
22 September 1995
Victim is approached for calendar photo shoot. Taken into bushes at Queens Park
Road where she is sexually assaulted. Crime is reported to Kings Cross Police.
31 May 1997
Trindall approaches victim as a customer, making an agreement to take the victim
‘home’ for services. Victim is driven to Royal National Park, Audly, where she is
sexually assaulted. Crime is reported to Sutherland Police.
30 January 2000
Woman is approached for swimsuit photos. Taken to Centennial Park where she is
sexually assaulted. Crime is reported to Kings Cross Police.
12 October 2003
Offender poses as a customer. Victim taken to Centennial Park where she is
sexually assaulted. Crime is reported to Maroubra Police.
26 January 2004
Victim is approached and assaulted in Centennial Park. Crime is reported to
Maroubra Police
17 May 2004
Victim is offered cannabis and leaves area with Trindall. Goes to Centennial Park
where she is sexually assaulted. Crime is reported to Surry Hills Police.
June 2004
September 2004
6 August 2004
Task Force Grahame is set up to investigate three of the offences linked by DNA
Link is made to a fourth victim
Attempted sexual assault is reported to Redfern Police. Victim identifies Trindall
as offender.
31 August 2004
April 2006
23
Trindall is charged with first offences relating to the sexual assaults.
Trindall is sentenced to a minimum of 22 years imprisonment.
Derived from NSW Police Brief of Evidence and Begg and Norris (2006)
- 183-
Victimological Representations
As discussed in Chapter 4, it has been suggested that the victimology of serial crimes
can h ave an impact on h ow the offences are investigated and thus the construction of
the i nvestigation. As will be demonstrated i n t he following chapters, di fferent aspects
of the victimology of serial rape and serial murder offences is reflected in the cultural
practices of policing organisations.
Below i s an overview o f t he de mographic cha racteristics of t he c ase s tudies.
The s tatistics f or s erial murder s ince 1990 i n A ustralia a re p rovided i n some c ases,
providing a cont ext for the case study data. As each serial-rape case study used in the
sample occurred after 1995, these statistics are also compared to all incidents of serial
rape that occurred after 1995.
- 184-
CHAPTER 5: RESULTS- EMERGENT THEMES
Thematic Analysis of Case Studies and Interview Data
Several t hemes w ere i dentified from t he r esearch literature as k ey i ssues i n the
investigation of serial murder and serial rape cases. A subsequent thematic analysis of
the da ta de rived f rom c ase s tudies and i nterviews e xamined t he pr esence o f t hese
themes i n t he i nvestigations of t he c ases of consideration. These the mes w ill be
introduced in this chapter with further discussion in Chapters 6, 7 a nd 8. These themes
did not ne cessarily apply across a ll c ases i dentified b y e ither of t he m ethodologies
employed, but were considered significant regardless.
These themes can be categorised into three different perspectives on the process
of inve stigating s erial crimes in Australia. The f irst is the me thods employed to
investigate t hese cr imes that will be examined in C hapter 6. T he i nfluence of po lice
cultural c onstructions on t he inve stigation will b e e xamined i n C hapter 7. C hapter 8
will di scuss the the mes that e merged i n t he us e of i ntelligence-led policing p ractices
and criminal profiling.
The f ollowing c hapter c onsiders t he s ocial c ontext w ithin which these cr imes
occurred and w ithin w hich t he pol ice i nvestigations w ere c onstructed. Crimes of a
serial nature receive attention from the media which informs the public’s understanding
- 185-
of bot h t he of fenders a nd t he pol ice i nvestigation i nto t hese c rimes. T his c an a lso be
seen to influence t he understanding of pol ice and t heir response t o t hese c rimes.
Additionally, t he vi ctimology of t hese of fences can be s een t o be i nfluenced b y t he
general community understanding of victims.
Construction of an Investigation
There are s everal com mon themes t hat em erged from t he cas e s tudies an d interviews
when c onsidering t he w ay i n w hich a n i nvestigation i nto s erial c rime w as de veloped
and constructed.
1. Serial Crime Recognition and Establishment of the Task Force. One of t he
strongest of these themes was the concept of the ‘task force’ which appeared across the
majority of serial crime investigations. The task force was identified as the key strategy
to obt aining r esources. In m ost of t he c ases w here a t ask force w as d eployed, t he
amount of resources at the disposal of the task force was considerably greater than that
apparent for other serial crime investigations. As will be discussed, many of these task
forces were set up following the recognition that a number of offences had taken place,
or had possibly taken place.
An i nteresting poi nt t hat emerged from t he t heme of t he t ask force w as t he
question of what constituted a task force, as there was some variance in the number of
- 186-
personnel assigned to the individual cases. Another salient feature of the task force that
transpired was how they achieved effective and efficient information management.
2. Media as an Investigative Tool. Another strong theme was how the media was used
and managed in a s erial cr ime i nvestigation. A s out lined i n C hapter 2 , i ncidents of
serial murder and serial rape tend to receive disproportionate media coverage, which is
often sensationalist i n na ture. T he s ensationalist r eporting is f requently restricted to
incidents of serial murder and although not directly of interest to this research, this was
apparent here. Of greater interest were the calculated attempts by investigators to limit
such reporting in some cases.
A common feature across serial crime investigations was the use of the media to
request i nformation f rom t he publ ic a bout t he crimes. T his w as achieved t hrough a
variety of m edia out lets, a lthough t his de pended on t he s ize of t he i nvestigation. T he
media was also used as a means for reassuring the community and as a means of crime
prevention.
3. Contribution of forensic techniques. The extent t o w hich t echnologies s uch a s
DNA testing and other forensic analyses could be seen to contribute to an investigation
was al so of i nterest. It emerged that t here w ere quite va ried ex periences, pa rticularly
with the extent t o w hich D NA t echnology contributed to t he out comes. A t heme t hat
arose from this was one of mismanagement of evidence, of both DNA and other forms.
- 187-
This mis management r eflected directly on t he progression of s ome i nvestigations
considered.
In a ddition t o t his, a t heme t hat e merged f rom m ost i ncidents w as one where
blame was attributed to one or more aspects of an investigation. This is often applied by
the media through their reporting or publishing of biographical texts of the cases. From
the interviews, there was a general dismissal of such allegations, often emphasised by
the context in which any ‘error’ was made.
Cultural Constructions of Policing
This research aimed to consider the investigation of serial crimes within the context of
police c ultural kno wledge a nd p ractices, a s i dentified b y C han (1999b). There w ere
several significant t hemes t hat em erged from t he cas e s tudies and the i nterviews
relating to how police cultural knowledge was reflected in the investigative practices.
1. Policing subcultures. The f irst of t hese w as t he ex istence of s ubcultures. These
subcultures could be seen to conflict and compete during the investigation of both serial
rape and serial murder offences of focus. These competing subcultures however, were
not as s trongly divided a s s uggested by C han (1999b, 2003b), as will be discussed i n
Chapter 7. These subcultures were identified as the ‘detective’ and the ‘specialised unit’
whereby some conflict or lack of understanding about the roles and responsibilities of
each was apparent.
- 188-
This di sparity also existed a cross t he va rious l evels i n t he o rganisation. T his
research was ch allenged b y di fferent l evels of t he or ganisation, m ainly m iddle
management, w hile r eceiving s upport f rom t hose a t t he g rass-roots l evel a nd uppe r
management.
2. Experience of lead detectives. Another issue that arose from the case study analysis
and the interviews was the amount of experience that some of the lead detectives had at
the time of the investigation. This could be seen to vary with the size of the task force
or i nvestigation, w hereby the d etectives s econded t o l arge t ask forces t ended t o ha ve
greater experience i n bot h t he pos ition of de tective a nd t he i nvestigation of s erial
crimes. Consistent w ith this, the de tectives inve stigating inc idents of s erial r ape or in
one cas e s erial m urder without t he r esources o f a t ask force t ended generally not t o
have this experience.
3. Case Theories. A t heme t hat pervaded the ana lysis w as t he i dea o f f ollowing a
‘hunch’ or a case theory. Again, similar to detectives’ levels of experience, it was found
that t here were t wo s trands of t hought emerging on t his i ssue. O ne cons idered
following i nstinct a s a n a cceptable s trategy. T he ot her c onsidered t he ne gative
consequences t hat s uch a l imited a pproach t o a n i nvestigation c an b ring. This i s
presented within the context of good management of resources.
- 189-
4. Knowledge. A significant the me tha t e merged from thi s r esearch was the w ay in
which pol ice di ctionary knowledge i nforms police pr actice and
reflects on t he
investigations of serial crimes. As outlined in Chapter 1, police dictionary knowledge is
shaped t hrough c ultural understandings a nd i nforms t he w ay i n w hich po lice w ork i s
conducted, kno wn a s d irectory kno wledge. One a spect of t his know ledge i s how
stereotypes are given meaning through cultural expectations. These stereotypes relate to
specific groups of people and affect how these groups are responded to.
Such stereotypes can be seen to be reflective of some myths which are common
throughout t he general community, pa rticularly t hose r elating t o s exual a ssault and
homosexuality. The concept of the worthless victim as proposed by Fattah (1997) was
also seen to be reflected in the cultural understandings of the investigations into serial
crimes at different points.
An interesting f inding was the la ck of di rectory knowledge relating to s erial
murder or s erial rape i nvestigations e vident i n t he i nterviews and c ase s tudies. W hile
the r esearch literature s uggests t hat s ome i nvestigative t ools, such as t he m edia and
crime linkag e s ystems, are us ed within a s pecific f ramework f or t he i nvestigation of
serial crimes with expected outcomes, this was not evident. Thus, the knowledge gained
by pr evious i nvestigations i nto serial m urder a nd s erial r ape w ere not c onsidered t o
have actively informed subsequent investigations.
- 190-
In the discussion of dictionary knowledge of police in Chapter 1, the concept of
a s pecialised language u tilised by pol ice t o express a cultural und erstanding given t o
particular terms was discussed (Devery, 2003). This was not seen as a significant theme
emerging from the case studies or interviews although there were some inferences that
may be considered reflective of such language. The absence of specialised language in
the research environment is however also considered in the discussion in Chapter 7.
Intelligent Investigations and Culture
There ha s be en significant r esearch in the ar ea of cr ime l inkage. As discussed in
Chapter 2, the ability of pol ice to recognise a c ase of serial murder or serial rape can
impact on t he pr ogress a nd out come of t he s ubsequent i nvestigation (Egger, 1998) .
Every case that was considered in this research experienced a delay in the recognition
of the offences as serial in nature. Some of these delays were extensive, up to ten years.
All invol ved more inc idents tha n the tw o victims tha t a re required to identify s imilar
crimes as serial. The reason for these delays can be seen to reflect some of the cultural
understandings discussed in Chapter 7.
1. Linking Crimes Using Intelligent Tools. In C hapter 2, t he i ntroduction of
intelligence-led policing practices i nto many as pects of pol ice pr actice w as di scussed.
One of the focuses of this approach is to aid in the investigation of series of crimes, as
identified by Ratcliffe (2003) in his discussion of the UK National Intelligence Model.
In Australia the ViCLAS was introduced to provide a national intelligence-led approach
- 191-
to monitoring missing persons and a range of serious offences, among other things. One
of the purposes of this system was to enable greater assistance in recognising a series of
crimes that may be serial in nature. While this system has since been abolished, it was
in place during the investigations of many of the cases studied.
From the case study and interview analysis it w as clear that ViCLAS w as not
being us ed as a n investigative tool , thus c ontributing to the di smissal of thi s s ystem.
Although some of the s erial c rimes studied occurred p rior t o t he i ntroduction of t his
system, those c rimes tha t oc curred within the op erational time frame did not us e this
system in their inve stigations. Again, this c an be s een to reflect the c ultural pr actices
evident in police organisations.
2. Contribution of Criminal Profiling. Another t ool t hat ha s be en used in several
investigations was criminal profiling. The use of a criminal profile was seen to be as a
tool to aid other investigative techniques and was seen in cases where a suspect was not
readily app arent. There were how ever, mixed successes u sing thi s as a n investigative
tool in the cases of interest. In addition to the use of a criminal profile, there was also
some evidence that typologies were used in particular cases. Again, the use of these in
an i nvestigation c ould n ot be s een t o i mpact on the inve stigative out come, as w ill be
discussed in Chapter 8.
These t hemes pr ovide a pi cture o f an investigative p rocess tha t i s s till
individualistic. There is no evidence that once crimes have been recognised as serial in
- 192-
nature t hat t here ha s be en or i s any s pecific r esponse t o these crimes. It ha d been
expected that there would be some change over time due to the timeframe chos en for
this study but this was not evident.
From the se the mes, a ty pology o f the inve stigation of s erial c rime ha s be en
developed, as presented in Chapter 9. This typology reflects the ability of investigators
to r ecognise a nd l ink r elated of fences, and t he i nfluence t hat s uch r ecognition ha s on
the investigative practices employed.
- 193-
CHAPTER 6: ISSUES IN THE INVESTIGATION OF
SERIAL CRIME
This cha pter w ill pr ovide a pi cture o f t he i nvestigative p rocesses em ployed i n t he
investigation of s erial r ape a nd serial mur der in Australia. The t ypes o f inve stigative
techniques and technologies employed will also be identified. As serial rape and serial
murder c annot be a ssumed t o be c onsidered a s t he s ame f rom a n i nvestigative
standpoint 24, these two offence types will usually be discussed separately.
As outlined in Chapter 2 one aspect of investigative practice that is of interest to
this r esearch is int elligence-led policing. This c hapter w ill ide ntify emergent the mes
relating to the incorporation of intelligence-led policing practices into the investigation
of serial crimes as reflected in the case studies and interviews conducted.
The most detailed information relating to the processes involved in investigating
a serial crime emerged from the closed case file of the Glover case. This was the only
record obt ained t hat w as ne ar c omplete i n c ontent. Unlike B riefs of E vidence, which
only included evidentiary-related information about the investigation, the complete case
file also records the processes that do not directly lead to the arrest of the offender. This
is particularly pertinent in the information relating to the investigation of other suspects
which i s absent from t he B rief o f Evidence. Other i nformation i ncludes t he s trategies
24
As described in previous chapters, the crime of murder is considered as more heinous than the crime of
rape thus the importance attached to each can influence the construction of an investigation.
- 194-
employed s uch as c anvasses, pro-active pa trols, a pproaches t o i nstitutions s uch a s
schools and foot patrols in the areas where the offender was thought to have identified
his vi ctims. Unfortunately the G lover case i s the ol dest in terms of the t imeframe of
events. Therefore it cannot reflect completely on the use of techniques introduced since
the investigation of 1990.
Pictorial of the Investigation
A Resourceful Investigation: The Task Force
An i mportant aspect of t he i nvestigation examined, i s t he w ay i t i s r esourced and t he
availability of such resources. In all but one of the cases of serial rape or serial murder,
a t ask force w as f ormed t o m anage t he r esources a nd s tructure t he i nvestigation. A s
recognised previously in Chapter 2, a task force is considered as an approach which can
effectively and efficiently handle the range of challenges arising from the serial murder
or s erial r ape i nvestigation, t hrough pr oviding a c entralisation of r esources. T he
following task forces were examined:
•
•
•
•
Task Force Air- Ivan Milat
Task Force Pulsar- Paul Denyer
North Shore Murders Task Force- John Glover
Task Force Chart- Snowtown Murders
- 195-
•
•
•
Task Force Ardmore- David Johnson
Strike Force Grahame- Wayne Trindall
Strike Force Sapelo- Anthony Daley
Two of the case studies did not have formalised task forces established. These were
the cases of serial rapist Bruno Presta and serial murderer Kathleen Folbigg.
Task Force Air- Milat
An issue with the initial Milat investigation which followed the discovery o f the fi rst
victims w as the w ay in w hich it w as c onstructed. According to Bellamy (2004) the
investigation was set u p as individual g roups of de tectives which were w orking
independently until T ask F orce A ir w as s et up a nd he aded b y S uperintendent C live
Small. This task force was not formed until after the discovery of the remains of Everist
and G ibson i n O ctober 1993, ove r 12 months a fter the f irst tw o victims w ere
discovered. Initially, this task force was said to be 20 members strong with a mandate
to i nvestigate t he de aths of t he f our vi ctims w ho ha d be en di scovered at t hat poi nt
(Walsh, 1993). Walsh (1993) also suggested that the task force’s role was to consider
links w ith ot her m issing b ackpackers. The di scovery o f t he r emains of S chmidl,
Habscheid and Neugebauer soon after led the task force to announce publicly that they
were treating these crimes as serial murder (Bellamy, 2004).
- 196-
It i s unkno wn w hether investigators ha d been treating these cases as s erial i n
nature pr ior t o t his a nnouncement. If t hey h ad not , t his m ay ha ve ha mpered t heir
investigation. T his point was emphasised b y E gger (1998), w hich w ill be a ddressed
further in the discussion of crime linkage in Chapter 8. Of immediate interest is how the
decision to form a task force was made and the factors to be considered. Superintendent
Small w as a sked a bout w hat c onsiderations w ere m ade i n t he f ormation of t he t ask
force t o i nvestigate t he m urders, which o ccurred a fter t he s econd di scovery i n t he
Belanglo State Forest. He explained:
There were a number of things that played on the decisions that were made.
On the—one of the matters was that 12 months earlier there had been bodies
found i n t he f orest area. There ha d been a police search. No f urther bodies
were found but here we were 12 months later finding another body…. That’s
not a criticism of the original police investigation, it’s simply saying that the
size of t he ar ea t o be se arched was v ery, very l arge and we r eally ha d to
make some decisions about how we were going to search the forest. And that
was a big issue.
This response suggests that there were clear con siderations during this time that these
crimes c ould be s erial i n na ture a nd t hat t here c ould have be en m ore victims. The
recognition of the limitations placed on the initial investigation, and the impact that this
had on that investigation, contributed to the decision to form a task force to ensure that
the r esources for t his would be a vailable. T his how ever, i n i tself, also pr esented
problems as evident as Small continued:
- 197-
… The second thing is that the forest itself, and that in part the forest where
the bodies w ere f ound w ere quite i solated a nd rough terrain. There w eren’t
any s hops or c anteens or anything l ike t hat w here y ou c ould g et d rinks o f
water, food, refreshments. Even toilet facilities weren’t there. So that in itself
was a significant l ogistics issue…. The other thing, the t hird thing was that
the local police station was, I think, around 20km or so away… so even the
local resources were quite distant from where the crime scene was. And then
the- another part that was relevant was the fact that whilst the inquiry was at
this t ime w as esse ntially i n the B elanglo Forest t he reality i s i t l ooked as
though it would be a l ong a nd protracted i nquiry a nd t hat probably a better
place f or t he command c entre after the forest h ad been searched would be
Sydney so we had to set up a Sydney command post as well to take over the
running of the inquiry for its duration…. The other one was how many police
did w e ne ed dow n t here, and w here w ould w e g et them f rom and w here
would they be accommodated.
The lo gistical problems of m anaging s o m any personnel w ere a l eading factor i n the
decision to form a t ask force, as specified by Small. The problem with having no l ocal
police r esources a nd t hat a s econd c ommand c entre w ould be ne eded means t hat t he
task force could not be as centralised as would normally be expected. Small concluded
his explanation by saying:
- 198-
…also the f act that th ere were a lready r umours f loating pa rticularly in the
media but also a mong pol ice about ot her di sappearances t hat cou ld have
occurred in the area. It was within the context of all those sorts of things that
it w as de cided t o s et up a t askforce a nd de cisions w ere m ade a bout t he
structure and the sources for that taskforce.
This investigation took place over a pe riod of at least 13 months up until the arrest of
Milat, although t he t ask f orce s till ha d a role in t he processes i nvolved i n t he
prosecution of M ilat. According t o t he case review, t he c ost of T ask F orce Air
exceeded $4 million dollars (Small, 1998).
Task Force Pulsar- Denyer
According to one source (Swanborough, 2004) the task force investigating the Denyer
murders, T ask F orce P ulsar w as f ormed a fter t he s econd m urder. This however, may
have been a strategic formality as there were no apparent changes in the way in which
the cas e w as i nvestigated after t his t ask force was es tablished. S eparate t o this w as
Operation R eassurance, which w as a he lp c entre s et up t o pr ovide i nformation on
personal safety for women (Kidd, 2008). This crime prevention initiative was formed in
response to the increased fear in the community after strong media coverage (Petraitis,
1995). This w as t he onl y example w here resources w ere s pecifically allocated as a
crime prevention initiative.
- 199-
North Shore Murders Task Force- Glover
The a ctual t ask f orce for t he G lover i nvestigation, T he N orth S hore Murders T ask
Force, was comprised of a similar number of police to the Milat investigation, although
initially it started with 35 detectives (Sunday Mail, 1989b). There were however, fewer
supplementary p ersonnel a s w ill be di scussed i n relation t o i nvestigative pe rsonnel i n
the next section. The closed case files included the reporting of the resources utilised by
the taskforce at di fferent stages, recording ch anges and the reasons for these ch anges.
The r esources al located to the M ilat and Glover t ask forces w ere i n stark contrast t o
those dur ing t he T rindall i nvestigation. T ask F orce Grahame c onsisted of t wo
detectives f rom t he S ex C rimes U nit and access to their r esources i n t he f orm of a n
intelligence analyst, f or e xample. A s a cknowledged pr eviously, t his t ask f orce w as
initiated after Trindall had been identified as a suspect by DNA linkages to some of the
crimes. As an offender h ad already been identified, this may have limited the need to
dedicate greater resources to the investigation. This may however, have been due to the
nature of the victims. As suggested by Marché (1994) the allocation of resources may
be reflective of the community interest in relation to the crimes. M arché identifies the
race of t he vi ctim a s on e of t he de fining i ssues, but t his m ay e xtend t o those f rom
marginalised groups (Marché, 1994).
- 200-
Task Force Chart- Snowtown Murders
Task Force C hart ha d an initial br ief t o investigate t he conn ection between three
missing pe rsons (Boston, 2004) in South A ustralia. While the initial membership is
uncertain, B oston (2004) states t hat at i ts pe ak, the t ask force cons isted of 3 3 pol ice
officers from the Major Crime, Crime Scene Examination and Missing Persons Squads
of S outh A ustralia P olice. T hese of ficers w ere s upported b y administrators t o a ssist
with the management of information. Similar to Task Force Air, specialists in the form
of anthropologists and pathologists were consulted on this task force.
Boston (2004) describes T ask Force C hart as a year-long m issing p ersons
investigation. T his di stinguishes t his t ask f orce f rom t he ot her c ases of s erial m urder
considered by this research, in that it did not begin as a murder investigation. It was this
investigation into missing persons that led to the discovery of the r emains of victims.
This is unlike the other serial murder cases where at least some of the victims had been
located prior to the establishment of the task force.
Task Force Ardmore- Johnson
Following the attacks on 28 women in Sydney’s western suburbs, Task Force Ardmore
was s et up. A ccording t o documents from t he closed case file and m edia reports, t his
task f orce w as e stablished f ollowing a n i nitial i nvestigation, a nd w as di rected to re-
- 201-
investigate t hese of fences (Goodsir, 1997) . T his m ove f ollowed t he l oss of ke y
evidence by investigators which led to some of it being destroyed (Riley, 1997). It was
also s uggested t hat f orensic pr ocedures w ere n ot c arried out , w ith pol ice failing t o
attempt fingerprint analysis on a torch that the offender had dropped at a crime scene
(Warneminde, 1997). The allocation of these resources, however, did not occur at the
time that a number of incidents were linked. According to one media report, similarities
between t he f irst e ight of fences ha d be en i dentified, l eading t o t he c ompilation of a
report detailing these cases which was then submitted to senior NSW Police members
and the then Minister for Police (Riley, 1997). It was some 13 m onths later, following
an internal investigation into the first investigation of these crimes, that a task force was
dedicated to the offences (Warneminde, 1997).
Warneminde (1997) describes t he t ask f orce a s consisting of 24 ‘hand-picked
detectives’. This followed public assurances by the then Assistant Commissioner, Clive
Small, that the crimes were “serious enough for resources to be upgraded as required”
(Keogh, 1997) in the form of police and the use of technology. The closed case file also
describes a further f our i nvestigators be ing a llocated t o T ask F orce A rdmore, a long
with an analyst and clerical officer.
Strike Force Grahame- Trindall
Strike Force Grahame w as initiated following th e linkage of thr ee incidents of sexual
assault t hat oc curred over a pe riod of s even years, a nd s ubsequently l ed t o t he
- 202-
identification of further offences that occurred over the previous nine year period (Begg
& N orris, 2006) . Personal com munications w ith the l ead detective on this cas e,
Detective G raham N orris, s how t hat t he t ask f orce ha d be en e stablished onl y t wo
months before the suspect was identified, as the most recent victim had been known to
the offender and had named him in her report to police (Norris, 2006). As outlined in
the Brief of Evidence, it was the forensic evidence from this incident that was used to
link it to other crimes through DNA analysis. According to Norris, it was only after the
development of the task force that these linked crimes were fully investigated (Norris,
2006). A ccording t o N orris t he t ask f orce c onsisted of t wo de tectives a nd one
intelligence analyst (Norris, 2006).
As this task force was established after the suspect had been identified through
DNA analysis, the inv estigative functions pe rformed were mor e limited than those o f
other task forces considered. The main investigative function of this task force was to
identify if other similar cases existed. Once similar crimes had been identified, the task
force had to establish what physical evidence was available to be analysed in order to
link these offences (Norris, 2006).
Strike Force Sapelo- Daley
Following a number of cases of sexual assault in western Sydney suburbs over a period
of approximately 18 months, Strike Force Sapelo was set up (Rowlands, 2000). There
were eight m embers o f t his t ask f orce, w ho h ad come f rom a s pecialised uni t (AAP,
- 203-
2000). The closed case file identifies that the strike force was set up after six offences
were committed. Initial media reports suggest this strike force was investigating sexual
assaults in the suburbs of Parramatta and Westmead (AAP, 2000; Cowper, 2000; Toy,
2000). W hile i t w as a cknowledged b y pol ice t hat t his s cope w as l ocalised a nd t hat
related crimes m ay ha ve oc curred i n other ar eas (AAP, 2000) , it was not unt il D aley
was a rrested t hat o ffences f rom t he s uburb of Leichhardt were pub licly l inked
(Rowlands, 2000).
Critique of Task Forces
Although t here i s general s upport for t he us e of t ask f orces i n a s erial c rime
investigation, there ha ve be en s ome c riticisms levelled at th em, such as t hose b y
Fleming (1994). Fleming identifies and discusses several serial crime cases in America,
where the task forces were considered to have functioned poorly. In the main this was
not a pparent i n t he i nvestigations c onsidered b y this current research. T here were
however, i nitial pr oblems e vident w ith t he i nvestigation i nto t he s eries of s exual
assaults committed b y J ohnson. The c ase review i ndicated t hat t he problems with t he
investigation previously mentioned were to be addressed by a thorough reinvestigation.
This included re-interviewing victims and witnesses.
Task F orce Ardmore faced ot her c hallenges, a s i t w as w orking a round a n
Internal A ffairs inve stigation into the inve stigative pr actices of th e ini tial de tectives
working the case (Riley, 1997). The closed case file also acknowledges that following a
- 204-
public a ppeal for i nformation t hat i ncluded a vi sual de scription of t he of fender, t hree
serving pol ice of ficers were nom inated as pos sible persons o f i nterest by t he publ ic.
One of these was the Commander of Task Force Ardmore; this led to an investigation
into those allegations and the involvement of Internal Affairs.
Another i ssue r aised i n the literature b y Innes (1999) was t hat t here w as
pressure t o reduce t he r esources available t o prolonged i nvestigations. T his di d no t
emerge as an issue in any of the investigations from the case studies or the interviews.
However i n the F olbigg case, Detective R yan did describe s ome i nitial r esistance t o
instigating the investigation:
Detective- I had difficulty getting a full time strike force on it. It was put in
the corner of an office and you picked it up every now and then.
Interviewer- So there were problems getting resources put on to it?
Detective- Yeah…. I suppose there was always that- flogging a de ad horse,
you'll never prove it. How much do w e throw at this you do a ll those things
but everything I asked for I make sure I had the evidence to back it up. So I’d
say- listen I want to go to America and England to do this, this and this, right
and this is the reason why. And say no, and we'll go to the coroner and you'll
have to answer questions as to why you didn't…
- 205-
This resistance w as ex plained by the f act at that s tage of t he i nvestigation, t here w as
little evidence to substantiate that the deaths were homicides. In order to obtain expert
evidence t o determine whether the de aths of t he F olbigg c hildren w ere s uspicious,
Detective R yan ne eded t o c onsult e xperts i n England a nd A merica. When a sked
whether there were problems obtaining resources to travel to England and America to
consult with experts, Detective Ryan explains:
No. Back in those da ys the w ay the pol ice service was st ructured overseas
investigative t rips g ot f unded by t he D eputy C ommissioner. T hey ha d a
budget a nd it w ent to the Minister t o s ign of f on. We do a n itinerary a s t o
reasons to get permission. But I found absolutely no problems at all in going
overseas.
This variance in the attitude to the provision of resources from different levels may be
an indication of the value placed on some forms of information, such as the obtainment
of expert evidence. It may also reflect the priority to what was being proposed as a case
of serial murder. As a task force had not been initiated in this case, it is more likely that
there were not sufficient resources at a local level to support an intensive investigation
based on circumstantial evidence.
- 206-
Investigative Personnel
The number of investigative personnel on each case varied significantly. On most of the
cases, accurate numbers w ere not av ailable as the r ange o f s ources available of ten
recorded different numbers of personnel or gave personnel different titles that were not
comparable. T his w as also due t o t he una vailability o f s ome c losed case f iles or t he
incompleteness of t hose f iles t hat w ere ava ilable. As pr eviously stated some of t he
records available f rom N SW P olice w ere limite d to Briefs of E vidence and therefore
did not contain such information.
The case with the greatest available detail was the Milat case, where accounts of
the number of personnel required for different parts of the investigation were available.
The r esources av ailable to the i nvestigation team, Task Force A ir, varied at di fferent
stages of the investigation. It is reported by Bellamy (2004) that by the end of 1992 the
team numbers had been either reduced or redirected to other cases and, just prior to the
discovery of the bodies of Gibson and Everist, were practically nonexistent.
From the Milat case review, Small had identified that the task force consisted of
40 personnel with additional support staff on hand to deal with physical evidence and
intelligence. A pproximately 500 police were r equired to search the Belanglo State
Forest and another region north of Sydney where belongings of one of the victims were
found. The search of the properties associated with Milat and the subsequent arrest of
Milat required 280 police personnel. These personnel were required at different times
- 207-
during the investigation depending on their role. Also included in the resources for this
investigation were two cadaver dogs, used to aid the search of the Belanglo State Forest
during the s econd search of t he ar ea (Small, 1998) . This is c onsistent w ith media
reports that emerged at the time of Milat’s arrest in 1994, which identifies the task force
of consisting of “some 500 pol ice, i ncluding a nucleus of 38 i nvestigators, uni formed
police, forensic s cientists, criminologists a nd f resh Police A cademy graduates”
(Sheather, 1994, p.26). This indicates a strong level of communication with the media
about the Milat investigation. Such information was not commonly reported on i n the
other serial crime investigations of focus in this current study, at a time pertinent to the
investigation. H owever some bi ographical a ccounts of ten a ttempted t o de scribe t he
investigative te am in hi ndsight, probably in an attempt to illustrate the investigative
procedures.
From t he c ase s tudy analysis, there w ere s uggestions t hat em erged relating t o
the resources initially available in the Milat investigation. According to Bellamy (2004)
some of the personnel who conducted the search in the Belanglo State Forest were from
the Tactical Support Unit. Prior to their involvement the forest had been searched but
not s ystematically o r w ith a f ormalised system. Although i t i s not pos sible t o s econd
guess w hether t he i nitial s earch was ex tensive enoug h, it can be s aid that t his de lay
reduced the ability of investigators to link these victims at an earlier stage.
In the G lover case, the inve stigation into the murders w as de emed a m ajor
investigation a nd t he N orth S hore M urders T ask Force w as s et up e ight months a fter
- 208-
the first murder and after the deaths of at least three (possibly four 25) victims. From a
Briefing i n the cl osed case f ile, the pe rsonnel f igures are available. Similar to Task
Force Air, t his t ask force was 40 members strong, with four analysts and intelligence
officers a nd e ight s urveillance pe rsonnel. T here w ere a lso a n undi sclosed num ber of
uniformed and plain clothes police performing patrols at targeted times.
Non-traditional forms of resources were also apparent in the Milat investigation.
After Superintendent Small was appointed head of Task Force Air, he formed a ‘Think
Tank’ that included psychiatrist Dr. Rod Milton; Dr. Richard Basham a p sychological
anthropologist; and B ob Y oung a c omputer a nalyst (Bellamy, 2004) . This w as in
addition to a pr obability specialist, members from t he t ask force and the S tate
Intelligence Group (Small, 1998). The Think Tank with its specialists from a range of
different b ackgrounds was t here i n a s upportive c apacity t o t he t ask f orce.
Superintendent Small explains that:
What the pur pose of the g roup was t o discuss t he i ssues, to discuss t he
options, to float ideas just to see what people thought. And that was the role
of that group.
In the majority of the serial murder cases considerable resources, particularly in
the form of personnel, appear to have been readily available. For example the task force
25
The exact date of establishment varies between sources and may have occurred the day before or after
the death of Glover’s fourth victim.
- 209-
during t he D enyer i nvestigation i s r eported t o ha ve be en 150 people s trong
(Swanborough, 2004).
The resources available to serial rape investigations are in stark contrast to those
available f or s erial m urder cas es. In many of t he serial r ape cas es considered i n t his
current research, it was found that such resources were either absent or their availability
only came after a considerable length of time. For example, the Trindall investigation
was c omprised o f onl y t wo d etectives w ho made up the ‘task force’. T ask Force
Ardmore, investigating the series of sexual assaults committed by Johnson, was set up
20 months after the first three assaults. Similarly the task force into the investigation of
the crimes by Daley, Strike Force Sapelo, was formed after a s imilar time period after
the f irst of fence. A lthough t he num ber o f pe rsonnel on T ask Force A rdmore i s not
known, one article describes an eight detective strong Strike Force Sapelo, all from the
then Homicide and Serious Violent Crime Unit (AAP, 2000).
Another a spect of t he t ask f orce di mension i s t hat a lthough s erial c rimes a re
usually considered major investigations, this is not always reflected by the formation of
a task force. The formation of the investigative team in the Snowtown investigation is
not as clear as those for the other investigations discussed. From the biographical texts
and articles, there does not appear to have been a task force as such in place. There are
few r eferences t o t he s trength of t he i nvestigative t eam, a lthough McGarry describes
that there were “…50 people from the CIB, major crime and forensic services” (2005,
p.137) who attended a b riefing a fter the ini tial d iscovery of the r emains at the ba nk
- 210-
location. T his w ould i ndicate t hat a lthough the inve stigative te am w as n ot la belled a
‘task force’ the resources available were comparable.
There w ere i ssues r elating t o the ava ilability of r esources dur ing t he P resta
investigation, for which there was no task force formed. This was identified by the lead
detective as a pr oblem with t he i nvestigation o f t his c ase, a s c an be s een f rom t he
following exchange with Detective Faucett:
Interviewer- Were there any other problems that you experienced with the
case?
Detective - Just th e m atter of th e r esources- we j ust di dn’t g et he lp with
them. It’s the same with everything. Myself and the other… fellow, we were
leading the i nvestigation. C ompared to today we’re not t hat i nexperienced
but at the time were very inexperienced in plain clothes. We had both done
plain clothes work but we were the most junior in the office at the time. We
happened t o be on c all a t t he t ime. S ex C rimes s quad d idn’t he lp.
Behavioural S ciences he lped a fter w ith s ome s tuff. Even t he bos ses di dn’t
really…weren’t that interested in it…. We were supported really well by the
Macquarie Fields staff as soon as we needed to but apart from that it was just
another job come into office.
Interviewer- Even when it was recognised that it was serial and there were a
number of other offences was it still hard getting resources?
- 211-
Detective- Yeah- we j ust di dn’t ha ve it. D idn’t ha ve t he a dded l uxury
because as it turned out it went so quickly we got the SPG in quickly which
it’s not hard to get them in when there’s a firearm involved. But they’re only
talking a bout one d ay. S urveillance w as good. They c ame onboa rd straight
away- as soon as he was recognised. Our own staff did the warrant which we
did anyway. It just wasn’t treated as anything major really.
From these comments, it is evident that there was inconsistent support by various units
within N SW P olice. Emerging from thi s is a pervasive attitude t owards s ome cas es
even when the series of sexual assaults have been linked. Even once these crimes were
linked, it did not alter the way in which the crimes were investigated at the local level
as i t w as not cons idered as “anything ma jor” (Detective F aucett). T he u ncertainty of
such resources was also evident from Faucett’s interview when she described the use of
surveillance:
…And we kept surveillance on h im the night before we did the warrant and
arrest so w e di dn’t w ant him t o ha ve a nyone w ith hi m w hen w e w ent i n
there. But unfortunately the bikies starting shooting each other at the Hellfire
Club the night before and they pulled all our surveillance so we went in blind
not knowing if he had someone in there or not.
The uncertainty of the availability of resources was also raised in the Glover case,
where some briefings included the movement of detectives between the task force and
their regional positions. This was attributed to reasons such as their prior involvement
- 212-
in ot her m urder i nvestigations, a nd in one c ase, w here the d etective w as an Italian
interpreter, that his skills were required on another investigation. This movement of key
personnel c ould b e a rgued t o i mpact on t he s haring of kno wledge o f t he c ases b eing
investigated. A s a me mber of the te am l eaves, all the inf ormation that t he indi vidual
received c annot be recorded s ufficiently. For example, t he w ay i n which information
has be en understood or connected l oosely t o ot her e vidence m ay not b e a dequately
expressed. As stated above, there w ere v arying levels of resources available t o the
different investigations at any one time. The identification of offences as serial did not
necessarily result in the allocation of large quantities of resources.
Information Management
One of the problems that emerged from many of the serial crime investigations was the
way i n w hich l arge a mounts of i nformation w ere ha ndled. This w as pa rticularly th e
case in the serial murder investigations studied. In his interview, Superintendent Small
describes how Task Force Air had received, “a couple of million pieces of information
in a very short time”. According to Mouzos (2001), the holdings of information were
not initially that large but had “increased from around seven to ten thousand pieces of
information to around 1.5 million in just 12 weeks” (Mouzos, 2001, p.5).
This influx of information came when investigators had what they considered to be
much circumstantial evi dence and in an attempt to gain some ‘real evidence’ a public
hotline w as s et up (Bellamy, 2004) . T his c reated f urther di fficulties f or pol ice, a s t he
- 213-
computer s ystem that t hey w ere us ing a t the time , the T ask Force Information
Management S ystem, w as not a ble t o de al w ith t he qua ntity of i nformation t hat w as
produced f rom t his i nvestigation (Bellamy, 2004) . T he ne ed f or an e ffective
information management system became paramount. According to Small,
It was clear that our e xisting system could neither handle the am ount of
information involved nor was it sufficiently flexible to allow for adjustments
in a nd the realignment of i nformation groupings a s c ircumstances c hanged,
nor the retrieval of information in desired forms.
This s tatement is in part s upported by K idd who claims tha t the ta sk force was
considered t o have m ade l ittle pr ogress due t o t he l arge num ber of l eads t hat w ere
received daily (Kidd, 20 00). It w as ide ntified by B asham in an interview t hat he w as
aware of problems experienced with the incompatible computer systems. This led to the
decision i n D ecember 1 993 t o i ntroduce a ne w program t o a nalyse t his information,
which c reated further d elays a s all ne w i nformation now then had t o be pr ocessed
manually (Bellamy, 2004). According to Small, this process required that, “12 different
software pa ckages w ere t aken i nto us e a nd l inked” ( p. 7), r equiring t hat m ost of t he
information a lready r eceived ha d t o b e m anually t ransferred i nto t he r eplacement
system. S mall c onsidered t his pr ocess a s l abour i ntensive but it ensured t hat no
important information was overlooked.
The need to formulate a ‘new’ system for managing information for Task Force
Air came only two years after the Glover investigation, where a s imilar need had been
- 214-
identified a nd a ‘ solution’ pr ovided. F rom t he c losed c ase f ile, i t i s a pparent t hat a
recently i ntroduced s ystem, t he M ajor Incident Investigation S ystem, ha d be en
implemented during the Glover investigation. It was described in a document from the
closed case f ile as ha ving, “achieved remarkable r esults i n speed of c ollation and
analysis o f i ntelligence”. T he ne ed f or even more efficient system than t he M ajor
Incident Investigation S ystem m ay ha ve be en due t o t he l arge a mount of i nformation
being received through the public hotline during the Milat investigation. Task Force Air
would h ave be en r eceiving t housands of l eads e ach da y, w hereas s ome of t he
documents f rom t he G lover case m ention s maller num bers. O ne doc ument s tates t hat
six hundred and eight calls had been received by the task force, and details the general
purpose of each call.
Similar issues have not emerged from the case studies of serial rape. However,
as pr eviously di scussed, t here w ere i ssues r elating t o t he publ ic hot line i nformation
received in the Johnson case, which identified three serving police officers as persons
of int erest. There w as l ittle da ta a vailable r egarding the inf ormation received from
public appe als i n the ot her s erial rape cases. From t he ava ilable Briefs o f E vidence i t
does not a ppear t hat m uch i nformation of i nvestigative us e w as obt ained f rom t hese
appeals.
- 215-
Using the Media in Serial Investigations
Separate t o the l argely sensational r eportage o f s erial c rimes i n the m ass m edia, as
outlined in previous chapters the media has also been used as an investigative tool. This
may b e in the f orm of c ommunity r eassurances, a ppeals f or i nformation f rom t he
general public, or in the form of a preventative, proactive activity. Again, this coverage
varied according t o the t ypes of s erial crime, where t he m edia w as mor e like ly to be
used as an investigative tool for the incidents of serial murder.
Media releases in any investigation are carefully controlled. In NSW the Police
Media U nit ha s the pr imary responsibility f or the inf ormation that is r eleased to the
media. This was evident from t he Glover closed case file, which contained num erous
media r eleases as w ell as t he doc uments out lining what was d escribed as t he m edia
strategy at different points during the investigation. Much of the information present in
the m edia r eleases coul d later be s een in the n ewspaper a rticles and ot her f orms of
media output. Often these were incorporated into feature stories, such as one published
in the Sunday Mail, which made connections to Jack the Ripper (Sunday Mail, 1989a).
The article also includes several ‘profiles’ provided by experts who were not working
on the cas e. One de scribes the of fender as a p sychopath getting a t hrill out of t he
murders, while another suggests that the offender may actually be a w oman. Similarly,
the media reporting into the D enyer cas es has b een described as s ensationalist, where
“Not onl y was t he c ommunity unde r s iege w ith a ki ller i n its m idst, b ut it w as a lso
under siege from the media” (Petraitis, 1995, p.80).
- 216-
This s ensationalist r eporting w as c learly not w hat w as i ntended to be
encouraged by N SW Police w hen releasing me dia s tatements. From the draft me dia
strategies ava ilable f rom t he cl osed case f ile of t he G lover i nvestigation, the a im of
such initiatives em erges as doe s t he audi ence that di fferent f orms of media w ere
targeting. One s trategy t hat ha d be en pl anned w as t o i nclude t en pol ice officers w ho
would be pa trolling t he M osman a rea on m otorcycles, a c lear attempt t o pr omote
community safety. The strategy identifies that this should be reported to Sydney-wide
media bulletins and thereafter the general public. Present in the file was a running sheet
detailing a r equest t o l ocal s tore ow ners a nd r esidents t o r eport s uspicious c onduct,
particularly in the presence of the elderly, promoting both community safety and crime
prevention.
Another a spect o f t he s trategy i ncluded i nterviews on S ydney radio s tations
2GB a nd 2U E. A gain, t he s trategy d etails t he t arget a udience, i n t his c ase s mall
businessmen. The aim of this strategy though was not to reassure the community, but a
direct appeal for information. In the same draft media strategy document, it notes that a
media r elease s hould be di stributed t o out lets requesting “ media a ssistance i n not
publishing or broadcasting material likely to incite further attacks”. This approach was
also a key feature in the media strategy of the Milat investigation.
According t o S uperintendent S mall, a s trong r elationship w ith t he m edia w as
necessary in balancing the dissemination of ample information to satisfy the public and
media whilst not creating undue public unrest. Superintendent Small explains:
- 217-
The way that you look at the media I think depends on the different stages and
circumstances o f an investigation. I n the f irst instance dow n at B owral an d
Belanglo when the searches were on, the risk of the media, the risk for us then
was that the media would start making all these speculations, producing highly
emotive he adlines that m ay w ell ha ve be en quite w rong. But be cause of the
publicity that they would draw, because of the media, because of the political
concerns that they w ould generate, because o f t he p olice e xecutive po litical
concerns t hat t hey would g enerate, my lament- we would be dr awn of f a nd
forced to go down wrong tracks simply to cater to the excitement generated by
the media
Therefore the management of the media reportage of these crimes can be considered as
an i nvestigative s trategy, r educing t he n eed t o pursue unf ruitful a venues and waste
resources.
Additionally, as outlined in his review of the investigation, Small identifies the
global na ture of the m edia a ttention. According to Small, the int ernational me dia
attention was due to the nationalities of some of the victims, with media from Britain
and Germany present. In his interview, Small also describes the presence of a US CNN
reporter which was considered “a first for US coverage of Australian news events”. The
coverage of t hese c rimes w as not l imited t o t he m urders t hemselves or to the pol ice
investigation, but S mall describes how t he i mpact on A ustralian t ourism w as a lso a n
issue. Such i ssues m ay have a lso be en of c oncern dur ing t he G lover i nvestigation, a s
one s ource s tates t hat, “The at tacks ha ve al ready attracted interest f rom t he London
- 218-
press and J apanese t elevision” (Sunday M ail, 19 89a). At th at time , and still today , a
large proportion of visitors to Australia originated from the United Kingdom and Japan
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1989, 2002).
During the Milat investigation, it was with these additional pressures that Small
decided t hat he ha d t o de velop a m edia s trategy that carefully controlled t he
information flowing through to the local and international audiences. This control was
gained through a form of cooperation with the media. As outlined in the investigative
review, Small explains how time was taken to ensure that the needs of the media were
met through the release of strictly controlled release of information through interviews
at pr earranged times. T his how ever, w as not a one -sided r elationship a nd t he m edia
were expected t o honour t his a ttentiveness. D uring hi s i nterview, Small describes t he
relationship i n r elation t o t he publ ic, pol itical a nd m edia p ressures t he police were
encountering:
And i n t hose s orts of e nvironments m y- and a lso i f y ou di dn’t c ater t o t he
media they were going to get photographs and leaks and stories one way or the
other- so in that sort of environment my view was the best thing you can do is
try a nd c ontrol t he media by pr oviding t hem with t he f acts as be st you c ould
give them and in a sense controlling those facts.
And also getting them to understand that anyone that was caught, if you like,
cheating or going out of bounds would be banned from attending but a lso
gathering your trust that- or having the trust that we would not give a story to
- 219-
one j ournalist but not t he w hole l ot. So all be treated fairly a nd this was not
about- bear in mind that at the time of the searches we had around 300 police,
so anyone could be in a pub having a drink, anything could happen, having a
cup of coffee, whatever, and just make a comment that could send you off on a
tangent. So what we did we got the media and we set some ground rules….
Being perceptive of the needs of the media played an important part in this relationship.
Small describes the way in which such needs were understood and subsequently met:
…okay, we know when you have to meet your deadlines and- in the morning
and in the afternoon- and also we know that you want a bit of colour and you
need some background, so in the morning we will do an interview each day in
the forest. That gives you the scene of the investigation. But some of you can’t
message [sic] from t he f orest be cause there w as no sat ellite t o beam t o the
television screens so in the afternoon, and we can do that at a time that allows
you to get b ack i nto Bowral and beam y our m essages a nd do w hatever y ou
want to meet your deadlines, and in the afternoon because things are tighter, we
can do an interview at the police station in Bowral each afternoon and those of
you that need to can make it a direct feedback where you don’t have a delay.
The r easons f or ens uring m edia com pliance w ere t hree-fold. A s ignificant i ssue a s
identified by S mall w as the ne ed to reinforce public c onfidence i n t he p olice a nd t he
investigation. T his w as particularly i mportant f ollowing t he m edia r eportage of t he
discovery of t he f irst r emains and subsequent s earch of t he Belanglo State F orest,
which did not yield any further remains. Twelve months after this search, more remains
- 220-
were found, and Small states in the investigative review that it was important to restore
confidence in the investigation. In his interview, Small states that:
And a lso w e had t o convey that w e w ere doing e verything pr actical so t here
was always a confidence in the investigation itself. And that was one of several
themes that continually came through. And that worked quite well.
This was later reiterated when he states that:
One of the things that came out of the media was, some of the themes we kept
giving the media, and which they took up w as, here’s a group of people doing
everything t hey c an t o s olve t hese c rimes. The c ommunity s hould ha ve
confidence in them. T he c ommunity s hould n ot g o into a s tate of hy steria or
panic. A nd t hat w orked i n our f avour. A nd t he s econd t hing w e w ere do ing
with the m edia w as, by d oing a ll o f that, if w e g ot to t he s tage w here w e
couldn’t solve the crime, what we had was a media that had given the message
that t hese pe ople w ere doi ng e verything t hey c an. A nd w e w ould be i n the
position to say, look we have done everything we can. We can’t do anymore. If
anyone has any suggestions, we’re happy to take it up. So you wouldn’t have
had a media provides a negative attack on police fail in this. You know, here is
a g roup t hat’s don e e verything t hey c an, they’ve be en una ble t o s olve t hese
murders. I t wasn’t about doing a PR job for ourselves. It was more about
making sure the community retained the confidence in the police and that they
do the job properly.
- 221-
This supports the ideas proposed by Chavez and Gibson (Chavez & Gibson, 2004) that
such public r elations act ivities ar e a m ethod of cr isis ma nagement. From S mall’s
discussion it i s cl ear t hat t he m edia w as us ed as a m eans of r eassuring t he publ ic
following the discovery of additional bodies in the Belanglo State Forest. However, the
insistence on portraying the investigation as one doing everything possible could be an
indication that thi s w as part of a publ ic r elations e xercise, attempting to gain public
confidence. T he ne ed t o bui ld this c onfidence c an be s een t o s tem f rom t he i nitial
response t o t his c ase. T his i s s uggested b y Bell (2002) when he cl aims t hat as pol ice
had i nitially “…downplayed t he e arlier di scoveries…they’d i nvited a m uch m ore
rigorous media vigilation of what they did now” (Bell, 2002, p.237) . The multifaceted
nature of t he pol ice-media r elationship during t he M ilat inve stigation is s ummed up
best b y S mall w ho states tha t w hen looking at the pr iorities a t the s tart of hi s
involvement with the investigation:
The second t hing w as how w e w ere going to handle the media, because they
were b ecoming qui te s peculative, and t hat creates t he po ssibility of
unnecessary concern in the community, and can also side-track investigations.
And another thing was, “How do we stop the fear level increasing in the small
local communities?” (quoted in Bell, 2002, pp.239-240).
Further to this was an important theme emerging from the interview and can be
seen a s a m otivator f or di fferent a spects of t he i nvestigation. It w as evident tha t
investigative t echniques were em ployed in a w ay t hat s upported the m edia s trategy.
- 222-
When di scussing t he r easoning b ehind t he f ormation of t he T hink T ank a s a n
investigative strategy, Small validated this step with the following explanation:
What you were envisaging was I guess a coupl e of scenarios. One was that
we would never solve the crimes. But we had to make sure that we had done
everything we c ould. E verything t hat w as humanly p ossible t o solve t hem.
And w e a lso ha d to make s ure t hat t he public w as aware that w e ha d done
everything t hat w as hum anely prac tical t o solve t hem so that t hey ha d
confidence in t he i nvestigation. “ Yeah, l ook. T hey di dn’t s olve i t bu t t hey
gave t heir be st sho t. You can’t c riticise them”. I’m not t alking a bout
criticising m e pe rsonally, but t hey ne eded t o ha ve c onfidence i n t he
investigation.
This reinforces the argument that such media strategies were an attempt to boost public
confidence in the investigation. Additionally, in relation to use of the media as a di rect
investigative tool, Small concedes that there had been a diversion from the usual media
relationship. In what can be seen as a direct use of the media as an investigative tool,
this had been done in order to elicit information from their suspect, Milat and members
of his family. Small explains:
One thing when we did use the media was Chris Masters on the Four Corners
program had actually done their own homework. And they came across two
women from the ABC who had told this story about being picked up w hile
hitchhiking a nd escaped and C hris Masters p roduced t hat m aterial. B ut he
also wanted to do a Four Corners story and he was going to use the girls in
- 223-
it. And the girls in fact they identified Richard Milat and Ivan Milat, I think it
was- but I’m not s ure o f that- but t hey were s hown phot ographs and they
picked two men from the Milat f amily, one of whom was Ivan. But t he
evidence w asn’t s trong en ough to refer cha rges a nd t hey ha d escaped. So
even that report was on the r ight track. And Chris Masters in fact t hen, we
cooperated with them doing a Four Corners program. One of the reasons we
cooperated was, because Masters had done a lot of his own work too, but we
were interested in seeing what reaction if any there might have been among
several of t he Milat families. And we monitored those r eactions in various
ways. So yes we used the media to do that.
This strategy is identified by Small as being aimed at putting pressure on the offenders.
Finally, the media strategy also aimed to gain information from the public, as was seen
in the Glover case. As stated in the case review, “and perhaps our most obvious strategy
was to jog the memory of people who might have relevant information and to get them
to come forward” (Small, 1998, p.6).
Many i nvestigations of s erial crime utilised the me dia a s a more ge neral
investigative tool , with the m ost c ommon forms be ing calls f or publ ic assistance or
information. This w as evi denced in the m edia r eleases f rom cl osed case f iles of t he
Glover c ase as di scussed a bove and dur ing t he M ilat i nvestigation, a mongst ot hers.
This approach however was not always beneficial to the progress of an investigation. In
his di scussion of t he M ilat c ase, Bellamy (2004) states t hat publ ic as sistance w as no t
contributing t o pr ogress a s m any s ightings of t he t wo vi ctims w ere r eported t o oc cur
- 224-
after they were believed to be murdered. This problem of misinformation gathered from
the publ ic a nd its lack of pos itive c ontribution to the inve stigation highlights th e
argument tha t s erial crime inve stigations a re c onfronted with more di fficulties tha n
traditional i nvestigations. T his w ould ha ve be en f urther i mpeded due t o t he pe riod of
time between the victims’ disappearance and the discovery of their remains.
The use of the media as a crime prevention tool during an investigation was also
apparent in some of the serial murder and serial rape case studies. One example detailed
previously occured during the Glover investigation whereby community members were
asked t o b e a ware of t hose a cting s uspiciously around t he e lderly. D uring t he P resta
investigation, there w as a poi nt w hen it w as de emed necessary t o use t he m edia i n a
similar capacity as illustrated by Faucett who states:
Detective- We were in the process of doing that [going to the media]- when
we identified him. At the time things weren’t quick like they are now. If you
put in a phone trace now you can get it back in 24 hours if you need it. At the
time it w as taking weeks. And it got to the point where I’d approached t he
boss as I felt we had to go public with it because of the danger involved in it.
They’d just agreed they would do that when we got the return to identify the
person a nd w e c ould p ut him straight unde r s urveillance w e k new w hat h e
was doing.
- 225-
Interviewer- If you hadn’t identified him, the reason before for going public
would be a s afety c oncern f or ot her vi ctims. So i t would be a pr evention
measure?
Detective- Yep. Yep, he was getting more violent. And that difference
occurred, he w as g etting m ore violent, t hey w ere c oming out w ith m ore
injuries and they w ere g etting m ore f requent. There was a v ery sho rt time
between the last two.
Until that time, the media reportage had been limited to individual incidents in
the l ocal m edia, but it i s unc lear how m uch attention these r eceived from t he l arger
media outlets. The extent of the media reporting of the other cases can be considered as
limited. The cases of Folbigg and Presta were reported on only sparingly prior to their
arrests. T he F olbigg c ase ha d had limited coverage i n the N ewcastle ar ea and
surrounding regions where the investigation was taking place, although this was largely
after she had been charged with the crimes.
The use of the media as an investigative tool was not seen to be significant in
any of the cas e studies of s erial r ape. There w as no m edia c overage of t he T rindall
crimes prior to his court appearance. The nature of the investigation precluded the need
to engage t he m edia in the investigation, as the task force was only initiated after t he
suspect had been identified through DNA.
- 226-
The influence of a task force on the level of media coverage relates to the police
informing the media o f t he task forces establishment. This was evident i n the cas e o f
Daley. Once T ask Force S apelo had been initiated, there w ere regular ne wspaper
articles t hat covered the general features of t he s exual as saults and the d escription of
the pos sible of fender. As w ith t he c ases o f Milat a nd G lover, there w ere s pecific
requests f or i nformation, of ten i ncluding t he c ontact phone num bers (Cowper, 2000;
Toy, 2000). The task force however, did not make any connections to the incidents in
Leichhardt, indicating that there had been no linkage between these crimes at that stage.
The media reporting also aimed to increase community awareness and promote
the s afety of w omen. Inspector M cKay, who led Strike F orce S apelo, is quot ed a s
saying, “We w ant t o prevent an y further attacks f rom oc curring” and “We s trongly
recommend women who are on their own take particular care especially while parking
their c ars at ni ght a nd, i f pos sible, r emain i n t he company of ot hers” (Parramatta
Advertiser, 2000) . T his had followed a n a ssurance b y Inspector M cKay t hat t he
investigation “…was working relentlessly to bring the man responsible for these attacks
to j ustice a nd a ll a vailable r esources a re be ing de voted t o t his i nvestigation”
(Parramatta A dvertiser, 2000) , echoing th e s entiment e vident dur ing the M ilat
investigation t hat a t horough i nvestigation w as be ing c onducted, t hus de emed as
fulfilling a public relations role.
During t he J ohnson i nvestigation, no m edia strategy per se is evident. Y et t he
media coverage of the investigation into the serial rapes can be seen to have impacted
- 227-
on the i nvestigative pr ocess. T he i nvestigative r eview do cument, states t hat t he
investigation received a great deal of media attention, some of which covered the loss
or m ishandling of e vidence collected f rom t he c rime s cenes a nd allegations of
negligence during the initial investigations. This media attention is identified as having
led to the direction to reinvestigate all incidents associated with these serial of fences,
including t he r einterviewing of w itnesses a nd vi ctims, but a lso t he l ocating of a ll
evidence related to the cases. The then Minister for Police, Mr Whelan, is reported to
admit that further victims may have been spared had the investigation been conducted
properly ini tially (Riley, 1997) . Therefore t he media cove rage w as a m easure of
accountability for this investigation.
Another way in which the media had been used was to help identify information
that had been previously reported on in media sources. During the Presta investigation,
a number of diaries had been obtained from search warrants on the offender’s property.
These diaries had recorded details about other apparent assaults. Faucett describes her
use of a media organisation to gain more information on t he cases that she was unable
to identify at the time of the Presta investigation:
I used the media after we had charged him to locate old offences that he had
…we found 7 years of diaries but unfortunately he had stopped writing at the
time of ou r o ffences. They da ted back qui te a few y ears. A nd when I w as
reading through them I found… sort of confessions to other assaults. And I
used Fairfax Research Group to find some old comfits that had appeared in
- 228-
the paper. So they were brilliant. It was one phone call and they got straight
back pretty quickly.
It w as unc lear a s t o w hy t his i nformation c ould not ha ve be en a ccessed t hrough t he
records of NSW Police, although Faucett had stated earlier that cases were difficult to
find using their systems unless one knew what they were looking for.
In three of the cases studied in this research there were no media reports evident
prior to the arrest of the offenders. In both the Trindall case and the Snowtown murders
there were no media reports found relating to the cases or the victims at the time of the
criminal e vents. T his l ack of m edia reporting i n bot h c ases can b e a ttributed t o t he
failure of pol ice t o l ink of fences t o ot her s imilar c rimes. T hus i n bot h c ases, t he
investigations were not subjected to public scrutiny in the way that the Milat, Glover or
Daley c ases w ere due t o t he l ack of publ ic a wareness. D uring t he S nowtown
investigation this public awareness may have been beneficial to investigators, allowing
them to conduct the in vestigation without a larming the of fenders. H owever i n t he
Trindall c ase, the la ck of me dia attention is a ttributed to the f act th at the re was n o
active i nvestigation unt il a fter t he of fender ha d been i dentified t hrough a c old D NA
match, where a match was made from an old case.
In the Folbigg case, there was minimal media coverage of the crimes until after
the arrest of the offender. This is largely attributable to the nature of Folbigg’s offences
and the f act t hat t he crimes w ere not i nitially r ecognised as s uch. It i s not s tandard
- 229-
procedure to issue press releases when children are deemed to have died from natural
causes, such as SIDS.
Investigative Techniques and Technologies Utilised
A range o f i nvestigative t echniques a nd forensic t echnologies w ere u sed i n t he
investigations of both serial murder and serial rape cases concerned here. It was cl ear
that there were several issues emerging from the case study materials that were critical
of s ome a spects of i nvestigative pr actice, i ncluding t he f orensic analysis of evi dence.
The case s tudies demonstrate t hat most c ases u sed, t o s ome extent, DNA t echnology.
Other fo rensic t echnologies were al so used and can be considered t o have h ad an
impact on the outcome of these investigations into the serial crimes.
Several f orms of f orensic t echniques w ere ut ilised i n t he i nvestigation of t he
Milat victims. Forensic odontology was used to formally identify some of the victims
including G ibson , E verist a nd S chmidl (Bellamy, 2004 ). Ballistics technology w as
used to aid in linking these crimes as the weapons used in separate cases were found to
be identical (Bellamy, 2004). However problems reportedly arose in the collection and
analysis o f D NA evi dence. Bellamy (2004) suggests t hat du e t o de composition,
evidence of sexual assault was difficult to determine in the cases of Clarke and Walters.
During Milat’s trial, the court was advised that evidence of sexual assault after a period
greater than three months was near impossible. Although this may have been the case,
problems with contamination of this evidence were raised.
- 230-
It was found that the scientist who conducted the DNA testing on the Clarke and
Walters samples had found foreign DNA present; however, retesting produced different
and inconsistent results on each occasion (Shears, 1996). It was found that the samples
had be en c ontaminated on m ultiple oc casions b y t he s cientist a nd t he laboratory
equipment in the used in the DNA testing (Shears, 1996). Further to this, the scientist
admitted under questioning by the defence lawyer, that he was not qualified to conduct
such testing.
In addition to this, hairs found in Walters’ hand when her body was discovered
were d etermined not t o be he rs. The f orensic scientist s tated that co mparison to a
possible of fender w ould ne ed t o be c onducted w hen a s uspect w as l ocated (Shears,
1996). I n a nother alleged act o f i ncompetency, it w as r evealed that s ome of t he ha ir
samples ha d b een ha ndled b y a s cientist w ho di d not ha ve t he relevant experience i n
DNA testing and whose prior work in this field was questionable (Shears, 1996).
Had these s amples be en the mos t s ubstantial e vidence against M ilat, in all
probability he could ha ve be en acquitted. T he contamination of e vidence m ade any
results unreliable and unusable, thus possibly affecting the investigators’ ability to limit
their f ield i n r elation t o suspects or g ain a n und erstanding of how t hese c rimes w ere
committed. One of the main issues that are highlighted here is the lack of control police
had over the samples. The police reportedly had no knowledge of which individual was
conducting the testing, what their qualifications were, and the way in which the samples
were handled (Shears, 1996).
- 231-
When a sked a bout t he r eported c ontamination of t he f orensic e vidence
Superintendent Small explained in his interview that his recollection was that the hair
samples had been degraded due to exposure and therefore had been deduced to be not
belonging to the victim. With the subsequent investigation following the discovery of
the other victims, retesting of evidence occurred and “the hair and other samples were
taken to the United Kingdom which was then regarded as the foremost body and they
found that the testing of the hair at Glebe was incorrect.” These latter tests concluded
that the hair samples had belonged to the victim. In relation to the contamination of the
samples ta ken to determine if D NA evidence in dicating whether a s exual as sault h ad
occurred, Superintendent Small states that he was not aware of this problem. Therefore
it was not possible to gauge what impact this may have had on the investigation.
Problems with the processing of DNA evidence were not exclusive to the Milat
investigation. A s out lined i n ne ws r eports, a n inquiry i nto t he i nvestigation of t he
Johnson s eries of r apes found t hat pol ice ha d lost s emen samples i n what ha s be en
described as a ‘botched’ investigation (Riley, 1997; Warneminde, 1997). According to
Warneminde (1997) these s amples were not found for 14 months b y which t ime they
were deemed useless for the purposes of DNA testing. This reflects on t he knowledge
of procedures relating to the collection and storage of DNA evidence. As the Trindall
case de monstrated t hrough t he s uccessful a nalysis of e vidence up t o t en years a fter
collection, properly s tored DNA evi dence c an be ef fectively an alysed years af ter t he
date of c ollection. Therefore t he p roblem e xperienced i n t he J ohnson c ase m ay be
- 232-
attributed t o t he e xperience and/or t raining of t he pol ice of ficers w ho collected and
handled the DNA evidence.
Similar pr oblems w ere a lso evident in the T rindall s erial r ape inve stigation.
From the Prosecutorial Brief of Evidence it was evident that the DNA evidence in the
form of Sexual Assault Investigation Kits (SAIK), collected at the time that the assaults
had occurred w ere not processed unt il 2004, n ine years a fter t he first a ttack w as
reported t o pol ice. Initially, onl y t hree cases d ating ba ck t o 1997 w ere linked by t he
Diagnostic a nd Analytical Laboratory (D AL). Following t his a m anual r eview f or
similar cases was conducted by Strike Force Grahame, which then had to identify the
location of the evidence collected from each case, with one dating as far back as 1995,
in or der t o obt ain a D NA a nalysis and s ubsequent c omparison t o t he o ther m atched
samples.
From the r ecords available in relation to thi s c ase, it is c lear tha t the re w as
minimal, a nd of ten no, formal i nvestigation i nto t he s exual a ssaults w hen they w ere
reported to police. This lack of formal investigation meant that there was no follow-up
on the forensic evidence submitted. From the Brief of Evidence, forensic evidence logs
show tha t s ome ite ms c ollected from the vi ctims or the c rime s cenes were de stroyed
prior to the analysis of the other DNA evidence. From the log it was also evident that
some of this evidence was never forwarded for scientific or investigative analysis.
- 233-
There may be a number of reasons for this, in addition to the lack of a follow-up
investigation at the time of the offences. The Trindall crimes can be seen as an example
of linkage blindness. Without the knowledge that these cases were linked, the resources
needed to conduct a co mprehensive serial crime investigation were not available. The
task force to investigate these crimes was only set up once the DNA evidence had made
the initial link to the offender. Failure to follow-up on the testing of these samples may
again be attributable to detective experience.
In this case, however, the issue of the victimology emerged. In one news article,
Detective Norris who l ed t he i nvestigation, i s qu oted as s tating t hat t he i nvestigation,
“…involved a number of girls” (Ravens, 2006) although all victims were adult women,
thus r eminiscent of t he term ‘ call g irl’ of ten us ed t o r efer t o pr ostitutes. In a nother
article, the detective is quoted as making the point that, “Everybody in society is at risk
of this happening to them, and if somebody is sexually assaulted we encourage them to
come to police a nd tell us a bout it, a nd we'll inve stigate it” (ABC P remium N ews,
2006). This can be seen as a reassuring statement to the public, creating the image of an
impartial police force. Absent from this was the acknowledgement that these cases were
not labeled as a priority when they occurred, which led to the delays in the analysis of
the DNA evidence.
Unusually, t he i nvestigation i nto t he s erial r apes committed b y P resta di d not
rely on forensic evidence. The offender had videotaped his crimes and these recordings
- 234-
were found during the execution of the search warrant. In relation to the presence or use
of DNA evidence, Detective Faucett states:
No. t here m ay have be en but w e di dn’t use i t. The DNA w ould onl y ha ve
been from P resta’s h ouse. We di dn’t g et any D NA f rom the sexua l ass ault
kits. This went so quickly and since it didn’t go to trial we didn’t need to get
it. The young bloke from Emu Plains- the 15 year old- the sexual assault kit
said he wasn’t sexually assaulted. The videos showed that he was. So there
would have been no phy sical evidence to back up a ny claim he would have
made of sexual assault. Without the video there would have been nothing but
a common assault on him.
This highlights the importance of looking at other evidence and not relying on DNA or
other forensic technologies as the limitations of such technologies are often overlooked.
Other investigative techniques
Problems w ith the an alysis of ot her evi dence were al so present i n ca ses s uch as
Johnson’s, in addition to those outlined above. One of the main issues raised in news
reports was the loss of a balaclava belonging to the offender which was not processed
for f orensic clues as i t had be en forwarded t o l ost pr operty (Warneminde, 1997) .
Additionally a t orch t hat a lso be longed t o t he of fender ha d a pparently not be en
fingerprinted and thus was overlooked as evidence (Warneminde, 1997).
- 235-
The use of forensic techniques was not always associated with problems. In the
Milat case, m any of t he victims could onl y b e i dentified t hrough forensic odont ology
due to extensive decomposition. From the news reports at the time it was evident that
this pr ocess w as a n e fficient m ethod of i dentification: J oanne Walters was ide ntified
within 48 hours of the discovery of her remains (Herald Sun, 1992). Richard Basham,
who was a consultant on t he M ilat i nvestigation, i dentified t hat t here ha d be en a
tendency of pol ice to vi deo tape t he cr ime s cenes. During t he i nterview, he s aid that
there ha d be en v ery few g ood s till phot ographs t aken and that h e be lieved that t he
recordings w ere not of good qu ality or clarity. This c ould not be c onfirmed a s t he
closed case file that would contain these photos was not available.
The use of forensic odontology was not limited to the Milat investigation. The
discovery of the first Snowtown victim had been made some years before he could be
identified. As the r emains w ere s keletal, other f orms of i dentification w ere r equired.
When one of t he vi ctims, Trezise, was reported missing a year after hi s de ath, S outh
Australian police had requested the Forensic Science Centre in Adelaide to compare the
remains f ound t o t he recent m issing pe rsons r eport. T he e xpert w ho conducted t his
comparison negated the identification, significantly delaying identification and thus the
investigation of Trezise’s death by a further four years (McGarry, 2005; Pudney, 2005).
This can be seen to have impacted on t he investigation significantly as t he linkage of
the murder of Trezise to other missing person cases ultimately led to the identification
of the offenders (McGarry, 2005; Pudney, 2005).
- 236-
Traditional investigative techniques such as surveillance were a feature of many
of t he investigations studied. This t echnique w as m ore f requently u sed after t he
identification of a suspect, although with serial investigations producing large numbers
of suspects, this meant that surveillance was not limited to the actual offender as it was
also used to eliminate s uspects. This w as particularly evident i n t he G lover
investigation, where documents from the investigation identify the use of surveillance
on a num ber of s uspects. S urveillance was also us ed i n t he i nvestigation of P resta
although t his was l imited t o t he d ay be fore t he execution of a s earch warrant on hi s
premises.
During the Folbigg investigation, a technique called Scientific Content Analysis
(SCAN) w as us ed t o pr ovide a doc ument analysis of t he pe rsonal di aries of t he t hen
suspect, Kathleen Folbigg. The aim of this tool in the context of this investigation was
to give the detective information that would aid detectives during the interview of the
suspect (Smith, 2001) . Detective R yan de scribes t he us e of t his t ool a nd i ts lack of
contribution to the investigation when he stated that:
He looked at them (the diaries) and it’s a technique that analyses the way that
people write- I don’ t know- whether t hey put a pr onoun or a n a dverb I don’ t
know- to try and give the investigator a perspective about the personality. The
reason we w anted that w as t o start to develop an i nterview pl an. She w as- I
wanted to be able to try and gain a confession or an admission…. She made a
couple of a dmissions bu t t he r eport really di dn’t give assi stance a t al l i n
relation to her personality it sort of gave us the opposite. It said that one of my
- 237-
techniques should be to develop a rapport get a detective that could empathise
with her - a female detective that had had children. As it turned out every time
she asked a question K athleen would direct her answer to me. She w as more
comfortable with me. Sort of enjoyed the interaction she was having with me
and that’s....
While this tool did not produce the information to assist in the investigative process as
had been hoped, Detective Ryan acknowledged the importance of using a range of tools
to inform the investigation. Although this technique was unsuccessful in contributing to
an effective interview plan, this detective had not dismissed using this technique again
in the future. It is interesting to note that this technique was not used in the Presta case,
where a num ber of pe rsonal di aries w ere o btained f rom t he o ffender. W hen a sked i f
there had been any forensic analysis of the diaries, Detective Faucett stated:
No one has actually seen them other than me. SY (Behavioural Crime Unit) has
them at the moment but no one has ever really looked at them. We had some
blokes come out from Canada last year, who only looked at one as an example.
From this statement it is evident that the diaries were not analysed forensically for over
eight years, as P resta was ar rested in 1997. This i s de spite D etective F aucett’s
contention t hat t he di ary e ntries i ncluded r eferences t o ot her c rimes t hat the of fender
had committed. T his may have been be cause t he di aries were not obt ained b y pol ice
until t he s earch warrant ha d been executed and the s uspect ar rested. When this
occurred, t he s ubstantial e vidence obt ained f rom t he pr operty ne gated t he ne ed for
- 238-
further investigative tools to be used as the police may have been satisfied that they had
enough evidence to obtain a conviction.
Due t o the r elatively r are na ture of s erial m urder and serial r ape, many pol ice
investigators did not ha ve any ex perience in investigating s erial crimes. The l ack of
familiarity and training in collecting f orensic evidence may b e a ttributable to this
inexperience. Moreover, the value of some evidence may not be realised at the time of
the offence. Due to the prolonged timeframe over which these crimes often occur, this
realisation may onl y c ome af ter crimes h ave be en linked and a s erial of fender
suspected. A s de monstrated, t his w as e vident i n t he T rindall c ase w ith t he de lay i n
DNA evidence analysis.
Pressures on Police
A common t heme running t hrough m any of t he biographical and newspaper a ccounts
was one of bl ame. T his w as di rected t owards t he pol ice who w ere of ten bl amed f or
reacting poorly to the circumstances and failing to recognise that a s erial offender was
at work, which was compounded by the absence of formal linkage systems. This blame
was directed at police during both serial murder and serial rape investigations. The key
concern was t hat i nadequate i nvestigation of va rious c rimes l ed t o t he continued
offending behaviour of the serial offender and thus further victimisation.
- 239-
The cas e s tudies identify tha t a n allegation of i ncompetence was first l evelled
during the 1989-1990 serial murder investigation into John Glover. Kidd (2000, p. 237)
suggests that towards the end of Glover’s crimes he was “leaving clues all over town”
which m ay ha ve s aved a c ouple of l ives ha d d etectives recognised the v alue of t hese
clues. The f ailure of pol ice t o l ink a s eries of sexual as saults ag ainst el derly w omen
which oc curred c oncurrent t o t he m urders c an also be c onsidered a s h ampering t he
outcome of the investigation as the incidents later had a significant role in identifying
Glover (Kidd, 2000). Such claims emerged later on in the investigation, after it became
clear that the case theory leading the investigation was at fault.
Similarly, it was also alleged that if police had responded “a lot more efficiently
on Onions’ report of the 1990 i ncident with Ivan Milat, the killer could possibly have
been apprehended a l ot s ooner” (Kidd, 1999, p. 140) . The r eport o f t he at tempted
murder and robbery was t aken b y pol ice at t he t ime but from t he s ources, i t does not
appear that there was any investigation into this attempt on Onions’ life. It was reported
in some sources that police put a description of the vehicle over the police radio (Kidd,
2000) but there was no evidence of further investigation of the report at the time.
The suggestion is that lives may have been saved had the Onions incident been
investigated t horoughly as t his e vent occurred p rior t o t he di sappearance of f ive of
Milat’s victims. Indeed Kidd (2000) claims t hat many l ives coul d have b een saved if
police had responded adequately to the report filed by Paul Onions stemming from the
attack on him by Milat (who at that time was unidentified), which occurred during the
- 240-
same month that Everist and Gibson disappeared. Kidd (2000, p. 260) describes this as
a “ monumental bl under by country pol ice”, s uggesting the inadequate e xperience of
police in ‘country’ areas was to blame.
As identified by a number of sources including Deans (2006), Shears (1996) and
Whittaker a nd K ennedy (1998) amongst ot hers, O nions’ r eport i n November 1993
made to the police hotline in response to the media attention following the discovery of
the other bodies in the Belanglo State Forest, still remained unlinked to the other crimes
for a further four months. This criticism could be carried further, in that even after the
discovery of the bodies in Belanglo, no one from the police station that took the report,
thought it s ignificant or possibly r elated. One s ource s uggests that t he r ecord of t his
attack was m isplaced a nd that the onl y r ecord remaining w as f rom an officer’s
notebook (Shears, 1996). According to Shears the original statements taken by police at
Bowral P olice S tation w ere di sposed of w hen t he c onstable w ho t ook t he r eport w as
transferred t o a nother s tation. T his i s s upported t o s ome e xtent b y D etective S mall
when he explained that:
It wasn’t recorded as it should have been. And in the first instance we didn’t do
the phy sical ch eck, we w ere told i t ha d be en c hecked. S o w e t hen ha d t he
report of the incident, Onions and the woman from Canberra. And at that point
it became a priority. So there was a delay. I’m not suggesting it happened in 24
hours. But the delays we a re t alking about a re d ays and weeks, not anything
longer. A nd it i s no t un reasonable g iven t he amount of i nformation that w e
actually had.
- 241-
These delays were not seen to have had an impact on t he investigation as such delays
were considered reasonable in an investigation that spanned over two years. Detective
Small also responded to the criticism that some victims died due to the lack of police
action to the Onions report. He stated that:
It w ouldn’t ha ve c hanged a nything. I n f act, probably w ouldn’t ha ve ev en
shortened t he enquiry. W hat i t m ight ha ve meant w as that t he enquiry ha d a
slightly di fferent skew t o it. And the subject w ould have come f irst but even
that was not enough to simply race out and arrest Ivan….
We h ave sa id that this m atter should have be en pr operly f ollowed up a t the
time. W hether it w ould ha ve made a ny di fference or not i s a nother i ssue
because at the time of the Onion incident they hadn’t found any of the bodies.
So w hat they w ould ha ve ha d was a one -off i ncident t o pursue…. They (the
victims) hadn’t all disappeared and I guess you can get all emotive and say that
you could have prevented that murder. The fact of the matter is that you had a
one-off incident and that’s where you would have stayed.
This suggests that there was little about the Onions case to suggest that there would be
any links to the disappearance of backpackers in the general area. As previously stated,
there was no f ormal l inkage s ystem i n pl ace at t he t ime o f t hese of fences. Had one
existed, it is possible that police may have been more aware of the number of victims
who had disappeared under s imilar ci rcumstances, and t herefore t heir i nvestigative
capabilities may have been improved.
- 242-
Similarly, the s ignificance of the d elay in linki ng th e O nions assault to other
information received from the public was also questioned. In responding to this claim,
Small puts the information in the context it was received, as follows:
Interviewer- Another t hing t hat c omes up a f ew t imes- Paul O nions, t he
‘victim that got away’, it’s been r eported t hat he r eturns t o England, t he
bodies are found, hotline is set up, he rings the hotline, but nothing was done.
Detective- Well, I don’ t know a bout t hat. C ertainly I t hink i t’s f air, I can’t
remember t he number, bu t w e ha d h undreds o f thousands of c alls ov er a
couple of weeks, so I think its fair to say that no one would have seen, no one
on the other end of the phone would have jumped up a nd said, “We’ve got
him! Q uick. J ump on a pl ane a nd c ome out t o A ustralia,” or a nything l ike
that. But w hat ha ppened was abou t the time P aul Onions rang w e a lso
received a pho ne call- sorry three s eparate things occurred. About the time
Paul Onions rang, a woman rang from Canberra and she was the person who
had pi cked up P aul O nions a nd dr iven hi m t o Bowral pol ice s tation. Then
when Paul Onions rang, we were able to put those two things together. We
had also, prior to that, been told by l ocals about this abduction that h ad
occurred and in fact they were talking about the Paul Onions matter. And that
had be en reported to Bowral police station. We ha d checked Bowral police
station for the records but couldn’t find anything. When Paul Onions and the
woman r ang and were p ut t ogether w e s aid “H ang on, t his is the B owral
incident”. We need to go back and check everything again. And in doing that
we then found a record of it.
- 243-
Similar accusations of further victimisation resulting from police incompetence
were levelled during the Johnson investigation. In 1997 the then Minister for Police, Mr
Whelan, w as r eported in t he m edia as ha ving claimed that “ some of the women may
have be en s pared t heir ordeal i f i t w ere not f or t he ‘ gross i ncompetence’ of pol ice”
(Riley, 1997). This accusation was seen to have partially stemmed from the revelation
that it took NSW Police 13 months to instigate a task force to investigate this series of
sexual attacks against women.
Chapter Summary
This c hapter e xamined the w ay in which the inv estigations int o serial mur der
and serial rape are constructed. From the case study and interview data, the importance
of t he a llocation of r esources i n the f orm of a t ask force em erged as a k ey i ssue t hat
emerged. This chapter has also demonstrated the role of the media in the investigation
of violent serial crimes, both as an investigative tool and as a source of pressure on the
investigation.
- 244-
CHAPTER 7: THE POLICING PERSPECTIVE- CULTURE
& PRACTICE
Strong themes emerged from the data relating to the use of police cultural knowledge to
inform the investigation of serial rape and serial murder cases. Supporting claims made
in the r esearch literature a nd t he i nterview da ta s howed t hat s ubcultural di fferences
were evident within the police organisations. The strongest issue that emerged was the
use of dictionary knowledge, and thus stereotypes, in informing the responses of police
in the sample. As suggested by the research literature, victim stereotypes were evident;
these w ere f ound t o ha ve i nfluenced t he i naction of pol ice a t t he t ime t hat s ome
incidents were reported, thus suggesting that this knowledge delayed the investigative
outcomes. A s s uch, di ctionary kno wledge m ay be c onsidered t o f ail i n i ts de sign t o
contribute efficiently to policing outcomes (Chan, 1999b) in the investigation of serial
murder and serial rape. Although there have been several incidents of serial murder and
serial r ape experienced A ustralia-wide, there appears t o be l ittle in t he w ay of
dictionary knowledge s pecific t o t hese c rimes, or t he di rectory know ledge t hat i s
informed by it.
- 245-
Reflecting Subcultures
Competing Subcultures
In C hapter 1, the ex istence of va rying and sometimes com peting o ccupational pol ice
subcultures was di scussed. O ne s et of competing s ubcultures ha d be en identified b y
Ericson (1993) as b eing between general d etectives and detectives from s pecialised
units. T his sense of competing s ubcultural i dentification e merged from one of t he
interviews pa rticularly when t he i nput of s pecialised uni ts to the inve stigation was
raised. There was however a difference in opinion depending on the duties performed
by the particular unit.
What is pe rhaps mor e te lling is tha t s ome pa rticipants di d not r ecognise the
input of other units at all. When forensic evidence is a key feature of a case, one would
expect t hat i n N SW t he F orensic S ervices G roup w ould ha ve h ad s ome r ole i n t he
collection of e vidence. T his group however w as ne ver m entioned. T his was pe rhaps
due t o an assumption about t hat unit’s responsibility which pr ecluding it from having
an ‘investigative’ role similar to that of detectives. In the Folbigg case, forensic experts
were sourced from around the world but there was no reference to NSW Police forensic
experts or the Forensic Services Group having had any role in the identification of these
experts. One de tective interviewed described his ex perience i n investigating s erial
rapist, Luke Slater. During the investigation of this case, the Forensic Services Group
- 246-
was seen to offer a criminal profile of a suspected offender although there had been no
request made of them (Detective Pryde).
The B ehavioural S ciences U nit of N SW P olice pointedly did not r eceive an y
positive comments from those interviewed. In a serial sexual assault case the BSU was
called upon t o pr ovide a pr ofile of a pos sible of fender. T he geographical pr ofile w as
produced which identified the offender as “…living somewhere over this Penrith way,
Penrith-mountains s ort of w ay.” ( Detective Faucett). T his pr ofile w as c onsidered
inaccurate, as the detective also stated that,
I assumed he would have been from the Liverpool area as that’s where the first
offence occurred so I thought that’s where he’d be familiar.
This was the area in which the offender was later located. Similarly the criminal profile
provided by the BSU was:
Very, very general. B ut i t w asn’t ba sed on a nything ne w… t he kids ha d
given us , pr etty m uch out lined w hat ou r profile w as g oing t o be s o t here
wasn’t a l ot m ore to add t o it bu t w e w eren’t g iven anything el se any way
(Detective Faucett).
While Detective F aucett conceded that t he BSU ha d been responsible f or some
assistance, it was made clear that this assistance was not constructive.
- 247-
However, dur ing t he S later i nvestigation, Detective P ryde ha d a di fferent
experience with one of the specialised units of NSW Police. When asked about support
he readily acknowledged that:
…a d etective i nspector f rom t he st ate c rime com mand serious and violent
crime … took a n i nterest i n the m atter. H e a ssisted i n conducting s ome
enquiries interstate using the resources of the state crime command.
Consistent with this opinion, other specialised units were perceived in a similar
light. Detective F aucett had pr eviously c ommended t he S tate P rotection G roup a nd
Surveillance t eams for r esponding qui ckly t o her requests for assistance on t he P resta
case. These units were not directly involved in the investigation and were brought in to
support the lead detectives, and therefore would not have the same claim to ownership
of aspects of the case.
Detective Experience
From t he i nterviews c onducted, t here appears to be a s trong p attern emerging i n
relation to the issue of investigator experience and the way in which an investigation is
managed or constructed. It w as evi dent t hat s ome of t he de tectives i nterviewed w ho
were r esponsible f or he ading a s erial r ape or serial m urder i nvestigation ha d no pr ior
experience i n investigating s erial cr imes of a similar na ture. The ex ceptions w ere
former Superintendent Clive Small who had been involved in a number of serial crime
- 248-
investigations a t di fferent poi nts dur ing hi s c areer a nd D etective P ryde w ho h ad
previously worked in a peripheral role on the investigation led by Detective Faucett.
In Detective Faucett’s case, she had been in the position of detective for only a
few m onths. Detective Faucett s tates that she and t he ot her de tective w orking t he
investigation:
…at the ti me w ere v ery i nexperienced in p lain c lothes. W e ha d done plain
clothes work but we were the most junior in the office at the time”
The decision to put inexperienced detectives in a lead investigative role on a serial case
was attributed to the belief that the job was considered difficult whereby:
It just seemed that-looking on the surface of it when we first got it there wasthey didn’t believe there was much chance we’d lock someone up. So it was
kind of ‘a lot of work, no result job’ to begin with (Detective Faucett).
Although some may have been inexperienced in investigating serial crimes, all
of t he de tectives i nterviewed had been with NSW P olice f or m any years, the l east
experienced having 14 years of s ervice at the time of int erview. This is not to be
unexpected as t hey each held the r ole of le ad de tective. Similarly, the de tectives
identified in the case studies as leading the investigations into the other serial crimes of
interest to this r esearch, ha d all be en w ith their r espective pol ice or ganisations f or a
- 249-
lengthy period of time and were considered experienced in the investigation of murder
and rape cases, although not necessarily serial crimes.
The r ole of ex perience i n the i nvestigative t eam or t ask force w as also a
significant issue emerging from the data. In relation to the Snowtown investigation, the
Acting Police C ommissioner of S outh A ustralia P olice, Neil M cKenzie stated that,
“…Never before, in the history of South Australia has the challenge been so great… to
investigate a s eries of crimes as a s ingle event” (Boston, 2004). This was despite some
very hi gh p rofile s erial murder i nvestigations ha ving t aken pl ace i n S outh A ustralia,
such a s t he T ruro m urders of s even w omen i n the l ate 1970’ s (Kidd, 2 000) and t he
‘Family M urders’ i n t he 1970s a nd 1980s , a lthough a conviction w as no t obt ained i n
the latter case (Pinto & Wilson, 1990).
Playing the Hunch
Contrary t o existing literature regarding t he n egative us e of c ase t heories i n t he
investigation of c rimes, the int erviews showed t hat ‘following a hunc h’ was u sed f or
reasons ot her t han reading t he criminal el ement, as is proposed b y Innes (2003).
Following a hunch proved fruitful to one investigation where it was the forensic experts
that were i n question. In relation t o t he us e of forensic experts i n t he i nvestigation of
Kathleen Folbigg, Detective Ryan states that;
- 250-
I interviewed those doctors over the phone, and you know how you get that
gut f eeling? I j ust di dn’t like th em. I di dn’t l ike th e f act t hat they w ere
defensive…. A s a n i nvestigator I don’ t think w e trust ou r g ut instincts
enough and our ability to be able to assess people quickly.
Detective R yan’s ‘ gut i nstinct’ was proven correct w hen the ex pert evi dence given in
relation to another case by the two English forensic experts in question, was overturned
in the Court of Criminal Appeal in the United Kingdom.
This idea that instinct has a role in the investigation of serious crimes s uch as
serial m urder w as further e vident i n t he Folbigg case. W hen di scussing t he c ase,
Detective R yan explained t hat w hen he he ard t hat t here ha d be en t hree prior de aths
when investigating a f ourth death in the f amily of K athleen Folbigg h e s tated that,
“that’s got to sound alarms”.
There w as s ome evidence to s upport t he pr actice o f u sing a c ase t heory to
develop a n i nvestigative s trategy. U nlike t he example of Harry Blackburn p reviously
discussed in Chapter 1, these case theories were formulated based on what appeared to
be accurate information received at the time.
Small described t he ne ed t o ha ve a ba lanced a pproach t o your c ase t heory,
going be yond a reliance on a feeling or a hun ch. Here he describes a s ituation where
one of the investigators was focused on proving a case theory against Milat:
- 251-
…when a particular member of the investigation team kept coming up to me
and saying. “Ivan did it. Ivan did it. Look, I’ve got this, this, and this” which
shows me there certainly was a bui ld up of evidence that strongly suggested
he did it, and my comment was something along the lines of, “That’s terrific.
Now go and tell my why he can’t have done it.”
Small explained that his response had been received with some officers questioning his
commitment to the proposed case theory and subsequent evidence:
And there was a bit of comment by a few people, saying why does he keep
saying tell me why he can’t have done it, doesn’t he believe he did it? That
wasn’t the point.
Small explains his reasoning for these responses, using an example where the use of a
case t heory i n an investigation into a s eries of s exual as saults l ed to an inaccurate
investigative outcome. He continues:
What I was trying to say was we needed a very tight case and it isn’t about
finding t he i nculpatory evidence, it’s about f inding all of t he evidence
whether i t’s i nculpatory or e xculpatory…. A nd that means be ing t horough
about the w hole of t he e vidence, and the H arry B lackburn case i s an
example. They had made their mind up t hat this person did it, so they found
all this e vidence t hat t hey t hought s howed t hat he d id i t a nd pus hed a side
evidence that exculpated him. At the end of the day, what happened was that
- 252-
they t otally destroyed all the i nculpatory evidence against any offender and
they had the wrong person.
Detective Small had previously asserted that the objectivity of a case theory as being an
important approach to an investigation.
One of the problems you have with an investigation like this is that you can
often get a lead which looks very good. What you have to be careful of is that
you don’ t pu t a ll y our e ggs i n one b asket a nd t hen f ind that the lead w as
completely w rong a nd y ou’ve w asted the m ajority of y our r esources e ffort
chasing down false leads. Even when Milat was increasingly e merging a s a
prime suspect we still had another million leads to follow and you couldn’t
discard them. And you c ouldn’t discard t hem on t he ba sis of: one , it might
have i dentified the r eal of fender; t wo, i t m ight ha ve pr ovided e xtra
information inculpating Milat, or further providing information exculpating.
So there’s a number of things. There is I guess, some people who take a risk
and say that’s the lead that’s where it’s going and it works out and that’s fine.
But it can also be very disastrous for you.
The importance of an impartial investigation was also echoed by Detective Ryan. In
describing the investigation into the deaths of the Folbigg children, he explains the
approach investigators should take in investigating such deaths:
We pr obably think of i t m ore as a su spicious de ath. We'd have t o start t o
narrow our investigation to look at it as murder, but murder is the intentional
- 253-
killing o r reckless murder. What we base ou r investigation on i s the
inquisitorial search for the t ruth and t hen if you' re l ooking a t it a nd
establishing t hat truth. I f I ’m r unning a m urder investigation now , I w ould
instruct no t t o put i n t hings l ike t hat ' murder'- it a ffects the in tegrity of
yourself. O ur job i s to g et a ll the f acts w hether t hey’re for the accused or
against the accused; you put it all in there.
The l esson not t o direct r esources ba sed entirely on a cas e t heory w as learnt
during t he G lover i nvestigation w here a significant pr oportion of resources ha d be en
allocated to what w as later di scovered to be an inaccurate l ead. Early on i n t he
investigation a witness s tated that the y ha d seen a young ma le in the vi cinity of the
crime. This l ead was picked up on, and influenced the r esponse t o ot her i nformation
received during t he i nvestigation. The cl osed cas e f ile indi cates th at s ignificant
resources were di rected based on the case theory that the offender w as a young male,
for example the investigation of schools situated in the area.
This case t heory also i nfluenced t he way i n which ot her i nformation had been
classified. Priority was given to information relating to young people. A comfit of the
young pe rson of i nterest w as di stributed t hrough m edia out lets, r equesting a ny
information about the case or that person. This subsequently resulted in an investigation
that was misdirected which impacted both on the way in which the resources were used
but al so the publ ic aw areness of t hese crimes. Once i t w as r ecognised that a m ature
aged of fender m ay be r esponsible, c onnections were m ade be tween r eported s exual
assaults at nursing homes in the area.
- 254-
From the Glover closed police case file it was also evident once this case theory
had be en que stioned a nd a ne w t heory f ormed, t hat t he of fender may be ol der,
investigators were forced to return to previous witnesses and question them about this
new suspect. This illustrates Detective Small’s point about the dangers of allocating all
resources to the one case theory.
While this t heme ar ose in relation to all of the N SW-based cases of serial
murder, t he us e of a c ase t heory i n s erial r ape cases w as e vident i n onl y two of t he
cases. Unlike the serial murder cases, where the case theory related to the way in which
the investigation proceeded, case theories of serial rape investigations often appeared to
have a negative impact on the investigative process.
Prior t o t he 2004 i nstigation o f T ask Force G rahame, t he s eries of s exual
assaults committed by Trindall was not subject to investigation. The records available
indicate that although some of the forensic evidence was forwarded on to be processed,
no formal investigation into any of the individual incidents took place and no follow up
on t he e vidence oc curred. T his i naction r eflects the theory t hat t he i ndividual c ases
were not seen t o be a profitable us e of r esources. S imilar ina ction during the early
stages of the investigation into the crimes of the serial rapist, Presta, reflected on a case
theory that the complainants were not real victims. Instead they were considered by one
detective to be mischief makers. The underlying basis for the development of such case
theories could perhaps be better understood in the context of the dictionary knowledge
that investigators use.
- 255-
Dictionary Knowledge and the Conceptualisation of Victims
As discussed in previous chapters, police dictionary knowledge is a dimension of police
cultural pr actices (Chan, 1999b) . A ccording t o C han t his di ctionary k nowledge i s
usually used by police to form judgements on the criminality of people or groups. This
use of di ctionary know ledge l eads t o s tereotypical r esponses t o pa rticular groups o r
people. One of t he s trongest t hemes t hat emerged from t he r esearch was t he w ay i n
which the use of stereotypes could be seen to reflect on the investigative practices. This
was evident with the investigation of both serial murder and serial rape incidents.
Although Chan (1999b) considers dictionary knowledge to usually relate to the
labels a pplied t o of fenders, t his w as f ound t o a pply t o t he vi ctims a s w ell. F rom the
interviews, it w as e vident tha t in some cases this s tereotypical knowledge m ay h ave
been beneficial t o the vict ims of s ome of these cr imes. W hen di scussing t he vi ctims
Detective Faucett commented that “ …These were j ust r egular ki ds. They weren’t
crooks, t hey w eren’t out us ing [ drugs].” a nd l ater, “ …these ki ds w ere on t heir w ay
home from parties- decent kids just on their way home…”.
It is clear from the detective’s comments that these victims were considered as
vulnerable. T hese w ere not s treet w ise youths w ho ha d be en i nvolved i n i llegal
activities. One vi ctim was even sympathetically described as not being a “particularly
bright kid” who had thought he was simply getting a ride home. This more positive use
of s tereotypes m ay be s een t o i nform t he di rectory know ledge of t his detective. In
- 256-
response to the claims made by some media reports that some of the victims were street
kids, t he de tective ha d f elt t he ne ed to emphasise t hat t hese w ere ‘normal, i nnocent’
rather t han ‘street w ise’ victims pe rhaps va lidating he r i nvestigative r esponse t o t he
cases. Detective F aucett l ater ex plained that there w ere di fficulties i n tracing ear lier
victims of Presta as:
He w as charged but i t w as withdrawn ‘cause t he offender- being st reet kids
most of them- some of them were turned away. We did find out that some of
them were turned away when they originally went to report it. Most of them
are drug addicts now. Some of them you’ll never ever be able to identify.
Dictionary knowledge as constructed by different investigators, results in a varied set of
investigative s cripts de riving from t he s tereotypes be ing u sed t o i nform t he w ay i n
which they analysed a situation. In the Presta case, this resulted in stereotyping which
negatively impacted the victims and also extended to the offender. A different opinion
of these victims was held by at least one of the detectives involved in the investigation.
When discussing the reportage of one of the incidents in the series of crimes Detective
Faucett said about one of the detectives,
…he [the victim] was in the hospital one of the police officers that had went
to t ake t he or iginal report had a n a rgument w ith h im a nd t old him he w as
lying a bout it. B ecause h is s tory k ept c hanging. T urns out h is story di dn’t
change at all it was just a long story and he was telling parts of it and he had
been given Rohypnol and so he was having [sic] in and out of memory. That
- 257-
report was nearly not made because they didn’t believe him. He had cigarette
burns all over him and whip marks everywhere but they still hadn’t believed
a word he said. And every one of the kids interviewed had said if they hadn’t
been picked up by an ambulance they wouldn’t have reported it at all.
This w as not s imply a matter of reasonably qu estioning a c omplainant’s ve rsion o f
events. In this case, one of the victims was perceived as an offender. Detective Faucett
continues:
The one from South Penrith was interviewed [unclear] and they were going
to charge him with public mischief ‘cause they didn’t believe him either. So
there was a major problem with policemen believing that this could happen
to m ales I t hink. A nd t hat w as a m ajor p roblem dur ing t he w hole
investigation I f ound it really di fficult t o talk to him a nd really di fficult
during the search warrant and everything. It was really quite hard.
This perception may be considered to be the product of the dictionary knowledge that
males are the offenders of sexual assault rather than the victims.
Such an attitude can be s een t o reflect s ome of t he common myths and
stereotypes s urrounding m ale s exual a ssault, n ot j ust i n pol icing but i n t he general
community, a s out lined b y M cAdam a nd F itts ( 1999) i n t heir r esearch i nto t he
responses to the reporting of male sexual assault. Common myths include the belief that
males c annot b e vi ctims of s exual a ssault or tha t hom osexuality is a f eature of o r a
- 258-
result of such acts. Although the behaviour described may not be entirely attributable to
the dictionary knowledge that males are rarely victims of sexual abuse, in the situations
described this g eneral at titude is cl early reflected i n t he di rectory knowledge; that is ,
how the investigation has been carried out based on t his information. As evidenced in
the ea rlier quot e, at l east one o f t he vi ctims w as threatened w ith criminal cha rges for
wasting pol ice t ime. In another c ase t he r eport nearly w ent unr ecorded be cause t he
victim had not been believed.
Detective Faucett later commented on the behaviour of the detective in question
during t he execution of the search warrant and arrest o f t he o ffender i n t his cas e. In
describing t he de tective, F aucett de scribes how “ he w ouldn’t g o a nywhere ne ar t he
bloke during the search warrant. You could feel the hostility.” As this was spoken in the
context of the detective’s response to the of fender one may surmise that the detective
also had issues arising from me n committing the se c rimes a gainst ot her ma les or
perceived homosexuality i n general. T his w ould be c onsistent w ith t he b elief i n r ape
myths discussed by M cAdam and Fitts (1999). S uch ope n hos tility could c ause
problems when a ttempting t o bui ld a r apport w ith t he of fender dur ing t he i nterview
process.
This l ack of an appropriate r esponse towards t he ve racity of t he vi ctims w as
also evident in the investigation into the brutal sexual assaults of six female prostitutes
over a nine year period. From the available records, it is clear that there was minimal
investigation of these sexual assaults against these women at the time of the incidents.
- 259-
In t hree cas es a cr ime s cene examination was c onducted and evidence was col lected,
(Begg & Norris, 2006) although the Brief of Evidence shows t hat some of t his w as
destroyed after a p eriod of t ime and w as not a nalysed. Even though all cas es w ere
reported t o pol ice, f ew vi ctims ha d their formal s tatements r ecorded at t he t ime of
reporting.
This i nconsistent pr actice c an, i n p art, again b e a ttributed t o t he di ctionary
knowledge of c rimes a gainst pr ostitutes. A ccording t o B ridgett a nd R obinson (1999)
prostitutes are one group in society that are marginalised and subsequently vul nerable
to s uch a cts of vi olence. A New S outh W ales Standing C ommittee of Social Issues
report (Legislative C ouncil, 1996) found t hat t here i s a n extremely hi gh incidence o f
violence committed against pr ostitutes although the r eporting of th ese crimes is low .
Many of these offences involve the use of a weapon and result in significant physical
and ps ychological i njury t o t he vi ctims. T he r eport a lso f ound t hat t he offenders of
these c rimes of ten h ave previous c riminal hi story of vi olence or s exual of fences a nd
thus target prostitutes as they feel they are less likely to be convicted of these offences
(Legislative Council, 1996).
Bridgett and R obinson (1999) discuss t he l egal restrictions pl aced on the s ex
industry i n ge neral, t hat f orce s ome pr ostitutes i nto uns afe w orking e nvironments,
which increases t he r isks t hey face. There i s f requently an i nadequate o utcome i n t he
criminal jus tice s ystem. Bridgett a nd R obinson s tate t hat vi ctims w ho ha ve r eported
incidents of s exual assault t o pol ice have felt t hat t hey w ere not b elieved and di d not
- 260-
receive a ny s upport t o assist i n f ollowing thr ough with their allegations. Police ar e
inherently in the position to be aware of this issue and to some degree at least, of the
extent of vi olence e xperienced. T herefore t heir di ctionary know ledge i s i nformed b y
this, and t hus s o i s t heir s ubsequent di rectory know ledge about how t hey s hould
respond to these crimes.
There i s an awareness t hat m ost of t hese cases do not achi eve a s uccessful
outcome i n c ourt. Police are a lso a ware of a num ber of pr oblems a rising f rom t he
mobility of s uch victims, often m aking i t ha rd to f ollow t hrough on aspects of t he
investigation a nd pr osecution. T his pr oblem w as r ealised i n t he c urrent c ase, w here
initial investigators had trouble tracing the victims to get formal statements which were
not made at the time of the report. As indicated by Begg and Norris (2006), this led to
the i nvestigations s talling. According t o S tewart’s ( 1999) r eport i nto t he r esponse of
NSW Police t o cases of s exual as sault, t his t endency not to take s tatements w as i n
accordance with police protocols at the time of some of the offences.
Detective McGann has detailed the problems he experienced in the investigation
into t he di sappearance and de ath of J odie Larcombe i n 1988 . 26 In t his c ase, t he
problems e xperienced w ith vi ctim pe rception w ere not w ith t he N SW Police F orce,
who ha d s upported h is i nvestigation, but w ith t he D irector of P ublic P rosecutions
(DPP) who had initially proceeded to ‘no bill’ the charges against the offender, Daryl
Suckling. M cGann de scribes i n bot h hi s i nterview a nd a n a rticle w ritten detailing t he
26
Although this case was outside the research time frame, the interviews were not limited by this. There
were significant delays in the prosecution of this case which went on into the 1990’s
- 261-
case, that a s olicitor with the DPP had told him, in regards to the victim, that it was “a
shame that she (Larcombe) was not a better class of victim”, which McGann attributed
to the knowledge that Larcombe was a prostitute.
Further s tereotyping of vi ctims a lso oc curred i n t he investigation of t he
Snowtown serial murders. Acting Police Commissioner of South Australia Police, Neil
McKenzie was quoted in the media as describing both the victims and offenders as “a
group t hat pr eyed upon i tself” (Boston, 2004) . C ommissioner M cKenzie ha d been
alluding to the homosexuality of many of the victims and the homosexuality of some of
the offenders. This is a clear example of what Fattah (1997) refers to as the ‘worthless
victim’. A r eview o f a ll t he cas e s tudy m aterial shows t he abs ence of a pol ice
investigation into many of the victims once they had been reported missing.
According to P udney (2005) and as illus trated in Table 10 i n Chapter 4 , t he
investigation into the disappearances did not commence until after Suzanne Allen was
identified as missing. She did not belong to this ‘group’ in that she was not homosexual
but the wife of one of the offenders, and therefore a more traditional victim. It was only
after he r di sappearance w as l inked t o t hat of t wo of t he ot her vi ctims t hat f urther
investigation into the other persons reported missing was initiated. This discrepancy in
the initiation of an investigation can be considered to demonstrate the extent to which
police cul tural pr actices ar e pr evelent in the inve stigation of s erial c rime. This
discrepancy i s a lso a r eflection of t he c ultural know ledge a nd shows how s uch
- 262-
knowledge f orms a n un derstanding of di fferent groups i n s ociety, thereby ins tructing
the directory knowledge from such understandings.
The Missing
A theme that emerged from the case study an alysis was that victims reported missing
are al so typecast, which is c onsidered t o ha ve i nfluenced t he w ay i n w hich t heir
disappearances are ini tially inve stigated. M any of the vi ctims’ families ha ve b een
reported a s commenting t hat t hey w ere t old b y police t hings s uch a s ‘ young pe ople
often f orget t o c ontact hom e’ or ‘ backpackers of ten g o “ missing”’. Many of t he
relatives overseas spoke of being brushed off by allegedly unconcerned police in NSW.
According to Whittaker and Kennedy (1998), when the mothers of Everist and Gibson
went t o r eport t heir c hildren m issing t hey were not t aken s eriously a nd were quot ed
missing pe rson statistics. According to Whittaker a nd Kennedy, “It w as n ot a s erious
case in the eyes of the police- two nineteen-year-olds off on a bit of a skylark. If they
investigated every such case, they’d be doing nothing else, especially in mid-summer”
(p. 189) . When it is c onsidered how ever, t hat of t he 35 000 pe ople w ho a re r eported
missing e ach year in Australia, a ma jority do return home w ithin a f ew w eeks, t he
attitude of police is both substantiated by fact and thus understandable.
This response to reports of missing victims is further supported by a statement
by Superintendent Small. When asked about the investigations into the disappearances
of the M ilat vi ctims w hen they were ini tially reported as mis sing, D etective S mall
- 263-
admits that the re ha d been a limite d investigation however jus tified this inve stigative
approach. He states that:
There w ould have been v ery l imited i nvestigations u ndertaken at that time
because they w ere si mply…they w ere backpackers. They had no friends or
relatives he re, their con tact ha d been… the r eporting by t hem of their
movements had been quite intermittent, so you really had very little to go on.
This s tatement is r eflective of the kno wledge o f mis sing pe rson incidents, where in
Australia the majority are located within a few weeks. This statement also supports the
proposition by Fattah (1997) and Fox et al. (2005) that marginal groups are targeted by
offenders due to the lack of reporting of such disappearances to authorities. Detective
Small’s c omment tha t t he vi ctims’ c ontact w ith family was int ermittent pr ovides
support for this aspect being a marginalising factor for this group. This in turn impacts
on the a bility of pol ice t o i nvestigate t he di sappearances. T he di ctionary know ledge
internalised b y pol ice w ould ha ve i dentified t he l ikely out comes of s uch a n
investigation. T his poi nt is el aborated on by Detective S mall when di scussing t he
probable investigative o utcomes a fter the di scovery of the vi ctims b y the de tective
when he stated:
…the victims were backpackers which meant they had no close connections
in the i mmediate Sydney ar ea o r t he B owral-Belanglo area, s o y our
opportunity for leads were less than might be the case. You also had the fact
that there h ad been a degrading of t he crime scene simply be cause o f the
- 264-
weather over several years, and trying to track the immediate movements of
the v ictims w as al so very difficult. Because t hey w ere si mply ba ckpackers
travelling alone.
The nature of these victims and the features which characterise these victims were seen
to c ontribute n egatively to t he pos sible out comes of t he investigation. T he t raditional
sources of i nformation w ere not a vailable, a s Small de scribes t he op portunities t o
receive leads and information from the crime scene had been minimised due to both the
nature of the victims and the timeframes of the crimes.
This problem of gaining information related to missing persons was apparent in
the Snowtown case. As outlined in Table 7 in Chapter 4, one of the victims had been
discovered in August 1994. Police, however, were hampered in their investigations as
they were unable to determine the identity of the victim. The victim, Trezise, would not
be r eported m issing unt il 1995 (Pudney, 2005) . Thi s delay i n r eporting Trezise as
missing was due to his volatile relationship with his family, who had assumed that he
had s imply l eft (Pudney, 2005) . P udney de scribes how e ven a fter t he m issing pe rson
report was m ade, Trezise’s r emains w ere not i dentified due t o an er ror made b y t he
expert at the Forensic Science Centre leading to a four year delay in identification.
- 265-
Dictionary Knowledge and Serial Crime
Although i t i s e vident t hat di ctionary know ledge i s e mployed when investigating the
serial murder and serial rape incidents, this knowledge was not specific to these types
of crimes. This may relate to the lack of experience as the large proportion of detectives
interviewed had little e xperience w ith investigating vi olent s erial c rimes as ide ntified
previously. It w as not ed t hat i n t heir de scriptions of t he of fenders a nd t heir c rimes,
none made any connections to other cases of serial murder or serial rape, nor did they
justify the use of particular investigative tools or techniques based on p rior experience
with t hese i nvestigations. T his w as de spite t wo of t he d etectives i nterviewed h aving
prior experience, one of whom had extensive experience i n t he i nvestigation of s erial
rape.
This l ack of kno wledge a bout inve stigating serial c rimes w as r aised by K idd
who describes how during the Glover investigation police:
…had never experienced such a case, investigators had nothing to go on. There
were no g uidelines to s teer t hose trying t o find t he elusive m urderer” (Kidd,
2000, p.237).
Therefore, as a l ack of ex perience m eant t hat t here w as i nsufficient di ctionary
knowledge to aid investigators in understanding these crimes, this subsequently meant
that t he cul turally appropriate r esponses t o these cr imes, and the act ions ne eded to
- 266-
achieve organisationally acceptable outcomes were absent. Thus, the requisite directory
knowledge which is usually informed by the dictionary knowledge could not exist.
Use of Language to Understand Investigations
As discussed in Chapter 1, dictionary knowledge of police can be expressed through the
use of
specialised terms and
references as a w
ay of ex pressing the shared
understanding, as proposed by Devery (2003). There were few examples of ‘specialised
language’ present in any of the case studies or the interviews. There was one example
of w here t his s pecialised know ledge extended t o m ore m undane t asks s uch as
paperwork. From t he cl osed police c ase file of G lover, running s heets w here bundl ed
into f our set cat egories- “1. V ery i nteresting, 2. Interesting, 3. A verage, 4 . H o-hum”.
From the content of these running sheets it was evident that the information contained
within these cat egories reflected not onl y the i mportance of s uch i nformation, but
presumably the level of attention each received. This however, was the only example of
the us e of pol ice di ctionary kno wledge i n t he i nvestigative pr ocess e vident f rom t he
closed case files and Prosecutorial Briefs of Evidence.
Less spe cifically ‘ specialised’ l anguage emerged in a few i nstances during t he
interviews. One ex ample w as w hen Detective Ryan was de scribing the pr ocess of
initiating the investigation into the deaths of the Folbigg children, and commented that
the previous deaths of the other children, “ought to be enough to start ringing the bells.
Sound a n a larm.” T his i s a phr ase that doe s not r equire s pecialised know ledge of t he
- 267-
cultural me anings to be unde rstood. A nother s imilar statement to this came f rom
Superintendent S mall w ho, i n de scribing t he p ossibility of approaching s chools for
information during the Milat investigation said:
And so writing to all the schools saying, look any teachers who were at these
schools, did you remember a kid who was a bit of a bastard (laughs), kind of
thing, would have stood about because of this, this and this, cause he would
have been a bit of a control freak in those early days.
The us e of t he t erms ‘ bastard’ a nd ‘control f reak’ a re colloquial t erms w hich ha ve a
shared und erstanding among the general c ommunity, rather t han a s
pecific
understanding based upon the dictionary knowledge of police.
The a bsence of ot her examples of t his s pecialised l anguage f rom bot h t he
records and the interviews can be explained in two ways. First, it would not have been
professional on t he pa rt of pol ice to i nclude s uch t erms i n doc uments t hat w ould or
could later form part of the Brief of Evidence. The specialised language is a m eans of
informally communicating information in a way that is meaningful to the receiver, so
that b y using a particular term, i t would express both t he di ctionary and t he di rectory
knowledge. In t he above e xample f rom t he G lover c ase f ile, t he di rectory knowledge
can be considered intrinsic to the labelling of the information, thus the label applied to
each ( dictionary kno wledge) pr ioritised t he r esponse t o t he c ategories o f i nformation
(directory knowledge).
- 268-
The l ack of a pparent i nclusion of s pecialised l anguage i n t he i nterviews w ith
detectives may be attributable to the fact that the researcher is not with NSW Police or
any other police organisation and therefore does not share the cultural understandings
of s uch l anguage. T his may also e xplain t he us e of m ore c olloquial t erms w hich t he
interviewees may h ave gauged w ould obt ain a greater l evel o f unde rstanding on t his
researcher’s part.
Chapter Summary
The use of c ase theories to inform the investigation of serial crimes w as seen to have
varied consequences. It was found that the use of intuition, in the form of following a
hunch, w as found t o ha ve be en us ed i n s ome cases, how ever t here was i nsufficient
evidence to support that this experience informs the way in which detectives investigate
these crimes. The conceptualisation of the victim as worthless, or not credible, has led
to problems with the investigation of serial crime in a number ways. This can be seen
most pa rticularly i n t he l ack of di ctionary kno wledge a nd t he i nfluence t his ha s on
directory knowledge s pecific t o bot h s erial c rime i nvestigations, a nd t he vi ctims of
these c rimes. T his l ack of s pecific know ledge w as de monstrated t o i mpact on t he
investigative pr ocesses t hat w ere e mployed and t herefore, t he pr ogress of t he
investigation.
- 269-
CHAPTER 8: THE CULTURE OF INTELLIGENT
INVESTIGATIONS
As di scussed i n t he p revious c hapter, t he i nvestigations of s erial c rimes r eflect the
police cultural knowledge that pervades these organisations. Police cultural knowledge
and practices can be s een to shape t he i nvestigations. C hapter 8 will di scuss the
emergent themes relating to the incorporation of intelligence-led policing practices into
the investigation of serial crimes in Australia. As will be demonstrated, police cultural
knowledge c an a lso be seen t o s hape the w ay i n which intelligence-led pol icing ha s
been integrated as an
investigative m odel. This c oupled w ith t he us e of ot her
investigative tools will be examined.
Crime Linkage
Timeframes of Recognition
One of the key areas of interest to this research is the ability of police to link a
series of related crimes. This was determined by establishing the timeframe between the
second crime 27 and the f ormal r ecognition of t he cr imes as s erial b y pol ice, as
ascertained from either police closed case files, interviews, newspaper articles or other
27
Since at least two crimes must occur before they can be considered serial, police would be unable to
‘link’ incidents until after the second crime had been committed.
- 270-
biographical accounts. As the nature of the offences varied, 28 the time since the second
contact or r eport t o pol ice w as used as the s ignpost to establish the tim eframe. The
impact of thi s ide ntification of a s eries of c rimes a s s erial on the out come of the
investigation, measured as t he achievement of an arrest o f a s uspect, i s a lso of
consideration. A factor that will affect both timelines is the frequency of offending. For
example, in the Glover case, a number of crimes were committed over a relatively short
period of time, while in the Milat case there were several months, and at times a year,
between some offences.
Time from Second Offence to Recognition of Crimes as Serial
From examining the i ncidents of s erial m urder and s erial rape, there ap pears t o be a
delay in the f ormal recognition of t he crimes in the cas e s tudies as s erial. The
recognition of a pos sible l ink be tween of fences usually m eant t he e stablishment of a
task force t o investigate t he s eries of cr imes, w ith the ex ception of t he G lover
investigation. Although from the c losed case f ile it is c lear tha t the m urders w ere
considered linked, it was only after the fifth murder that the North Shore Murders Task
Force was formally set up.
Only two incidents of serial murder were linked soon after the second offence;
being t he Glover a nd D enyer i ncidents. In bot h c ases, t he pol ice r ecognised t he l ink
28
Some victims were reported missing several months before their remains were found and others, as
victims of sexual assault reported crimes as they occurred.
- 271-
between t he s econd a nd f irst i ncidents r elatively qui ckly. In t he D enyer c ase, t he
victims w ere f ound i n busy, u rban a reas and were young women i n a nd around
Frankston in Victoria (Petraitis, 1995). The nature of the offences, the way in which the
victims were murdered, also enabled recognition of the possibility of these crimes being
linked. That they occurred over a two month period also reduced the linkage blindness
often apparent in serial crime investigations.
Similarly, in the G lover c ase the vi ctims w ere all f ound within the r egion of
Sydney’s North Shore, over a period of months, in similar circumstances. Although an
initial a ssault w as not r eported f or ne arly 12 months, onc e t he s econd m urder ha d
occurred pol ice r ecords indicate t hat bot h m urders w ere t reated as t hough t hey were
related.
Following the discovery of the remains of Clarke and Walters during the Milat
investigation, police released a statement to the media stating that they did not believe
that further bodies would be discovered (Bellamy, 2004). This could be seen to indicate
that although they had recognised that several backpackers were missing, they were not
preparing to investigate them as related crimes. The investigation was reported to have
stalled within a f ew w eeks of t he di scovery o f C larke and Walters, as the ph ysical
evidence that was col lected did not provide information that assisted the investigation
(Bellamy, 2004). Other similar missing person cases were not considered at that stage
of the investigation. It was only after the second set of remains were discovered some
- 272-
12 m onths l ater that t he pos sibility of l inks t o ot her m issing pe rson c ases w as
considered.
The Snowtown murders involved more complex processes linking the victims,
as some were reported missing, while others were not. Although some victims had been
linked during the investigation, this could not be confirmed until the remains of all 11
victims w ere f ound ov er a pe riod of days and t he pr ocess o f i dentification was
completed. D ue t o t he n ature of t hese vi ctims’ l ifestyles, a num ber of t hese vi ctims
were not for mally reported missing to police in South Australia making it difficult to
ascertain an accurate t imeline f rom t he s econd r eport of a m issing person t o t he
establishment of the task f orce t o i nvestigate t he l arge num ber of m issing pe rsons
within the small community.
Timelines from the second offence to the recognition by police that crimes were
linked t ended t o be l onger f or t he i ncidents o f s erial r ape c onsidered b y t his c urrent
research. In the Trindall case, there was a significant delay between the second offence
and the r ecognition that i t w as pa rt of a s eries. This s even year de lay w as due t o an
inappropriate d elay i n t he a nalysis of t he forensic e vidence of a num ber of s exual
assault cas es (Norris, 2 006). Extensive de lays were also r eported i n t he J ohnson
investigation. Although similarities w ere r ecognised after the f irst e ight vi ctims, the
resources a llocated i n l ine w ith a n i nvestigation i nto a s eries of of fences w as not
forthcoming until some 13 months later (Riley, 1997). This followed a “massive botchup” on t he part of NSW Police, as described by the then Acting Police Commissioner
- 273-
Clive Small which included the failure of four area commanders to coordinate a joint
inquiry into these offences (Riley, 1997).
In the Presta case, the crimes were only recognised as serial in nature following
the fifth and final offence in this series. This was eight months after the second offence
took place. This l ink was es tablished when Detective F aucett de scribes t hat af ter t he
fourth offence, “It was only a number of days later that we got another call in relation
to a younger man” who described an assault similar to the fourth offence. It was then
that ot her c ases e merged t hrough v arious i nformal m easures, as w ill be di scussed
below.
It is unclear in the Daley case as to when the cases were initially identified as
serial i n nature. However f rom t he s ources av ailable, it appe ars t hat this w as not
formally r ecognised unt il t he s ixth of fence 29 which led to the e stablishment of S trike
Force S apelo. T he s eventh a nd f inal of fence i n t his s eries oc curred 1 1 da ys l ater.
Therefore, this case appears to follow a similar progression to the Presta case.
Time Until Arrest from Recognition of Series of Crimes
Egger (1990a, 1998 ) proposes t hat delays i n the r ecognition of a s eries of cr imes as
such could impact on the achievement of a successful investigative outcome. Incidents
29
There were a total of eight offences for which Daley was investigated, however one victim was
considered a non-complainant and charges were not laid in relation to this offence
- 274-
of serial rape considered here had shorter timeframes between the recognition of crimes
as s erial and the ar rest o f t he of fender t han the i ncidents of s erial m urder cons idered.
Three of the cases of serial rape had timeframes between recognition and arrest of less
than one m onth. In t he Presta c ase, t he of fender w as a rrested t he w eek f ollowing t he
recognition that t he cr imes w ere r elated. In the T rindall cas e, the t ime be tween
recognition and arrest was approximately two and a half months. This can be attributed
to t he r equirement of t he t ask f orce t o t race pr evious vi ctims a nd obt ain t he f orensic
evidence t hat ha d b een stored a t di fferent l ocations de pending on w here t he a ssaults
were reported.
This time range of between seven days and two and a half months could not be
seen to be i nfluenced significantly by t he l ength of t ime ov er w hich the cr imes ha d
occurred. As such, although the Presta, Daley and Johnson cases occurred over a period
of be tween a pproximately 18 t o 24 m onths, a ll i nvestigations r esulted in a n a rrest
within a m onth of i nvestigators r ecognising t he serial na ture of t he crimes. A lthough
the longest investigation was the Trindall case, where the recognition of the incidents as
part of a s eries t ook s everal years, t his t wo and a h alf mont h timeframe c ould be
explained by t he ci rcumstances of t he of fender. As he ha d been arrested and charged
with t he a ssault of hi s f emale c ompanion, he was unde r a b ail or der t hat m eant t hat
police c ould m onitor h im. T his a llowed f or t he c ollection o f evi dence and the
verification and formalisation of the links drawn between all cases.
- 275-
Although the time range from the recognition of serial rape cases to the arrest of
the offender was relatively narrow, a comparative range for serial murder investigations
were more varied. For serial murder cases, the timeframe ranged between 17 days and
two years. This can be s een to be correlate di rectly with the time between the second
offence a nd t he r ecognition of t he c rimes a s s erial i n na ture. T herefore t he D enyer
investigation a chieved an a rrest after s eventeen da ys f rom t he da te when i t w as
recognised as serial in nature and a task force was set up to investigate these crimes. At
the other end, Folbigg was arrested two years after the recognition that the death of her
last child was part of a series of murders. This case had the longest timeframe between
the second offence and recognition of the offences as being serial in nature, with a nine
year time frame. This de monstrates the impor tance of r ecognising c rimes as s erial i n
nature e arly a nd a llocating r esources a ppropriately thus supporting Egger’s (1990a,
1998) contention t hat a r eduction i n l inkage bl indness i ncreases t he l ikelihood of a
successful investigative outcome.
Recognition of Crimes as Serial
As previously outlined in Chapter 2, the ability of investigators to link related crimes is
an issue that has been identified by many academics as important to the investigative
outcome. As identified, one of the most significant themes that emerged from both the
interviews a nd t he c ase s tudies, w as t he i nability o f pol ice t o r eadily l ink r elated
offences. In all the cases represented by the interviews conducted none was able to use
any formal system to link related crimes. This was despite lengthy research timeframe
- 276-
that covered t he i ntroduction of t he formal n ational l inkage s ystem, ViCLAS. A s
discussed in Chapter 2. the ne w i ntelligence s ystem V iCLAS w as s et up a f ew years
after t he M ilat c ase, a nd w as de signed t o analyse i nformation a bout s olved a nd
unsolved hom icides, s erious s exual a ssaults, a nd l ong t erm m issing pe rsons f rom
around the nation.
When asked about t he i nvestigative pr ocess of i dentifying r elated cases, a
similar response was elicited from all participants: that difficulties were experienced in
all cases as they were without an adequate tool. Of the closed case files reviewed, only
one cas e app ears to ha ve c ompleted ViCLAS s ubmissions. T his was f or t he c ase o f
Terry John Williamson, which was not a focus in the case study methodology. It should
be noted that these submissions to ViCLAS were made after the case had been solved
and therefore could not have assisted in the investigation of these crimes.
When asked whether t here were an y problems i n the i dentification of s imilar
offences as sociated with the s eries of r apes c ommitted by P resta, Detective F aucett
responded,
Major problems. The only reason we found them was because we knew they
existed. We knew they had come from the Emu Plains and Penrith area so I
knew to narrow it down…. The Liverpool one I knew about. I knew who the
bloke was so that was no problem finding I could just give him a ring and ask
about that one. B ut the two f rom E mu P lains/Penrith i t w as onl y be cause I
knew they had been in the paper. I knew that they were both boys who had
- 277-
been dumped, that I knew where to look for it. It still took me a whole shift
to a ctually f ind those e vents. I f I ha dn’t k nown a bout them pr eviously I
wouldn’t have found them.
Interestingly, Detective Faucett had earlier commented that,
We t hen…I…when I w as c alled ou t f or the s econd one a m ember of m y
family had said to me “it sounds very much l ike something t hat was i n the
paper from Emu Plains” and we remembered because the Comfit in the paper
reminded us of s omeone w e k new qui te w ell. S o I looked up - got on t he
computer system and found that offence and that was in relation to a 16 year
old w ho w as pi cked up f rom a pa rty i n E mu P lains a y ear be fore- around
about a year before.
While it w ould now be e xpected t hat t he r eliance on i nformal m easures and local
networks t o l ink r elated c rimes w ould no l onger be ne eded du e t o t he existence of
systems like V iCLAS, this is not the c ase. Although ViCLAS was i ntroduced i n t he
mid 1990s, it has now been ‘decommissioned’ in NSW and therefore does not submit
cases any longer. This diminishes the effectiveness of the initiative. This could also be
seen to indicate th at the linkag e of s uch crimes ma y occur m ore r eadily through
informal methods, relying heavily on a sharing of knowledge at a local level.
The r easons f or the d ecommissioning of V iCLAS were not imme diately
apparent. T hrough c ontact w ith the V iCLAS personnel of ficer a t N SW P olice it
- 278-
emerged that this system was, at one time, under review but with no immediate plans to
continue s ubmitting c ase in formation for inclusion on this s ystem. W hile no
submissions appear to be made, it was apparent that the facility to request analysis of
the s ystem f or s imilar c ases is s till pos sible. A lthough as N SW P olice ar e not
consistently submitting information one could conclude that any analysis would not be
an accurate reflection of incidents of murder, sexual assault, long term missing persons
and the other cases it was designed to monitor.
The i mplementation a nd us e of V iCLAS w as a lso c onsidered pr oblematic t o
some e xtent b y t hose with t he oppor tunity t o us e t his s ystem. S ome of t he cases
represented by the interviews occurred prior to the establishment of ViCLAS whilst the
crimes i n t he F olbigg c ase i nvestigated b y D etective R yan w ould not have m et t he
criteria f or i nclusion on t he da tabase i nitially, as t he d eaths of t he children w ere
attributed to natural causes. Therefore the only cases where inclusion on ViCLAS was
expected were the serial rape incidents.
From the interviews it w as evident that there were some other issues that arose
in t he ut ilisation of t his s ystem, i n a ddition t o the de signed pur pose of t he s ystem.
Detective P ryde d escribed the p roblems w ith submitting a case to ViCLAS and t he
unmet expectation that followed:
ViCLAS themselves did not assist us in any way in this particular matter. As
a m atter of fact I got no f eedback w hatsoever from ViCLAS. I ’m not s ure
whether they’ve ev en looked at t he matter o r no t. It was more a c ase of - I
- 279-
don’t really have a reason why- why they didn’t or why they hadn’t, perhaps
it was a resource issue, I don’t know.
As the offender about whom Detective Pryde was seeking information about was in the
armed f orces a nd ha d be en l inked t hrough i nformal m eans t o ot her i ncidents i n ot her
states in Australia there is a reasonable expectation that ViCLAS may have been able to
make some contribution to the investigation, if only to actively eliminate possible links
to other cases on the system.
There a lso a ppeared t o be pr oblems i n t he s ubmission of i nformation to t he
system, particularly in relation to whose responsibility it w as to complete the ViCLAS
form. In relation to the P resta cas e, Detective F aucett’s r esponse t o whether V iCLAS
submissions about the incidents had been made was:
Detective- Yeah…because t he B ehavioural Sciences [ Unit] ha d g one to
Liverpool to look at the original case. They’d done a backtrack on it. Because
when I went over to pick up the case file there was a heap of stuff missing
out of it that they’d taken from the case file over there.
Interviewer- So they had taken that to submit an actual ViCLAS - ?
Detective- I be lieve s o, y eah. They w ere l ooking a t t hat case. They w ere
looking at profiling that case to see if they could find anything else but there
was no thing a t t hat st age t o come of it. I t ha dn’t b een l inked t o t he E mu
Plains one.
- 280-
This ex change i ndicates t hat t here may h ave b een a m isconception about both t he
‘profiling’ pr ocess a nd t he pr ocess i nvolved i n making a ViCLAS s ubmission. T he
discussion of profiling i n relation to ViCLAS could indicate a lack of ap preciation of
the system. It may also be seen as a distancing from the BSU and what may have been
perceived as one of their responsibilities which did not result in a usable outcome. This
is consistent with the previously discussed attitudes evident towards specialised units.
The M ilat i nvestigation, a s pr eviously m entioned, pr edated t he i ntroduction of
formal c rime l inkage s ystems a nd t herefore r elied on i nformal m easures of l inking
related crimes. In t his case, it w as f ound t hat investigators ha d little di fficulty in
identifying the r emains f ound in the B elanglo S tate F orest. According to Bellamy
(2004) police be lieved that t he identity of t he vi ctims m ay ha ve b een know n b y
colleagues i n S ydney’s King’s C ross a nd f rom t he M issing P ersons B ureau, not l ong
after t he r emains of C larke and Walters w ere identified not l ong a fter t hey w ere
discovered. It i s s uggested t hat t he pol ice ha d k nowledge o f t he i nvestigations being
undertaken by t heir cou nterparts i n S ydney and cont acted them i mmediately. W hen
asked about the quick identification of the victims, Superintendent Small stated that:
…also the f act that th ere were a lready r umours f loating pa rticularly i n t he
media but a lso a mong pol ice, about ot her d isappearances that c ould h ave
occurred in the area.
Expanding on t his i n f urther de tail l ater a nd hi ghlighting t he p ragmatic pr oblems i n
substantiating this local knowledge, Small states that:
- 281-
What you have w as w hen the pe ople w ent missing t hey w ere r eported at a
variety of d ifferent l ocations. Some w ere r eported at K ing’s C ross police
station, some were reported to Missing Persons, some were reported- Gibson
and Everest ... were reported to NSW police. Anja Habschied and Schmidtl
were reported through the German authorities to the Australian Federal
Authorities so the Australian Federal Police had reports of them.
And w hat w e e nded up with a t t he e nd of the d ay w as f inding t hat- the
backpacker- there w ere ab out sev en different locations t hat ha d reports of
these m issing ba ckpackers t hat h ad their own recording sy stem but they
didn’t l ink, weren’t ne cessarily com patible an d we ha d to draw t hem
together. So t hat m eant that w e just cou ldn’t g o to one p lace a nd make a
search and come up with a list. So that was one thing we had to be careful of
and that came out in our inquiry. But in terms of the quick identification, was
that s ome of t he people had c lothing t hat w as r eadily i dentifiable an d well
described when they w ere m issing pe rsons a nd t hat facilitated their
identification.
This s tatement hi ghlights a p roblem tha t featured in other c ases, in particular, the
reporting to different police stations or organisations.
There were several indicators that aided in the identification of these crimes as
serial in nature and the responsibility of the same offender/s. The remains of the victims
were all cove red with debris f rom t he forest s uch as br anches and leaves (Bellamy,
2004; Whittaker & Kennedy, 1998). Another feature that indicated to police that these
- 282-
crimes were related was the discovery of a ba rbecue made from house bricks at two of
the l ocations (Bellamy, 2004; W hittaker & K ennedy, 1998) . A dditionally,
Superintendent S mall e xplains t he pr ocess w hereby k ey commonalities w ere us ed t o
seek connections between other disappearances:
You ha ve t o set criteria first. One of the things that we did, after searching
the forest and we found the rest of the bodies one of the things that was done
was that- one of the things we did was to establish a set of parameters. And
not long after the bodies had been found, that’s all of them had been found,
we were able to establish a number of characteristics. For example they were
backpackers, t hey ha d l eft f rom t he L iverpool a rea had be come a poi nt of
interest, they w ere y oungish, and there w ere a num ber o f t hose so rts o f
characteristics a nd we compiled those pa rameters, we sen t then a l ist t o
missing pe rsons- said, “Can y ou pr ovide a l ist of a ll t he p eople w ho
disappeared ov er this p eriod of time w ho w ould fit t hese parameters?” So
that was one source. We also checked reports of bodies that had been found
that may not have been identified. Do any, as far as we know, do a ny of the
characteristics fit these circumstances?
Another c ommonly reported item w as the be lief held by inve stigators tha t M ilat ma y
have b een i nvolved i n at l east t hree other murders (Kidd, 2000) . T his s uspicion ha s
been upheld by a coronial inquest in which Milat was linked to the disappearances of
three young women during the 1970s in the Newcastle region and at least another five
murders (Stewart, 2001 ). In relation to the Newcastle cas es, a f ormer publ ican
identified Milat as a guest at his hotel around the time that one of the young women, a
- 283-
patron t o t he hot el, ha d di sappeared (ABC, 2002) . As s tated by S mall, there w ere a
number of cases where Milat had not been eliminated as a suspect (Small, 1998).
The ‘ lack of ne tworking’ or l inkage bl indness c apability i dentified b y E gger
(1990a) was apparent in the Wayne Trindall case where six incidents were reported to
four different police stations. A factor that compounded this situation was the nine year
timeframes within w hich T rindall c ommitted h is of fences. A r eview of r ecords
indicates that a lthough several of t he of fences occurred dur ing t he t imeframe w hen
ViCLAS w as i n us e, none of t hese of fences a ppear t o ha ve be en s ubmitted t o t he
system f or in clusion or l ater c omparison. T he t imeframes over w hich these of fences
occurred and the lack of viable linkage capabilities undoubtedly delayed recognition of
these offences as committed by a serial offender.
Although there can be no definitive explanation as to why such a step was not
taken, several factors when considered together may provide a t entative answer. These
factors are the vi ctim selection methods e mployed b y s ome s erial o ffenders, as
identified by Egger (1990a) and Fox et al. (2005), coupled with the influence that this
understanding ha s w ith c ommon di ctionary knowledge of pol ice and t he r esulting
outcomes. A lthough t he Trindall crimes w ere l inked us ing D NA t echnology, N SW
Police records indicate that some of these cases were not investigated until 2004. T his
arguably reduced the ability of police to recognise that a serial offender was responsible
for the sexual assaults, which did not occur until mid-2004. The records also indicate
that there was little if any formal investigation of the offences when they were reported.
- 284-
One e xplanation f or t his i s c onsistent w ith t he a rgument p roposed b y Turvey
(2002d) that t he cr imes m ay not ha ve be en viewed as w arranting a c omprehensive
investigation. Police socialisation practices as outlined by Devery (2003) identified the
existence of a “…s pecialized language of ope rational pol ice” (quoted, p. 118) that i s
used t o c ategorise pe ople t hey w ould e ncounter i n t heir pr ofession, a s discussed i n
Chapter 4. T his dictionary know ledge a s de scribed b y C han (2003a) has s ome
influence on the actions that are taken in response to a situation.
In the Trindall case, police were usually aware that many of the victims worked
as prostitutes, and t hat violence i s not a r are con sequence o f t he job. This s pecialised
knowledge m ay have l ed t o t he m inimum r ecording and gathering of evidence t o b e
conducted, thus allowing the offender to go undetected for longer.
From the inf ormation available on the D aley case, it is unc lear as t o w hen or
how this series of crimes were linked. All media articles from the inception of the task
force unt il jus t pr ior to the a rrest of D aley reported on c ases t hat oc curred i n t he
suburbs of Parramatta and Westmead. It was only after Daley’s first court appearance
for these crimes that there w as an y mention of t he sexual assault cas es i n Leichhardt.
The s tatements ma de to the me dia b y the ta sk force’s Inspector M cKay ha d not
previously m ade r eference t o t he Leichhardt of fences and du e t o t he una vailability of
records, it i s unc lear how t his l inkage w as m ade. T here i s s ome i ndication f rom t he
records t hat t he c rimes were l argely l inked b y the m odus ope randi, w hereby D aley
would a ttack hi s vi ctims w hen t hey w ere i n a c ar pa rk, w ith one exception, a nd ha d
- 285-
produced a weapon each time. Demands made by the offender for money and oral sex
were also features of his modus operandi, perhaps aiding in the linkage of these crimes.
Similarly, the crimes committed by Johnson appear to have been linked due to
the similarities in his modus operandi. The case review states that Task Force Ardmore
was set up in response to a series of sexual assaults without describing how these cases
had been linked. A newspaper article however, it describes how, “police have identified
a num ber of s imilarities w ith each crime and ar e co nvinced t he attacks, ranging from
sexual as saults t o rape, have b een committed by t he s ame m an” (Keogh, 1997) . T his
supports the idea that these crimes were linked by their modus operandi.
The issue of linkage blindness also surfaced during the Snowtown investigation.
This i nvestigation be gan as s eparate m issing person enquiries. As detailed b y P udney
(2005), t he na me o f one of t he of fenders, J ames B unting, w as connected t o t hese
individual cas es at an early stage o f t heir di sappearances. Due t o the i nability of th e
systems t o a dequately cross c heck t his i nformation adequately, i t w as not unt il a n
officer working on one of the missing persons cases made a connection by chance that
these incidents were linked.
The Paper Trail
As i dentified b y S heptycki (2004) there i s a di slike of the pa perwork involved i n
intelligence-led approaches. Therefore, the avoidance of paperwork may also be argued
- 286-
to be a reflection of the way in which dictionary knowledge of police can pervade the
use of intelligence-led policing tools.
This a rgument t hat t he avoidance of p aperwork c an be i nfluenced b y police
dictionary kno wledge would a lso pr ovide a n e xplanation a s t o w hy none of t he
incidents s tudied t hat occurred du ring t he p eriod w here the linkag e s ystem w as
available w ere s ubmitted to ViCLAS f or inc lusion. The V iCLAS f orms a re a ctually
small books a nd r equest a n e normous amount of de tail r elating t o many aspects of a
case. There is also an abridged version of the ViCLAS form, referred to as the ‘short’
form, which is still several pages long. One detective gave the opinion that this tedious
form-filling was one of the reasons they believed ViCLAS was not readily incorporated
into NSW Police.
There w as, however, l ittle e vidence t o s upport t he i dea t hat t he p ractice of
inaction in police work to avoid paperwork was widespread. However there were some
instances, s uch as t he J ohnson i nvestigation, w here evidence ha d not b een pr operly
recorded and maintained which would appear to be reflective of the practices described,
consistent with minimising the paperwork completed.
One r eason f or lack of e xamples e vident of t his pr actice of avoiding t hese
accountability measures m ay be t he t ype of i nvestigation t hat i s t he focus of t his
research. Serial crime cases were not considered routine police work, but part of large
investigations. The exception here of t he J ohnson case can b e attributed to t he varied
- 287-
nature of the offences, whereby on a number of occasions the offender committed break
and enter offences without any physical attack on the victims. Therefore, the suggested
negligence m ay h ave be en an indoctrinated response t o dealing w ith t hose t ypes o f
offences, which can be numerous in some areas.
In investigations of s erial c rime, there is f requently hi gh level of m edia
coverage. This attention adds to the pre-existing levels of accountability. As previously
discussed, S uperintendent S mall ha d c ommented t hat t here w ere pr essures on t he
investigation from the me dia, politics, internal pol itics, but stemming f rom the
pressures f rom t he c ommunity t o e nsure t hat t he i nvestigation w as carried out t o t he
highest s tandard. T his h igher l evel o f a ccountability t o m ore t han j ust t he r eporting
requirements may have contributed to the levels of compliance seen.
Additionally, the construction of a task force requires that there are individuals
responsible f or s pecific duties. In t he t ask force situation, e ach pe rson w ould ne ed t o
ensure that their contribution is being made, otherwise the investigative process cannot
come together and the outcome of various leads will not be seen in the context of the
investigation as a whole.
Criminal Profiling
One of the investigative techniques that was recognised in the literature review as a tool
frequently as sociated with the inve stigation of s erial c rimes w as c riminal pr ofiling.
- 288-
Criminal pr ofiling, t he deduction of of fender b ehaviour a nd characteristics ba sed on
information such as the crime scene, was used in several of the c ases o f interest. The
ways in which this tool was perceived by investigators and influenced the actions of the
investigation differed. From the interviews and the case study materials, it was evident
that the majority of cases of interest used or attempted to use a criminal profile at some
stage during the investigation.
Criminal pr ofiling was c onducted t o s ome d egree b y t he pol ice a nd by
professionals in the field during the Milat investigation. As the closed case file was not
available for this case, the original criminal profiles provided to investigators were not
available. An account by Bellamy (2004) however, details what is purported to be the
criminal pr ofile pr ovided b y an e xperienced c riminal pr ofiler, D r R od M ilton, a
forensic psychologist who was bought in after the discovery of Clarke and Walters. Dr
Milton was a member of what was referred to as the ‘Think Tank’.
Superintendent S mall a lso di scussed hi s p erception of t he c riminal p rofiling pr ocess
and the way in which he used the profile during the Milat investigation. His opinion on
how a c riminal pr ofile s hould be ut ilised i n the c ontext of a n i nvestigation w as
expressed during the interview:
One t hing t hat p rofiling d id t hen and d oes now i s it g ives y ou a b it o f a
picture of t he offender. Y ou ha ve t o be c areful a nd r emember t hat is never
always 100 percent, but it can also give you tips of things to look for if you
ever i dentify a suspect. P rofiling, t here m ight be o ne or t wo exceptions
- 289-
around the world, but profiling doesn’t actually identify the offender. What it
will do is give you a bit of a picture of what the offender might look like.
In t he case of t he ba ckpacker i nvestigation, the pro filing w as pa rticularly
useful in a n umber of w ays. It pr ovided a picture which qu ite f itted I van
Milat when he was subsequently identified and indeed the Milat family. But I
think in a sense more importantly the profiler assisted to the extent that Rod
Milton was v ery conv inced that the offender w ould have k ept i tems
belonging to the victims. That the offender would have some of those items,
probably c lose by hi m a nd on display i n t he house because t here w ould be
this f eeling of pow er w here y ou might g o and visit I van Milat- you m ight
visit the offender- and the offender knows that property belonging to people
he has murdered is on show. You c an see it. You may e ven be handling i t.
And it gives them a sense of satisfaction and feeling of power and the – that
extent those sorts of views when they are strongly expressed and reasonably
argued they do influence your decisions on: Will we go and search the home?
When will we execute a warrant? When will we make an arrest? Under what
circumstances would we make it?
It is e vident tha t in this c ase the c riminal pr ofile g uided aspects of t he i nvestigation
decision m aking. T his k nowledge w as us ed a s a guide t o unde rstanding the of fender.
The c riminal pr ofile c an also be s een as a too l to aid the impl ementation of ot her
investigative t echniques, and legal a ctions s uch as a s earch warrant. Superintendent
Small described the way in which the criminal profile informed the investigation during
the Milat investigation:
- 290-
And sometimes t hey i dentified issues like m otive a nd be haviour. S o t hat I
think was very, very important. What you have now also, though, are things
like, m ore t han y ou d id then, a re things l ike w here plenty of s tudies ha ve
shown that o ffenders commit cr imes i n those a reas w here they a re
comfortable w hich means t hey’ve proba bly be en in the ar ea an d they f eel
safe and secure. This was again the case with Milat…. It not only came from
Rod M ilton bu t i t t ended t o r einforce y our ow n v iews a nd y our ow n
assessments which is always comforting to you.
So very quickly we had a pr ofile built up where the offender knew the
Bowral area and the forest are very well, was well experienced with firearms,
had probably lived in the area. Also knew the Liverpool area quite well. Rod
Milton a dded t hose dimensions of probably be ing a c ontrol f reak, a v ery
controlled person, blue collar worker, a rough age range and things like that.
Now a lot of that does not identify individuals, what it does do is put a lot of
people into the parameters, people outside it you can’t necessarily rule out….
It allows you to prioritise.
The readiness to consider the criminal profile in the investigations could be seen
to reflect the t raditional ‘gut i nstinct’ approach t o pol icing. Being able t o i ncorporate
experience into the understanding of the crimes, even if not one’s own, may be seen to
familiarise detectives with the cases that are rare and therefore unfamiliar.
- 291-
In a ddition t o t his i mplementation of t he pr ofile, S uperintendent S mall a lso
commented on the form of the profile. As discussed in Chapter 3, the criminal profiling
process usually results in an actual profile produced, which in some cases may not be
amendable.
…once a profiler puts it into black and white, you’re going to be locked to it.
It focuses your mind and you don’t ask all the other questions. My view was:
yes, I wanted Rod to do h is profile; yes I wanted him to put some things in
writing; but I didn’t want to be locked to that.
The role of the criminal profiler in the Milat investigation emerges as one in support of
investigators. Using the Think Tank as a sounding board during the investigation also
supports this idea. Investigators drew the conclusion that as the bodies were found in an
isolated area, the offender may be local (Bellamy, 2004). Dr Milton agreed with police
that the killer was familiar with the area, supporting this supposition. This conclusion
may ha ve he lped guide their i nvestigation t owards pos sible s uspects w ho l ived in or
were familiar with the area. Small discusses an instance where this relationship between
criminal profiler and investigator was at play:
For exa mple w e’d all co me t o the v iew t hat he had- the of fender or
offenders- had gone to school in somewhere between Belanglo and Liverpool
or Belanglo a nd the northern side of Liverpool. That sort of t hing. And we
were also of the view that this person would probably be known to teachers,
that would have been a problem child, would have come from a large family-
- 292-
that’s what Rod Milton had put a large family in- and would have had these
characteristics. And we a ctually t oyed with the idea of writing to a ll the
schools.
Although the criminal profile developed by Dr Milton appeared to contribute positively
to the de velopment of the inve stigative s trategies e mployed during the M ilat
investigation, hi s pr ior i nvolvement i n t he G lover c ase c ould be considered a s l ess
successful.
The criminal profile developed by Dr Milton was present in the closed case file,
and w as c onstructed after t he m urders of t wo of t he w omen. In t his profile, i t i s
suggested that the c rimes are consistent with an offender who is in their late teens to
early tw enties. He substantiated this with facts from t he case, s uch as t he t ime of t he
offences after 3pm, and the proximity of the local high school to the murders that were
of consideration at the time this profile was being developed. Also used to substantiate
the profile of a young offender was a witness statement from another incident, whereby
an elderly man had been attacked late one night. The theory at the time of investigators,
as evident in the closed case files, was that the elderly man may have been mistaken for
a woman due to the coat he was wearing.
If pa rallels are dr awn between the us e of t he cr iminal pr ofile i n the M ilat and
Glover i nvestigations, i t can be s een ho w a pr ofile l ater f ound t o be i naccurate c ould
have i nfluenced an i nvestigation. S mall was quot ed saying such i nformation from t he
criminal pr ofiler a ssured him t hat a l ine of i nvestigation w as w orth p ursuing. T he
- 293-
criminal pr ofile in the G lover c ase ma y h ave had a s imilar e ffect, bolstering the
investigators’ belief t hat t he of fender w as a young m ale, e ven t hough t his w as only
supported in the profile by a witness to a crime that may not have been related to the
murders. Thus, this can be seen to support the argument that incorrect case theories can
lead to misguided efforts in the investigation.
Also of int erest in the Glover i nvestigation w as t hat t here ha d be en a ttempts
made t o ha ve t he F ederal B ureau of Investigation (FBI) compile the ir own criminal
profile. Information h ad be en c ollated a nd s ent t hrough an A ustralian embassy
representative; however, from t he cl osed case f ile i t doe s not appe ar t hat t he cr iminal
profile was produced by nor received from the FBI. There was not a written record of it
in the f ile, nor w as t here an y r eference t o a r eceived profile i n any of t he doc uments
relating to the inve stigative s trategies i n place. This f ile, how ever, w as not c omplete
therefore the FBI profile may have been received but was not on record.
The c riminal pr ofile de veloped b y D r M ilton i n r elation t o t he serial r apes
committed by Johnson was markedly different. Here, there were two criminal profiles
available. Both had been written after the identification of the offender as a suspect and
it i s clear from t he profiles t hat Dr M ilton had been i nformed of t he offender and hi s
general background. The initial profile offered the t ypology under which the offender
of t hese cr imes w ould be cl assified. The s ubsequent c riminal pr ofile of fered s ome
insight into the relationship between Johnson and his wife, drawn from letters obtained
- 294-
during t he execution of a s earch w arrant on J ohnson’s pr emises. T he i nvestigative
impact of such insights are limited.
During t he i nitial s tages of t he P resta i nvestigation after f ive cas es ha d be en
identified as possibly being serial in nature, Detective Faucett describes her request for
a c riminal profile f rom t he Behavioural S ciences U nit o f NSW P olice and t he
information received:
Detective- …Rang the Behavioural Sciences Unit and asked them to profile
it all for us. They came up with …a location map that mapped where the set
occurred and where they believed the offender lived.
Interviewer- A geographic profile?
Detective- Yes. They ha d him l iving so mewhere ov er t his P enrith way,
Penrith mountains sort of way.
It w as not cl ear f rom t he i nterview w hether the detective h ad expected a ge ographic
profile or a criminal profile detailing possible characteristics of the offender. This was
also not ava ilable f rom t he cl osed case f ile w hich was i ncomplete w hen accessed. To
establish the type of profile they received I asked Detective Faucett:
Interviewer- Did t hey a ttempt t o g ive y ou a n a ctual pr ofile- a pe rsonality
profile of the person?
- 295-
Detective- Very, v ery general. B ut i t w asn’t ba sed on a nything ne w. W e
knew he w as a s ecurity gua rd. W e k new t hat he ha d pr obably be en i n t he
security i ndustry because he had a jacket on that l ooked like a uni form- he
had on a black uniform. It worked out he was a l oss pr evention officer. He
wasn’t a security guard as in a patrolling security guard. But he was wearing
the uniform he ha d a n obsession w ith un iforms a nd police a nd t hat sort of
stuff. He also- We new his age range from the boys descriptions, we knew he
was not Caucasian descendant because the descriptions the kids had given us
pretty much outlined what our profile was going to be so there wasn’t a lot
more to add to it but we weren’t given anything else anyway.
Although i t a ppears that s ome inf ormation consistent w ith a c riminal pr ofile w as
received, it is clear that it did not contribute to the investigation. Following up on t he
comment pr eviously m ade a bout t he g eographic pr ofile t o a scertain t he us efulness of
such information to the investigation, Detective Faucett was asked:
Interviewer- The B ehavioural S ciences U nit, they g ave y ou a g eographic
profile that identified the Penrith/mountains area. Where was Presta actually
living?
Detective- Liverpool. I assumed he would have been from the Liverpool area
as t hat’s where t he f irst offence oc curred so I t hought t hat’s where he ’d be
familiar. Turns ou t h e w orked i n t he m ountains. H e w orked a s a security
guard. He worked at several different locations all over the place. He worked
at M acquarie F ields, he w orked a t P icton bu t i t w as on hi s journeys ba ck
- 296-
from Katoomba to Wattle Bay that he made his pick ups of t hese boys.
There’s also an offence that occurred when he was up near Newcastle but it
was never reported but it seemed to follow his work location.
Finally, dur ing t he Folbigg i nvestigation, t he op portunity w as t aken t o h ave a
Scientific C ontent A nalysis, a s pr eviously de scribed, conducted on t he d iaries of t he
offender. It w as n ot c onsidered us eful i n t his c ase how ever, a ccording to Detective
Ryan, t his pr ocess w as a imed a t g iving t he i nvestigator a pe rspective a bout t he
personality o f t he suspect that c ould be i ncorporated i nto t he i nterview t echnique.
Although unsuccessful in this case, Detective Ryan was more optimistic about its use in
the future. He commented that:
… i t w as w orth t rying a nd a t t he e nd of t he da y you t ry a nything a s a n
investigative technique to gain all the information that you can possibly get
and it enables you to make the right decisions. I’d do it again even though I
didn’t get a lot out of it.
This sums up the overall perception about the use of criminal profiling, in any form, in
an investigation; i t is a me ans to obtain as much i nformation a s pos sible t o a id other
aspects of the investigation.
- 297-
Use of Typologies
As i dentified pr eviously, t here ha s be en a s ignificant a mount of r esearch i nto
categorising offenders according t o va rying sets o f t ypologies. T hese s erial m urderer
and serial rapist typologies were proposed to classify offenders in the anticipation that
this m ay aid t he i nvestigation of t hese c rimes. F rom bot h t he i nterviews and t he case
studies, an attempt was made to see if the use and understanding of typologies had an
important c ontribution t o t he i nvestigation, a s suggested i n t he pr evious r esearch
outlined in Chapter 2.
As abovementioned, the criminal profile produced in the Johnson case identified
the offender according to the category of rapist he best fitted. Johnson was identified as
a pow er-reassurance r apist (Groth, B urgess, & H olmstrom, 1977a ), a cat egory
discussed i n C hapter 2, and the c riminal pr ofiler w ent on to describe some of th e
activities in w hich this t ype of o ffender m ay be i nvolved. T here was no s pecific
information pr esented i n t he pr ofile a bout ho w t his know ledge c ould a ssist t he
investigation.
What was interesting to note was that this profile had been developed after the
offender had been identified through fingerprint technology. A search warrant had been
executed b y T ask Force A rdmore a t t he o ffender’s pr operty, dur ing w hich i tems
belonging to some of h is vi ctims w ere ide ntified and collected. From the c riminal
profile provided, it was evident that information about the suspect had been provided to
- 298-
the pr ofiler. This pr actice is not in line w ith some tr aditional be liefs a bout c riminal
profiling, w hereby s uch information m ay be c onsidered t o bi as t he d evelopment of a
criminal pr ofile. T he criminal pr ofile is us ually c onsidered as a tool to ide ntify a n
offender (Turvey, 2002a ); t herefore t he us efulness of t he t echnique t o t he progress of
an investigation in this case was questionable.
The ot her case in w hich t he us e of t ypologies was evident w as i n the
investigation into Slater conducted by Detective Pryde. Although a criminal profile had
not been sought, he did receive advice from the then Crime Faculty that informed him
that the crime he was investigating appeared to have been committed by a sexual sadist,
a t ypology as de scribed i n the l iterature r eview. A l ist of t ypical be haviours
accompanied t his a dvice, although it di d not c ontribute to the a ctual inv estigation. It
should be noted that the Crime Faculty had not reviewed the full details of the case and
therefore would not have been able to provide a great deal of case-specific information.
Modus Operandi & Signature
The us e o f t he m odus ope randi i n t he i nvestigation of s erial c rimes w as
consistent t hroughout s erial m urder a nd s erial r ape i nvestigations. T his i nformation
could be s een t o r einforce de cisions b y investigators a nd t o i ndicate l ines of i nquiry,
issues w hich emerged f rom bot h t he i nterviews a nd case s tudies. In di scussing t he
investigation into a serial rapist, Detective Faucett describes how they identified related
crimes. She states that the “MO was good” (Detective Faucett) when comparing various
- 299-
reported incidents. Similarly, the MO was used to demonstrate an understanding of the
offender’s s uspected criminal behaviour i n previous years as t he d etective s tated that,
“That was his MO at the time so that way my assumption” (Detective Faucett).
Although t his example illustrates t he us e of t he modus operandi t o clarify and
support the investigative direction, this is not always the case. The modus operandi in
the Milat case varied and is still subject to speculation. The methods used to commit the
murders i ncluded repetitive s tabbing, gun s hots, and in the c ase of H abscheid,
decapitation (Bellamy, 2004; W hittaker & K ennedy, 1998) . A ll vi ctims ha d be en
murdered w here t heir b ody was f ound with t he e xception of N eugenbauer. E vidence
suggests t hat N eugenbauer ha d b een m oved from t he s ite w here he was m urdered
(Bellamy, 2004) . S uch v ariance i n m odus ope randi m ay h ave a ttributed t o t he be lief
that Milat did not commit these murders alone and may have been part of a team.
A ke y feature or signature in this case which was evident from the remains of
Milat’s vi ctims, w as that t he pa nts or j eans of vi ctims w ere f ound t o be buttoned but
had the zip undone (Bellamy, 2004; Whittaker & Kennedy, 1998). In addition to this, it
has been noted by many sources that near each body disposal location, a brick or stone
fireplace was present, further linking these crimes.
The us e of a s ignature to j ustify t he l inkage of a s eries of cr imes w as al so
evident i n ot her c ases s uch a s Glover. In t he G lover c ase, the vi ctim’s s tockings tie d
around t heir neck was the r ecognised s ignature. This, however, had the a bility to
- 300-
mislead investigators, as this feature was not present in all the cases and did not occur
in t he a dditional sexual assaults c ommitted by Glover. Although the s everity o f the
murders a nd t he vi ctimology w as s ufficient t o l ink t hese c rimes w ithout a c onstant
signature, i t c ould be s uggested t hat t his m ay h ave been one of t he r easons wh y the
series of as saults and sexual as saults on elderly women were not a ssociated with the
murders until towards the end of the investigation.
In discussing the use of modus operandi recognition in the case investigated by
Detective P ryde, he identifies the i mportance o f officially r ecognising t his f eature for
its possible future use:
In particular this victim from her statement and other police evidence we had
including t he of fence w e c all garrotting. N ow I w anted t o c harge hi m with
the garrotting because his MO was that he would choke and strangle and if
you can get that in it shows i t m akes a so rt of link between that particular
offence- the strangulation component of the sexual offence to other offences
he c ommitted no t on ly in this state bu t I w as thi nking a bout the b igger
picture an d that w as t his p erson w as i nvolved in ot her sexual assaults t hat
were y et unsolved or unf inalised i n ot her states w here h e’d done t he sam e
thing.
From t his example a nd t he ot hers di scussed, i t is a pparent t hat t he us e of t he m odus
operandi was not as necessary to aid in determining whether a number of crimes were
considered as s erial i n nature. Rather, t he m odus ope randi contributed m ore t o t he
- 301-
linking of s uch c rimes. In the case of D aley, J ustice S impson de scribed bot h t he
signature and modus operandi:
…[the] modus operandi was to lie in wait for women at night when they left
work or as they walked home after getting off public transport. Armed with a
knife or screwdriver, he would t hen f orce them t o perform or al sex on h im
and would ask them questions about their sexual history before robbing them
(Williamson, 2002).
In t his i nvestigation, t he m odus ope randi w as pu blicised t hrough t he m edia (Cowper,
2000; Toy, 2000). Therefore it can be seen to be used both investigatively, to identify
unconnected crimes (Toy, 2000) , a nd a s a c rime pr evention t ool, i dentifying a nd
disseminating information relating to the risk faced by the public (Cowper, 2000).
Chapter Summary
There ha s b een a m ixed reaction to the us e o f i ntelligent-led pol icing pr actices, m ost
notable of which was the formal crime linkage system once in place, ViCLAS. Whilst it
has be en a cknowledged b y pol ice t hat t here ha ve be en pr oblems i n l inking r elated
crimes, s upport f or s ystems s uch a s V iCLAS was not e vident. T he us e of c riminal
profiling te chniques in the inve stigation of s erial c rimes w as a lso subject to mixed
responses b y pol ice. T here w as i nsufficient e vidence t o s uggest t hat s uch t echniques
had a significant impact on the way in which serial crimes are investigated. There was
- 302-
however, a c lear w illingness a mongst pol ice t o c onsider t his t ool i n f uture
investigations.
- 303-
CHAPTER 9: A NEW TYPOLOGY- VIOLENT SERIAL
CRIME INVESTIGATIONS
This r esearch set out to de termine w hy s erial c rime inc idents r emain undetected for
prolonged periods of time, and what factors impact on the investigation of these crimes.
From the research a number of factors were identified as having an impact on t he way
in w hich s erial crime i nvestigations ha ve pr ogressed a nd l ed t o a c onviction. T hese
factors contribute to our understanding of the processes of investigation that are utilised
in the investigation of serial murder and serial rape.
In order to enhance our understanding of serial crimes, there have been a range
of typologies proposed, as identified in the research literature. Such typologies exist for
both serial rape (Groth, Burgess, & Holmstrom, 1977b; Knight, 1999; Knight, Warren,
& Reboussin, 1998) and male and female serial murderers (Holmes & DeBurger, 1985,
1998; Kelleher & Kelleher, 1998). One of the main critiques of these typologies is that
they do not c ontribute t o our understanding of t he w ays in w hich s erial m urder a nd
serial r ape a re i nvestigated. These pr evious t ypologies a re a lmost e xclusively
representations of the motivation of the offender.
As ha s em erged from t he r esearch, there a re num erous i ssues t hat were
identified as impacting on the ability of police to recognise cases of serial murder and
serial r ape. Once t his r ecognition was m ade, police w ere abl e t o achieve a pos itive
outcome a nd s top t he s eries of of fending, t hus pr eventing f urther vi ctimisation.
- 304-
Therefore, it is e ssential f or a t ypology to
assist the inve stigation through t he
recognition of limitations to the investigative process.
From t he f indings t hat ha ve e merged f rom t he da ta, i t i s pr oposed t hat a
typology of the investigation exists, which describes the investigation as a whole. This
typology is developed based on the trends that have emerged from the findings. As with
most t ypologies, t hese categories are not m utually e xclusive a nd t here c an be s ome
overlap. These c ategories largely r eflect the recognition of the crimes as serial, which
can be found to influence the length of the investigation, the span of criminal offending
and the time to achieving a positive investigative outcome in the form of the arrest of
the offender. There are three categories in this typology and they have been termed as:
the S erendipitous Investigation; t he C onspicuous Investigation; a nd t he D elayedRecognition Investigation.
The Serendipitous Investigation
The f irst c ategory of t his t ypology ha s be en t ermed t he S erendipitous Investigation.
These cases are often characterised by:
•
•
•
A primary link between cases from sources other than police
A linkage that occurs after at least four cases or six months
An arrest usually achieved within six months of recognition of crimes as serial
by investigators
- 305-
The underpinning of this category is the way in which these series of crimes are
linked. R ather t han be ing l inked t hrough f ormalised l inkage s ystems dur ing a n active
investigation, t hese s erial c rimes a re l inked t hrough ot her m ethods or s ources. C ases
from t he pr esent r esearch s ample t hat s upport t his i dentification of t he Serendipitous
Investigation include:
•
Bruno Presta
o The s exual a ssaults ha d oc curred ov er an e ight m onth pe riod pr ior t o
linkage.
o Similarities be tween two cases a nd earlier inc idents w ere f irst
recognised by a family member of the detective.
o Additional c rimes w ere i dentified t hrough the de tective’s ow n
knowledge about other cases.
o Presta was arrested within weeks of the linkage recognition.
•
Wayne Anthony Trindall
o The sexual assaults occurred over a nine year period.
o Recognition of related cases was made by the Diagnostic and Analytical
Laboratory (DAL). This was not as a result of an active investigation.
o Trindall was identified and arrested three months after the investigation
into this series of crimes began.
- 306-
Although not completely consistent with this category, in the case of Ivan Milat,
the me dia h ad drawn links be tween the f irst k nown victims a nd the o ther mis sing
persons. H owever, t his w as a t a t ime w hen pol ice w ere r eporting t hat t hey w ere not
expecting an y further vi ctims; t herefore t hese cr imes w ere not i nvestigated as a s erial
offence at this stage.
The Conspicuous Investigation
The s econd c ategory, w hich i s r eferred t o a s t he C onspicuous Investigation, r efers t o
cases in which the link between crimes is apparent. The characteristics include:
•
•
•
A number of victims that emerge over a relatively short period of time.
Clear signature or modus operandi evident in each of the crimes.
Intensive investigation, usually in the form of a task force, initiated immediately
after linkage between crimes made.
This category represents those cases that are usually best conform to the ‘ideal’ type of
serial offender, who targets vulnerable victims, is considered to have been motivated by
a need to fulfil a s exual desire (Goldsworthy, 2002; Mouzos, 2000) or is motivated by
the need to achieve power and control over their victim (Egger, 1998). Such crimes are
usually t he focus of i ntense m edia attention. T he investigative te am ta sked with
working t his c ase is usually w ell r esourced, e ven w hen i nvestigations be come
- 307-
protracted. Cases from the present research sample that support the identification of the
Conspicuous Investigation include:
•
Paul Charles Denyer
o Three w omen w ere m urdered a nd a nother vi olently a ttacked ove r a 20
day period.
o There w ere clear s imilarities be tween the cases w ith a s trong modus
operandi apparent.
o Strike F orce P ulsar i nitiated soon after s econd offence, leading t o
Denyer’s arrest 50 days after his first murder.
•
John Wayne Glover
o Five w omen w ere m urdered ov er a s even m onth pe riod, w ith a nother
murdered just prior to Glover’s arrest. All women were murdered within
the same geographical area.
o Recognisable signature apparent in all murders.
o Although an int ensive i nvestigation was ini tiated, it w as a lmost s even
months before a dedicated task force was formed. This led to the arrest
of Glover two months later.
- 308-
•
Ivan Milat
o Although murdered over a period of two years, five of the seven victims
were di scovered ove r a period of a f ew w eeks a nd l inked t o t he pr ior
discovery of the other two victims. All victims were located in the same
geographical area of the state forest in which they were found.
o Although the modus operandi varied between some of the victims, there
was a clear signature linking the crimes.
o Task F orce Air w as s et up i mmediately following t he di scovery of t he
second set of remains and a link between the earlier discovery of victims
was ma de. Milat w as arrested eight mont hs a fter thi s task force w as
formed.
This latter case demonstrates the importance of linking related crimes, as this was not
achieved until after all victims’ remains were discovered. This is unlike the other two
cases in this category, where the link between related crimes occurred within months of
the m urders t aking pl ace. However, although l inkage o f m issing person cases did not
occur, the crimes w ere linked once t hey w ere recognised as vi ctims of cr ime, and
therefore are represented by this category.
- 309-
The Delayed-Recognition Investigation
The t hird a nd f inal c ategory pr esented i n t his t ypology i s t ermed t he D elayedRecognition Investigation. T his c ategory refers t o i ncidents of s erial m urder or s erial
rape where there was a long period of offending prior to the recognition of the offences
as serial in nature. This category is characterised by:
•
•
•
Delay in recognition of related crimes exceeding 12 months.
Long history of criminal offending in the series.
Different j urisdictions i nvolved i n t he i nvestigation o f t he v arious
crimes.
•
Inadequate consolidation of resources.
As not ed, t he di fficulties a cknowledged b y t he research l iterature i n r elation t o t he
consolidation of r esources a cross different jur isdictions (Egger, 1990a ) have be en
identified as a key issue and characterise many of the cases that fall into this category.
From the present research sample, the cases of serial murder and serial rape that support
the identification of the Delayed-Recognition Investigation include:
•
Anthony James Daley
o A period over 18 months before the crimes were investigated as serial in
nature. Not a ll c rimes w ere ini tially linke d to
investigated by the Strike Force Sapelo.
- 310-
the of fender or
o Timeframe of known criminal offending was 22 months.
o Offences oc curred i n t wo r egions ove r 20 ki lometres a part a nd unde r
different local area commands.
o Initially t he crimes i n the t wo areas were i nvestigated as un related and
investigated by the respective commands.
•
David Glen Johnson
o Formal r ecognition of t he crimes as s erial i n nature di d not occur unt il
almost t wo years after t he i nitial of fences. The task f orce w as s et up
following problems in the previous investigation by detectives.
o The know n t imeframe o f of fending f or t his s eries of c rimes w as t wo
years.
o Due to
the de ficiencies in
the or iginal inve stigation, specialised
detectives w ere r equired to form the t ask f orce, leading t o a
reinvestigation of all evidence and witness testimony.
•
Snowtown
o Initial investigation into the disappearances of three people did not occur
until at least six months after the last person was reported missing.
o Crimes oc curred over a f ive year p eriod, w ith s ome vi ctims be ing
reported missing to police at v arious times. The remains of all but on e
victim were discovered up to three years after death.
- 311-
o Some of t he vi ctims w ere r eported missing an d therefore ha d been
investigated b y a de dicated unit, while ot her detectives w ere l ater
required when the scope of the crimes emerged.
•
Kathleen Folbigg
o Although each de ath ha d be en r eferred t o pol ice a utomatically, due t o
the assignment of each of the deaths as a result of Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome, these crimes were not recognised as such for ten years.
o The of fences of m urder of t hree c hildren and t he m anslaughter of a
fourth occurred over a ten year timeframe.
o Folbigg had lived in two residences and attended at least four different
hospitals with her children.
o Once the inve stigating detective r ecognised the pos sibility tha t the
deaths may have been serial in nature, resources from NSW Police were
relatively forthcoming, although not dedicated to that case alone.
As previously acknowledged, the categories in this typology are not exclusive. Due to
the timeframe of offending and other features of the case, the Trindall case can also be
seen to fit into this category.
•
Trindall
o Crime l inkage di d not occur t ill up t o ni ne years a fter t he of fences
occurred.
- 312-
o Known criminal offending occurred over a nine year period
o Although the ma jority of c rimes oc curred w ithin the s ame a rea o f
Sydney, t he c rimes w ere r eported t o a num ber of di fferent pol ice
stations.
Similarly, a spects of th e M ilat inve stigation can be s een to meet the c riteria f or thi s
category as well.
•
Ivan Milat
o The know n t imeframe o f of fending i n t his s eries oc curred ov er a t hree
year period, with recognition of the crimes as related coming only after
these crimes occurred.
o Victims were r eported missing t o di fferent pol ice a gencies i n Australia
and overseas.
As no t wo i ncidents of s erial r ape or s erial m urder a re i dentical, t here c an be no one
category within which these c rimes c an be pl aced. Of t he cases f rom t he r esearch
sample, the Milat case is the only one which has features which suggest inclusion in all
three categories.
This t ypology emphasises the relationship between the ability of police to link
related crimes and thus to investigate them as such, and the progression to achieving a
good i nvestigative out come. T his s upports s uggestions by E gger (1990a, 1998) that
- 313-
linkage blindness c an ha ve a de trimental i mpact on t he i nvestigation of s erial m urder
and serial rape cases.
Also s ignificant t o t his i ssue of l inkage bl indness is the v ictimology of the se
crimes a nd t he w ay i n which t his c an be s een t o c ontribute t o t he pr ogression of t he
investigation. In t he S erendipitous Investigation category, t he c ases w hich ha ve be en
identified all inc lude vi ctims tha t a re s ubject t o strong s tereotyping b y police: A s
discussed i n t he r esearch l iterature, pr ostitutes (Bridgett & R obinson, 1999) , male
victims of s exual a ssault (McAdam & F itts, 19 99) and m issing pe rsons (Swanton &
Wilson, 1989). This supports the research literature which proposed that detectives will
use culturally informed judgements based on stereotypes, which are all subject to police
cultural understandings about these groups. This dictionary knowledge can be seen to
assist pol ice to make ju dgements a bout v ictims, a nd s ubsequently i nform t he w ay i n
which they investigate crimes committed against these groups.
This us e of know ledge also pr ovides one e xplanation f or w hy t he m ajority of
the vi ctims represented i n t he C onspicuous Investigation c ategory were recognised as
being part of a series relatively soon. The victims of the Denyer and Glover cases are
‘innocent’ victims- young women and the elderly- and thus achieve a different response
due t o t he pol ice c ultural unde rstandings t hat t hese gr oups a re ‘ real’ victims (Egger,
1998; Fox, et al., 2005). Coupled with the fact that these victims were murdered over a
comparatively s hort pe riod of t ime a nd di scovered s oon a fter de ath, t hese f actors
contributed to the ability to recognise that the crimes were related.
- 314-
Similarly, the victimology of the crimes could be seen to have some influence in
the D elayed-Recognition Investigation c ategory. T his i s pa rticularly evident i n t he
Snowtown case where police described the victims as “a group that preyed upon itself”
(Boston, 2004), thus demonstrating the knowledge that had informed the way that they
investigated the disappearances of these victims. Conversely, the police understanding
that accept ed t he explanation pr ovided f or t he de aths of F olbigg’s c hildren, a nd t he
knowledge that the murder of children by their mother is rare, contributed to the delay
in the investigation of these crimes.
As ha s be en d emonstrated i n t his t ypology, t he i ssues of crime l inkage and
victimology are not the sole defining issues contributing to the investigative outcome.
Other issues such as the allocation of resources, the skills of the investigators and use of
investigative tools and techniques all contribute to the ability of investigators to achieve
the investigative outcome of an arrest, and are reflected in the timeframe within which
this occurs.
- 315-
RECOMMENDATIONS
This current research identifies some areas in the investigation of serial rape and serial
murder that need to be addressed by police organisations. There are also further areas of
research identified that were beyond the scope of the present research.
Recommendations for the Investigation of Serial Crimes
1. Increased crime linkage capabilities required
As presented i n t he di scussion, an analysis of t he data has revealed t hat t he ability o f
police t o l ink r elated c rimes i mpacts on t he t imeframe o f of fending a nd w hen t he
offender i s ar rested. The cr imes t hat w ere r ecognised as s erial i n nature ear lier were
shown to increase the chances of an efficient and quickly obtained outcome in the form
of arrest.
2. Reintroduction of formalised intelligence-led linkage systems
The findings from this research suggest the need for formalised linkage systems that are
in line w ith int elligence-led policing pr inciples. W hile it is a cknowledged that the
system pr eviously op erational, V iCLAS, w as not i ntegrated i nto A ustralian pol ice
organisations l ong t erm and i s no l onger op erational, t his r esearch ha s i dentified t he
- 316-
need f or m ore e ffective l inking of related c rimes. A s de monstrated b y t he t ypology
outlined i n Chapter 9, t he l inkage of r elated c rimes t hrough t raditional i nvestigative
practices often result in a delayed recognition, up to two years in this research sample,
which c an l ead t o a l onger i nvestigation, gr eater a llocation of r esources, a nd an
increased number of victims as the offender continues to offend until arrested.
3. National centralised body with investigative capabilities
Due t o the r are na ture of violent s erial cr imes, f ew pol ice a gencies ha ve de tectives
experienced in the investigation of these crimes. Very few of the detectives involved in
the i nvestigation of t he cas es of f ocus i n this r esearch had any ex perience w ith serial
crime inve stigation. Unlike ot her c ountries s uch as t he U nited States and t he F ederal
Bureau of Investigation, Australia does not have a national policing organisation with
the j urisdiction to investigate crimes s uch as m urder and r ape t hat oc cur acr oss l ocal
policing bounda ries or when assistance i s r equested. Such centralised bodies can
provide e xperienced i nvestigative t eams w ho ha ve t he s kills a nd knowledge t o
investigate serial crimes.
4. Improved education of police officers to recognise groups vulnerable to crime
A significant delay in the recognition of related crimes as serial in nature was found to
be frequently associated with victims that are considered as vulnerable by the research
literature. T his i ncludes pr ostitutes a nd t hose who l ive t ransient l ifestyles. T his
- 317-
education would assist in informing police cultural knowledge and therefore subsequent
police practice.
Recommendations for Further Research
1. Closer analysis of the missing persons register and its use investigatively
With the i ntroduction of a na tional m issing pe rsons da tabase i n r ecent years i n
Australia, it has been hoped that it will be a more efficient and accessible system than
its predecessors. While this system theoretically fills some of the gaps left in the wake
of ViCLAS, it still faces the s ame challenges of being i ntegrated i nto s tandard pol ice
practice. T he n eed for a f ully i ntegrated national m issing pe rsons d atabase was
supported b y t he V ictorian O ffice of P olice Integrity (2006), f ollowing t he
decommissioning of the ViCLAS system.
2. New initiatives such as the NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Unit need to be
reviewed
The introduction in recent years of initiatives such as the Unsolved Homicide Unit need
to be studied to determine if they have any impact on the investigation of serial crimes.
As r ecognised by K ennedy (2007), m odern f orensic t echniques c ould i mprove t he
likelihood of achieving closure on outstanding homicide cases. However, how this will
impact the inve stigation of s erial crimes is
- 318-
yet to
be de termined, thus f urther
consideration is required. How these new initiatives address the problems experienced
in linking violent serial crimes is yet to be seen.
3. An expanded study into the investigation of serial crime to validate the
proposed typology
Further research that analyses the investigation of other incidents of serial murder and
serial r ape, both in Australia and internationally, i s ne eded to va lidate f urther t he
proposed typology. This was beyond the scope of the present study.
- 319-
CONCLUSION
This study asked how incidents of serial murder and serial rape in Australia remained
undetected for up t o ni ne years. T o a nswer t his que stion, t he way i n which pol ice
investigated t hese c rimes ha d t o be c onsidered. A n a nalysis of t he r esearch l iterature
revealed that there was little prior research into how a r ange of investigative tools and
techniques were utilised and how they contributed to the investigative outcome.
While forensic techniques have their place in the establishment of links between
related crimes, other aspects of the investigation were seen to have a greater impact on
the i nvestigative out come. O ne aspect t hat had a s ignificant i nfluence on t he
investigative outcome was the allocation of resources, whereby it was found that early
identification of the c rimes a s s erial, coupled with the e stablishment of de dicated
resources in the form of a task force, achieved an efficient resolution to the case more
often.
The efficiency of this combination of factors was demonstrated by the proposed
typology in which the Serendipitous Investigation referred to cases of serial murder and
serial r ape w here t he l ink between related cas es was m ade up to six months after the
series b egan, which o ften l ed t o t he a rrest of a s uspect within s ix m onths of t his l ink
being m ade. T his w as in c ontrast t o t he D elayed-Recognition Investigation w hich
referred to cases where the linkage of related crimes did not occur until 12 m onths or
more af ter t he i nitial of fence ha d occurred. However on ce t he cr imes ha d been
- 320-
recognised as serial in nature and resources allocated in the form of a t ask force, most
of these incidents were not resolved quickly with some investigations exceeding twelve
months until arrest of the offender was achieved.
One factor that contributed to the inability of police to link related crimes was
the lack of a formal crime linkage system. This intelligence-led approach, ViCLAS, had
been i n pl ace du ring t he t ime pe riod when m ost of t hese o ffences o ccurred; how ever
there was no evidence from the research data to suggest that any attempt had been made
to use this tool in the investigation of serial murder or serial rape. This was despite the
fact t hat this s ystem ha d be en de signed t o t arget s uch of fences a nd contribute t o a
reduction in linkage blindness.
Another key issue to the investigation of serial rape and serial murder offences
was f ound t o b e t he m edia. D uring t hese hi ghly publ icised i nvestigations, t he m edia
was f ound t o s erve i mportant f unctions f or pol ice. T hese f unctions w ere a s a di rect
investigative tool to gain information from the publ ic a nd for a dditional vi ctims to
come forward; to boost public confidence in the police investigation itself; and as a tool
for cr isis m anagement to counteract a climate of f ear created by s ensational m edia
reporting.
The ove rarching f actor that ha s be en de monstrated t o i nfluence all of t hese
aspects of t he i nvestigation w as t he w ay i n w hich pol ice cultural knowledge w as
demonstrated t o i nform how pol ice i nvestigate s erial m urder a nd s erial rape. P olice
- 321-
cultural know ledge c an be s een t o i mpact on the pr ogression of t he i nvestigation,
especially t hrough t he d ecisions m ade i n r egards t o t he c ultural und erstandings a bout
some gr oups of vi ctims. O f pa rticular int erest to this r esearch was the w ay in w hich
police c ultural unde rstandings of t he vi ctim i nfluenced ho w t hey i nvestigated vi olent
serial crimes.
Police cultural knowledge informed the investigation of serial murder and serial
rape offences from the research sample. The relatively rare occurrence of serial crime
causes p roblems i n t he de velopment of pol ice i nvestigative t echniques. P olice
interviews de monstrate t hat t he i nvestigation of newly identified s erial crimes pos ed
major issues for investigators. The cases that were characterised by extensive delays in
the r ecognition of of fences as pa rt of a s eries of ten involved victims t hat w ere t he
subject of strong police cultural understandings.
It w as de monstrated t hat t his di ctionary know ledge i nformed de tectives a bout
the way in which reported crimes or missing person reports were dealt with when the
victims were known prostitutes, considered to be criminals themselves, or were deemed
to be likely to disappear of their own accord. This subsequent directory knowledge led
to the delay in the recognition that a serial offender was present. Thus, this knowledge
directly impacted on and contributed to the delay in the recognition and investigation of
serial mur der and serial rape c ases. It i s s uggested t hat i mproved e ducation of pol ice
officers to increase their understanding of the victimology of violent serial crimes could
assist in the recognition of these offences.
- 322-
An issue t hat w as evi dent i n the ana lysis o f t he da ta w as t hat of d etective
experience. Due to the rarity of violent serial crimes, many detectives do not have the
experience i n the i nvestigation of t hese crimes. It is s uggested that a na tional,
centralised pol icing body could a ddress t his pr oblem, forming a uni ted s ource of
experience and expertise.
The f actors i dentified b y this r esearch ha ve i mpacted on t he i nvestigation of
serial mur der and serial r ape inc idents in
Australia. Whilst the impa ct on
the
investigation varied between cases, they contributed to the delay in the recognition of
these offences as serial in nature and in achieving a positive investigative outcome. As
indicated by the proposed recommendations, these factors can be addressed to improve
the investigative capabilities of the police investigating these violent crimes.
- 323-
REFERENCES
AAP. (2000, June 30). Serial rapist may be at work in Sydney's west. AAP Newsfeed.
AAP. (2006, 12 December). Dupas to go straight to trial for graveyard murder charge.
AAP. (2007, 24 December). DNA dispute sparks call for Falconio review. Brisbane
Times.
ABC. (2002). Publican links missing girl to Ivan Milat at inquest. Retrieved 2-12-2004,
from http://www.net.au/news/newsitems/200202/s484675.htm
ABC Premium News. (2006, 21 April). 'Sexual predator' jailed for 22 years. ABC
Premium News.
Abrams, D., Viki, G. T., Masser, B., & Bohner, G. (2003). Perceptions of Stranger and
Acquaintance Rape: The Role of Benevolent and Hostile Sexism in Victim
Blame and Rape Proclivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
84(1), 111-125.
Adderly, R. W., & Musgrove, P. (2001). Police crime recording and investigation
systems: A user's view. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies
and Management, 24(1), 100-114.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for
Mental Disorders (Fourth ed, Text ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric
Association.
Anderson, W. R. (1999). Can personality disorders be used as predictors of serial
killers? Futurics, 23(3/4), 34-43.
Anonymous. (1998). A Serial Killer's Perspective. In R. M. Holmes & S. T. Holmes
(Eds.), Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder. London: Sage
Publications Ltd.
324
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1989). Year Book Australia: Chapter 12- Culture,
Recreation, Environment and Tourism. Canberra: Australian Bureau of
Statistics.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2002). Year Book Australia (No. 1301.0). Canberra:
Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2007). Recorded Crime- Victims 2006, 2007
Australian Law Reform Commission. (1992). Multiculturalism and the Law (No. 57).
Canberra: AGPS.
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2004). Introduction to Forensic Psychology. Thousand
Oaks: Sage Publications.
Bazeley, P., & Richards, L. (2000). The NVivo Qualitative Project Book. Thousand
Oaks: Sage.
BBC. (2003). Green River killer confession. Retrieved 06/11/03, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3245301.stm
Begg, H., & Norris, G. (2006). The City Stalker- Strike Force Grahame. Australian
Police Journal(September), 188-192.
Bell, C. (2002). The Murderer Hunters: The Detectives' Inside Stories. London: André
Deutsch.
Bellamy, P. (2004). Ivan Milat: The Last Ride. Retrieved 2/8/2004, from
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/milat/discovery_1.html
Benns, M. (2003). When the Bough Breaks: The True Story of Child Killer Kathleen
Folbigg. Sydney: Bantam.
Bernard, H. R. (2000). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Blackburn, R. (2000). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct: Theory, Research and
Practice. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
325
Boston, J. (2004). Snowtown: A Bank Vault's Deadly Math. Retrieved 10.01.05, 2005,
from http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/snowtown/index_1.html
Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice (R. Nice, Trans.). Cambridge: Polity Press.
Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and
Code Development. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Bridgett, M., & Robinson, J. (1999). Sex workers and sexual assault: the hidden crime,
Restoration for Victims of Crime Conference. Melbourne: Australian Institute of
Criminology and the Victims Assistance and Referral Service.
Brookman, F. (1999). Accessing and analysing police murder files. In F. Brookman, L.
Noaks & E. Wincup (Eds.), Qualitative Research in Criminology (pp. 46-61).
Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Brown, M. (2002). The Monster of Belanglo. In Outside the Law: Australian True
Crime Stories (pp. 81-112). Victoria: The Five Mile Press.
Burns, R. B. (1997). Introduction to Research Methods (3 ed.). Melbourne: Longman.
Cameron, B. W. (1999). Profiling: We All Do It. Law and Order, 47(4), 4.
Canter, D. (2003). Mapping Murder: The Secrets of Geographical Profiling. London:
Virgin Books.
Canter, D., Missen, C., & Hodge, S. (1996). Are Serial Killers Special? Policing Today,
2, 1-12.
Caputi, J. (1990). The New Founding Fathers: The Lore and Lure of the Serial Killer in
Contemporary Culture. The Journal of American Culture, 13(3), 1-12.
Caputi, J. (1999). Small Ceremonies: Ritual in Forrest Gump, Natural Born Killers,
Seven, and Follow Me Home. In C. Sharrett (Ed.), Mythologies of Violence in
Postmodern Media (pp. 147-175). Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Carney, T. (2004). Practical Investigation of Sex Crimes: A Strategic and Operational
Approach. USA: CRC Press.
326
Chan, J. (1996). Changing Police Culture. British Journal of Criminology, 36(1), 109134.
Chan, J. (1997). Changing Police Culture: Policing in a Multicultural Society. New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Chan, J. (1999a). Governing police practice: limits of the new accountability. British
Journal of Sociology, 50(2), 251-270.
Chan, J. (1999b). Police Culture. In D. Dixon (Ed.), A Culture of Corruption: Changing
an Australian Police Service (pp. 98-137). Sydney: Hawkins Press.
Chan, J. (2003a). Organizational Socialization and Professionalism. In J. Chan (Ed.),
Fair Cop: Learning the Art of Policing (pp. 3-40). Toronto: University of
Toronto Press.
Chan, J. (2003b). Taking On the Culture. In J. Chan (Ed.), Fair Cop: Learning the Art
of Policing (pp. 201-247). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Chan, J., Brereton, D., Legosz, M., & Doran, S. (2001). E-policing: The Impact of
Information Technology on Police Practices. Brisbane: Queensland Criminal
Justice Commission.
Chatterton, M. R. (1995). The Cultural Craft of Policing- Its Past and Future Relevance.
Policing and Society, 5, 97-107.
Chavez, A. S., & Gibson, D. C. (2004). Polygraph Keys vs. Publicity: Serial Murder
Public Relations. Public Relations Quarterly, 49(1), 10-14.
Chermak, S. (1998). Predicting Crime Story Salience: The Effects of Crime, Victim,
and Defendant Characteristics. Journal of Criminal Justice, 26(1), 61-70.
Commissioner for Children Tasmania. (2006). Advice to the Minister for Health and
Human Services: A Child Death Review Process for Tasmania. Hobart:
Commissioner for Children Tasmania.
327
Cook, P. E., & Hinman, D. L. (1999). Serial Murder. In H. V. Hall (Ed.), Lethal
Violence: A Sourcebook on Fatal, Domestic, Aquaintance and Stranger
Violence. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Corsianos, M. (2003). Discretion in detectives' decision making and 'high profile' cases.
Police Practice and Research, 4(3), 301-314.
Cowper, M. (2000, July 5). Women warned as attacks continue. Parramatta Advertiser.
Crim Trac. (2008a). Crim Trac: National Criminal Investigation DNA Database.
Retrieved 4 June, 2008, from
http://www.crimtrac.gov.au/systems__projects_national_criminal_investigation
_dna_...
Crim Trac. (2008b). Fingerprints. Retrieved 7 July, 2008, from
http://www.crimtrac.gov.au/systems_projects/Fingerprints.html
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), 61I (1900).
Crome, S. A., & McCabe, M. P. (2001). Adult rape scripting within a victimological
perspective. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 6, 395-413.
Davies, A. (1992). Rapists' Behaviour: A Three Aspect Model as a Basis for Analysis
and the Identification of Serial Crime. Forensic Science International, 55, 173194.
Davies, M., & Mouzos, J. (2007). Homicide in Australia: 2005-06 National Homicide
Monitoring Program annual report (No. 77). Canberra: Australian Institute of
Criminology.
Deans, G. (Writer) (2006). The Backpacker Murders. In G. McNeice (Producer).
Australia: Crime and Investigation Network.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of
Qualitative Research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage
Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed., pp. 1-32). Thousand Oaks Sage.
328
Department of Immigration and Citizenship. (2007). Fact Sheet 86. Overstayers and
People in Breach of Visa Conditions. Canberra: Department of Immigration and
Citizenship.
Deu, N. E., R.J. (1997). The role of criminal fantasy in predatory and opportunistic sex
offending. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12(1), 19-29.
Devery, C. (2003). Learning at the Academy. In J. Chan (Ed.), Fair Cop: Learning the
Art of Policing (pp. 80-144). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dixon, D. (1999a). Issues in the Legal Regulation of Policing. In D. Dixon (Ed.), A
Culture of Corruption: Changing an Australian Police Service (pp. 36-68).
Sydney: Hawkins Press.
Dixon, D. (1999b). Reform, Regression and the Royal Commission into the NSW
Police Service. In D. Dixon (Ed.), A Culture of Corruption: Changing an
Australian Police Service (pp. 138-179). Sydney: Hawkins Press.
Dixon, D. (Ed.). (1999c). A Culture of Corruption: Changing an Australian Police
Service. Sydney: Hawkins Press.
Douglas, J. E., & Olshaker, M. (1997). Journey Into Darkness. New York: Scribner.
Easteal, P. W. (1992). Rape (No. 1). Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Egger, S. A. (1984). A Working Definition of Serial Murder and the Reduction of
Linkage Blindness. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 12(3), 348357.
Egger, S. A. (1990a). Linkage Blindness: A Systemic Myopia. In S. A. Egger (Ed.),
Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon (pp. 163-176). London: Praeger.
Egger, S. A. (1990b). Serial Murder: A Synthesis of Literature and Research. In S. A.
Egger (Ed.), Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon (pp. 3-34). London:
Praeger.
Egger, S. A. (1998). The Killers Amoung Us: An Examination of Serial Murder and Its
Investigation. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
329
Engel, R. S., Calnon, J. M., & Bernard, T. J. (2002). Theory and Racial Profiling:
Shortcomings and Future Directions in Research. Justice Quarterly, 19(2), 249273.
Erainçlioglu, Z. (2004). The Illustrated Guide to Forensics: True Crime Scene
Investigations. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited.
Ericson, R. V. (1993). Making Crime: A Study of Detective Work. Toronto: University
of Toronto Press.
Evans, C. (1996). The Casebook of Forensic Detection. New York: John Wiley & Sons
Inc.
Fattah, E. A. (1997). Criminology: Past, Present and Future. London: Macmillan Press
Ltd.
Fineman, M., & McCluskey, M. (1997). Feminism, Media and the Law. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Finnane, M. (1999). From Police Force to Police Service? Aspects of the Recent
History of the New South Wales Police. In D. Dixon (Ed.), A Culture of
Corruption: Changing an Australian Police Service (pp. 6-35). Sydney:
Hawkins Press.
Fisher, J. C. (1997). Killer Among Us: Public Reactions to Serial Murder. Westport:
Praeger Publishers.
Fleming, L. (1994). Serial Murder. Australian Police Journal, 48(2), 59-72.
Fontana, A., & Frey, J. H. (2003). The Interview: From Structured Questions to
Negotiated Text. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Collecting and
Interpreting Qualitative Materials (2 ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Fox, J. A., & Levin, J. (1998). Multiple Homicide: Patterns of Serial and Mass Murder.
Crime and Justice, 23, 407-455.
330
Fox, J. A., & Levin, J. (1999). Serial Murder: Popular Myths and Empirical Realities.
In M. D. Z. Smith, M.A. (Ed.), Homicide: A Sourcebook of Social Research (pp.
165-175). London: Sage Publications.
Fox, J. A., Levin, J., & Quinet, K. (2005). The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless
Murder (2nd ed.). Boston: Peason Educatioon Group Inc.
Genge, N. E. (2004). The Forensic Case Book: The Science of Crime Scene
Investigation. London: Ebury Press.
Giannangelo, S. J. (1996). The Psychopathology of Serial Murder: A Theory of
Violence. London: Praeger Publishers.
Gibbons, D. C. (1988). Some Critical Observations on Criminal Types and Criminal
Careers. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 15(1), 8-23.
Gibson, D. C., & Chavez, A. S. (2004). Serial Murder Public Relations Tactics. Public
Relations Quarterly, 49(4), 11-18.
Godwin, G. M. (2000). Hunting Serial Predators: A Multivariate Classification
Approach to Profiling Violent Behavior. London: CRC Press.
Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research.
The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597-607.
Goldsworthy, T. J. (2002). The Hunters Amoung Us: Serial Killers. Australian Police
Journal, 56(4), 274-284.
Gray, D. E. (2004). Doing Research in the Real World: Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Greer, C. (2003). Sex crime and the media. Collumpton: Willan Publishing.
Groth, A. N., Burgess, W., & Holmstrom, L. L. (1977). Rape: power, anger and
sexuality. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 134(11), 1239-1243.
331
Hagan, M. (1992). The Police Perspective: Special Issues in Serial Murder. Paper
presented at the Homicide : patterns, prevention and control : proceedings of a
conference, Canberra.
Hale, R., & Bolin, A. (1998). The Female Serial Killer. In R. M. Holmes & S. T.
Holmes (Eds.), Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder (pp. 33-58).
Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Hazelwood, R., & Burgess, W. (2001). Practical Aspects of Rape Investigation: A
Multidisciplinary Approach (3 ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Henderson, M., & Henderson, P. (1998). Missing People: Issues for the Australian
Community. Canberra: National Missing Person Unit: Australian Bureau of
Criminal Intelligence.
Henderson, M., Henderson, P., & Kiernan, C. (2000). Missing Persons: Incidence,
Issues and Impacts. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 144.
Herald Sun. (1992, September 22). Tourists 'butchered' Police scour bush as body is
identified. Herald Sun.
Hickey, E. W. (1997). Serial Murderers and Their Victims (2nd ed.). Belmont:
Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Hickey, E. W. (2002). Serial Murderers and Their Victims (3rd ed.). Belmont:
Wadsworth.
Hodder, I. (2003). The Interpretation of Documents and Material Culture. In N. K.
Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative
Materials (2 ed., pp. 155-175). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Holmes, R. M., & DeBurger, J. E. (1985). Profiles in Terror: The Serial Murderer.
Federal Probation, 49(3), 29-34.
Holmes, R. M., & DeBurger, J. E. (1998). Profiles in Terror: The Serial Murderer. In R.
M. Holmes & S. T. Holmes (Eds.), Contemporary Perspectives on Serial
Murder (pp. 5-16). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publicarions.
332
Holmes, R. M., Hickey, E. W., & Holmes, S. T. (1998). Female Serial Murderesses:
The Unnoticed Terror. In R. M. Holmes & S. T. Holmes (Eds.), Contemporary
Perspectives on Serial Murder. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (1998). Serial Murder (2 ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications.
Hoysted, P., & Kidd, P. (2002). Shallow Graves: The Concealments of Killers.
Victoria: The Five Mile Press.
Innes, M. (1999). The media as an investigative resource in murder enquiries. The
British Journal of Criminology, 39(2), 269-287.
Innes, M. (2002). The 'Process Structures' of Police Homicide Investigations. British
Journal of Criminology, 42, 669-688.
Innes, M. (2003). Investigating Murder: Detective Work and the Police Response to
Criminal Homicide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
James, M., Anderson, J., & Putt, J. (2008). Missing Persons in Australia (No. 86).
Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Jenkins, P. (1994). Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Homicide. New
York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Kelleher, M. D., & Kelleher, C. L. (1998). Murder Most Rare: The Female Serial
Killer. London: Praeger.
Kennedy, L. (2007, 4 June). Police cool on cold cases. Sydney Morning Herald.
Keogh, K. (1997, 28 February). Hunt for rapist: Police special task force formed after
28 attacks. The Daily Telegraph, p. 9.
Keppel, R. D., & Birnes, W. J. (2003). The Psychology of Serial Killer Investigations:
The Grisly Business Unit. Sydney: Academic Press.
333
Keppel, R. D., & Walter, R. (1999). Profiling Killers: A Revised Classification Model
for Understanding Sexual Murder. International Journal of Offender Therapy
and Comparative Criminology, 43(4), 417-437.
Keppens, J., & Schafer, B. (2004). "Murdered by persons unknown"- Speculative
Reasoning in Law and Logic. In T. Gordon (Ed.), Legal Knowledge and
Information Systems. Jurix 2004: The Seventeenth Annual Conference (pp. 109118). Amsterdam: IOS Press.
Kidd, P. B. (1999). Never to be Released: Volume 2. Sydney: Harper Collins
Publishers.
Kidd, P. B. (2000). Australia's Serial Killers: The Definitive History of Serial Multicide
in Australia. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd.
Kidd, P. B. (2005). The Australian Crime File: A 'best of' collection of notorious true
crime stories. Rowville: The Five Mile Press.
Kidd, P. B. (2008). John Wayne Glover: The Granny Killer, from
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/glover/killer_1.html
Kiger, K. (1990). The Darker Figure of Crime: The Serial Murder Enigma. In S. A.
Egger (Ed.), Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon (pp. 35-52). London:
Praeger.
Killmier, B. (1997). Tracking Violent Crime. Paper presented at the Second national
outlook symposium : violent crime, property crime and public policy, Canberra.
Knight, R. A. (1999). Validation of a Typology for Rapists. Journal of Interpersonal
Violence, 14(3), 303-330.
Knight, R. A., Warren, J. I., & Reboussin, B. J. (1998). Predicting Rapist Type From
Crime-Scene Variables. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 25(1), 46-80.
Kocsis, R. N. (1999). Psychological Profiling Techniques for Australian Serial Murder
Investigations. Victoria Police Association Journal, 65(10), 22-23,25.
334
Kocsis, R. N. (2002). Profiling Australian Serial Rapists. New South Wales Police
News, 82(2), 19-21.
Kocsis, R. N., Cooksey, R. W., & Irwin, H. J. (2002). Psychological Profiling of
Offender Characteristics From Crime Behaviors in Serial Rape Offences.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,
46(2), 144-169.
Krueger, R. B., & Kaplan, M. S. (2000). The Nonviolent Serial Offender:
Exhibitionism, Frotteurism, and Telephone Scatologia. In L. B. Schlesinger
(Ed.), Serial Offenders: Current Thoughts and Recent Findings (pp. 103-120).
London: CRC Press.
Lane, B. (2004). The Encyclopedia of Forensic Science: A Guide to the Science Behind
Crime Investigation. London: Magpie Books.
Lee, J. A. (1990). Report of the Royal Commission Inquiry into the Arrest, Charging
and Withdrawal of Charges Against Harold James Blackburn and Matters
Associated Therewith. Sydney: NSW Government.
Legislative Council. (1996). Sexual Violence: Addressing the Crime (No. 9): Parliament
of NSW Standing Committee on Social Issues.
Lerner, M., & Miller, D. (1978). Just world research and the attribution process:
looking back and ahead. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 1030-1051.
Levin, J., & Fox, J. A. (1999, 11/05/99). A Culture That's Ripe to Sustain Evil. The
Boston Herald, p. 25.
Leyton, E. (1986). Hunting Humans: The Rise of the Modern Multiple Murderer.
London: Penguin Books.
Lievore, D. (2002). Non-reporting and hidden recordings of sexual assault in Australia.
Paper presented at the Third Australasian Women and Policing Conference:
Women and Policing Globally, National Convention Centre, Canberra.
Lloyd-Goldstein, R. (2000). Serial Stalkers: Recent Clinical Findings. In L. B.
Schlesinger (Ed.), Serial Offenders: Current Thoughts and Recent Findings (pp.
167-186). London: CRC Press.
335
Manning, J. (1997). Serial rape: offender profiling, Second national outlook
symposium: violent crime, property crime and public policy. Canberra:
Australian Institute of Criminology.
Marché, G. E. (1994). The Production of Homicide Solutions: An Empirical Analysis.
The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 53(4), 385-401.
Marciniak, L. M. (1998). Adolescent Attitudes Toward Victim Precipitation of Rape.
Violence and Victims, 13(3), 287-300.
Marks, K. (2003, 22/05/2003). Children killed for 'ruining social life'. Irish
Independent.
Mavromatis, M. (2000). Serial Arson: Repetitive Firesetting and Pyromania. In L. B.
Schlesinger (Ed.), Serial Offenders: Current Thoughts and Recent Findings (pp.
67-102). London: CRC Press.
McAdam, H., & Fitts, A. (1999). Why wreck a man's life? The paradox of male sexual
assault, Restoration for Victims of Crime Conference. Melbourne: Australian
Institute of Criminology and Victims Referral and Assistance Service.
McGarry, A. (2005). The Snowtown Murders. Sydney: Australian Broadcasting
Corporation.
McLaughlin, E., & Muncie, J. (2001). The Sage Dictionary of Criminology. London:
Sage Publications.
Miller, J., & Schwartz, M. D. (1995). Rape myths and violence against street
prostitutes. Deviant Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 16, 1-23.
Mobbs, J. D. (2001). Crimtrac- Technology and Detection. Paper presented at the 4th
National Outlook Symposium on Crime in Australia, New Crimes or New
Responses, Canberra.
Money, J. (1990). Forensic Sexology: Paraphilic Serial Rape (Biastophilia) and Lust
Murder (Erotophonophilia). American Journal of Psychotherapy, XLIV(1), 2636.
336
Mouzos, J. (1999). Mental Disorder & Homicide in Australia. Trends & Issues in
Crime and Criminal Justice, 133.
Mouzos, J. (2000). Homicidal Encounters: A Study of Homicide in Australia 19891999. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Mouzos, J. (2001). Investigating Homicide: New Responses For An Old Crime. Paper
presented at the 4th National Outlook Synopsium on Crime in Australia- New
Crimes or New Responses, Canberra.
Mouzos, J., & Houliaras, T. (2006). Homicide in Australia: 2004-05 National Homicide
Monitoring Program (NHMP) annual report. Canberra: Australian Institute of
Criminology.
Mouzos, J., & Muller, D. A. (2001). Solvability Factors of Homicide in Australia: An
Exploratory Analysis. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 216.
Neuman, W. L. (2003). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
New South Wales Police. (2005). Forensics. Retrieved 4/10/2005, from
http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/about_us/structure/support_command/forensic_s
ervices/...
Newiss, G. (1999). Missing presumed...? The police response to missing persons (No.
Paper 114). London: Policing and Reducing Crime Unit.
NMPU. (2005). Missing People: Issues for the Australian Community. Retrieved
15/10/2005, from http://www.missingpersons.gov.au/STUDY.pdf
Norris, G. (2006). Personal Communication: Conversation re: Wayne Anthony
Trindall. Parramatta.
Norris, J. (1997). Serial Killers: The Growing Menace. London: Arrow Books Ltd.
NSW Child Death Review Team. (2007). Annual Report 2006. Sydney: NSW
Commission for Children and Young People.
337
NSW Commission for Children and Young People. (2008). Child Death Review Team.
Retrieved 7th June, 2008, from
http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/kids/about/who/childdeath.cfm
O'Leary, J. (1978). Community Perceptions of the Problem. Paper presented at the
Police Practices and the Preservation of Civil Rights, Washington D.C.
O'Loughlin, N., & Billing, P. (2000). Positive Police Culture: Correcting Perceptions.
In T. Coady, S. James, S. Miller & M. O'Keefe (Eds.), Violence and Police
Culture (pp. 63-108). Carlton South: Melbourne University Press.
Office of Police Integrity. (2006). Report on Victoria Police Missing Persons
Investigations. Victoria: Office of Police Integrity.
Ogan, J., & Alison, L. (2005). Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel murders: a very
Victorian critical incident. In L. Alison (Ed.), The Forensic Psychologist's
Casebook: Psychological profiling and criminal investigation (pp. 23-46).
Cullompton: Willan Publishing.
Page, A. D. (2007). Behind the Blue Line: Investigating Police Officers' Attitudes
Toward Rape. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 22, 22-32.
Palermo, G. B. (1997). The berserk syndrome: A review of mass murder. Aggression
and Violent Behavior, 2(1), 1-8.
Paoline III, E. A. (2003). Taking stock: Toward a richer understanding of police
culture. Journal of Criminal Justice, 31, 199-214.
Parramatta Advertiser. (2000, July 12). Staff fear rapist attacks: Screams for help scare
rapist away. Parramatta Advertiser.
Petherick, W. (2005). Criminal Profile: Into the Mind of the Killer. Pranham: Hardie
Grant Books.
Petraitis, V. (1995). The Frankston Murders: The True Story of Serial Killer Paul
Denyer. Carrum Downs: Nivar Press.
338
Pinto, S., & Wilson, P. (1990). Serial Murder. Canberra: Australian Institute of
Criminology.
PMSEIC. (2000). Science, Crime Prevention and Law Enforcement, Prime Minister's
Science, Engineering and Innovation Council: Fifth Meeting.
Pogrebin, M. (2002). Qualitative Approaches to Criminal Justice. Thousand Oaks:
Sage Publications.
Polk, K. (1997). A reexamination of the concept of victim-precipitated homicide.
Homicide Studies, 1(2), 141-168.
Pudney, J. (2005). Snowtown: The Bodies in Barrels Murders. Sydney: Harper Collins.
Putt, J., & Higgins, K. (1997). Violence Against Women in Australia: Key Research and
Data Issues (No. 6). Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
R v Daley, 279 (NSWSC 2002).
R v Presta, 40 (NSWCCA 2000).
Ratcliffe, J. H. (2003). Intelligence-led Policing. Trends & Issues in Crime and
Criminal Justice, 248.
Ravens, T. (2006, 21 April). Serial predator jailed for 22 years. AAP General News
Wire, p. 1.
Rayner, G. (2008, 19 January). Ipswich murders: DNA link to Steve Wright.
Telegraph.co.uk.
Reiner, R., & Newburn, T. (2008). Police research. In R. D. King & E. Wincup (Eds.),
Doing Research on Crime and Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Reppetto, T. A. (1978). The Detective Task: State of the Art, Science or Craft?
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 1(3),
5-10.
339
Ressler, R. K., Burgess, A. W., & Douglas, J. E. (1988). Sexual Homicide: Patterns
and Motives. New York: The Free Press.
Ressler, R. K., & Schactman, T. (1992). Whoever Fights Monsters. New York: St.
Martin's Press.
Reuss-Ianni, E., & Ianni, F. A. J. (1983). Street Cops and Management Cops: The Two
Cultures of Policing. In M. Punch (Ed.), Control in the Police Organisation (pp.
251-274). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Riley, M. (1997, March 7). How police sat on their hands after rapist warning. Sydney
Morning Herald, p. 1.
Rossmo, D. K. (1995). Place, Space, and Police Investigations: Hunting Serial Violent
Criminals. In J. E. W. Eck, D. (Ed.), Crime and Place (Vol. 4). New York:
Willow Tree Press, Inc.
Rowlands, L. (2000, 2 August). Serial rape charges. The Daily Telegraph, p. 21.
Sackmann, S. A. (1992). Culture and Subcultures: An Analysis of Organizational
Knowledge. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(1), 140-161.
Sanders, A., & Young, R. (2002). From Suspect to Trial. In M. Maguire, R. Morgan &
R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (3rd ed., pp. 10341075). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sarantakos, S. (2005). Social Research. New York: Macmillan Education Australia.
Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: JosseyBass.
Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational Culture and Leadership (2nd ed.). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Schlesinger, L. B. (2000a). Serial Burglary: A Spectrum of Behaviors, Motives, and
Dynamics. In L. B. Schlesinger (Ed.), Serial Offenders: Current Thoughts and
Recent Findings (pp. 187-206). London: CRC Press.
340
Schlesinger, L. B. (2000b). Serial Homicide: Sadism, Fantasy and the Compulsion to
Kill. In L. B. Schlesinger (Ed.), Serial Offenders: Current Thoughts and Recent
Findings (pp. 3-22). London: CRC Press.
Scott, B. D. (1996). Evaluating Information on the Internet. Computers in Libraries,
16(5), 44-46.
Shears, R. (1996). Highway to Nowhere. Sydney: Harper Collins Publishers.
Sheather, M. (1994, 13/6/1994). Facing His Accusers: Ivan Milat was charged last
week with the murders of seven backpackers. Who.
Sheptycki, J. (2004). Organizational Pathologies in Police Intelligence Systems: Some
Contributions to the Lexicon of Intelligence-led Policing. European Journal of
Criminology, 1(3), 307-332.
Simpson, P. L. (2000). Psycho Paths: Tracking the Serial Killer Through
Contemporary American Film and Fiction. Carbondale: Southern Illinois
University Press.
Small, C. (1998). Task Force Air: Case Review: Unpublished document.
Smith, N. (2001). Reading between the lines: an evaluation of the Scientific Content
Analysis technique (SCAN) (No. 135). London: Home Office.
Snook, B., Cullen, R., Mokros, A., & Harbort, S. (2005). Serial murderers' spatial
decisions: factors that influence crime location choice. Journal of Investigative
Psychology and Criminal Profiling, 2(3), 147-164.
Snyder, D. (2005). DNA Links Ga. Man to at Least 9 Md. Rapes. Washingtonpost.com.
Stevens, D. J. (1994). Predatory Rapists and Victim Selection Techniques. The Social
Science Journal, 31(4), 421-433.
Stewart, J. (1999). Police responses to sexual assault in New South Wales. The Journal
for Women and Policing(3), 37-41.
341
Stewart, J. (2001). Milat linked to 1970s missing persons case. Retrieved 3-11-2003,
from http://www.abc.net.au/pm/s311748.htm
Stone, M. H. (2001). Serial Sexual Homicide: Biological, Psychological, and
Sociological Aspects. Journal of Personality Disorders, 15(1), 1-18.
Sunday Mail. (1989a, December 3). Granny killer 'sure to strike again'. Sunday Mail.
Sunday Mail. (1989b, 26 November). Police step up 'granny killer' hunt. Sunday Mail.
Swanborough, G. (Writer) (2004). Paul Denyer. In F. Baker & G. Swanborough
(Producer), Forensic Investigators. Australia: Southern Star Entertainment.
Swanton, B., & Wilson, P. (1989). Research Brief: Missing Persons. Canberra:
Australian Institute of Criminology.
Sydney Morning Herald. (2006, 24 October). I'm like Lindy, says 'black widow'.
Sydney Morning Herald.
Thornton, B., Robbins, M. A., & Johnson, J. A. (1981). Social perception of the rape
victim's culpability: the influence of respondent's personal-environmental causal
attribution tendencies. Human Relations, 34, 225-237.
Tilley, N. (2003). Community policing, problem-oriented policing and intelligence-led
policing. In T. Newburn (Ed.), Handbook of Policing (pp. 311-339).
Cullompton: Willian Publishing.
Tong, S., & Bowling, B. (2006). Art, Craft and Science of Detective Work. The Police
Journal, 79, 323-329.
Toy, N. (2000, July 1). Serial rapist's picture spearheads police hunt. The Daily
Telegraph, p. 16.
Turvey, B. (1998). Deductive Criminal Profiling: Comparing Applied Methodologies
Between Inductive and Deductive Profiling Techniques. Retrieved 15th June,
2004, from http://www.corpus-delicti.com/Profiling_law.html
342
Turvey, B. (2002a). Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence
Analysis. San Diego: Academic Press.
Turvey, B. (2002b). Serial Homicide. In B. Turvey (Ed.), Criminal Profiling: An
Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis (pp. 513-528). San Diego:
Academic Press.
Turvey, B. (2002c). Serial Rape. In B. Turvey (Ed.), Criminal Profiling: An
Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis (pp. 529-545). San Diego:
Academic Press.
Turvey, B. (2002d). Victimology. In B. Turvey (Ed.), Criminal Profiling: An
Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis. San Diego: Academic Press.
Van Maanen, J. (1978a). Kinsmen in repose: occupational perspectives of patrolmen. In
J. Manning & J. Van Maanen (Eds.), Policing: A View From the Street. Santa
Monica: Goodyear Publishing Company Inc.
Van Maanen, J. (1978b). Observations on the Making of Policemen. In P. K. Manning
& J. Van Maanen (Eds.), Policing: A View From the Street (pp. 292-308). Santa
Monica: Goodyear Publishing Company Inc.
Walsh, B. (1993, 23 October). A town haunted by forest of death. Herald Sun.
Warneminde, M. (1997, March 9). Rapist may be policeman. Sun Herald, p. 6.
Warren, I., & James, S. (2000). The Police Use of Force: Contexts and Constraints. In
T. Coady, S. James, S. Miller & M. O'Keefe (Eds.), Violence and Police
Culture (pp. 63-84). Carlton South: Melbourne University Press.
Warren, J. I., Reboussin, B. J., Hazelwood, R., Cummings, A., Gibbs, N. A., &
Trumbetta, S. L. (1998). Crime Scene and Distance Correlates of Serial Rape.
Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 14(1), 35-59.
Whittaker, M., & Kennedy, L. (1998). Sins of the Brother: The definitive story of Ivan
Milat and the backpacker murders. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd.
343
Williams, K. S. (1997). Textbook on Criminology (3rd ed.). London: Blackstone Press
Ltd.
Williamson, B. (2002, April 27). Serial rapist gets 22 years for attacks. The Daily
Telegraph.
Wood, J. (1997). Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service: Final
Report. Sydney: Government of the State of New South Wales.
Writer, L. (1992). Garden of Evil: The Granny Killer's Reign of Terror. Randwick:
Ironbark Press.
www.austlii.edu.au. The Australasian Legal Information Institute
www.crimelibrary.com. truTV Crime Library
Zedner, L. (2002). Victims. In M. Maguire, R. Morgan & R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford
Handbook of Criminology (3rd ed., pp. 419-456). Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
344
APPENDIX A
345
UWS HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEE
PROTOCOL APPLICATION FORM
To Obtain an Ethics Clearance
Research projects involving human participants
•
•
Staff, PhD, Masters Hons candidates see Instruction Sheet 1.
4th Yr Undergrad Hons candidates see Instruction Sheet 2.
You are reminded that your project should not commence without prior
written approval
1.
Title of Project
Serial Crime in Australia: Investigative Issues and Practice
2.
Indicate whether Staff or Student Application
Staff
and complete the appropriate section of Question 2

Student

2. a Chief Investigator/s (Staff)
Name
UWS School
Contact details
(Telephone, Email)
Qualifications
UWS School
Contact Details
(Telephone, Email)
Qualifications
UWS School
Contact details
(Telephone, Email)
Research Degree
being undertaken
2. b Associate Investigator/s (Staff)
Name
2. c Chief Investigator (Student)
Name
346
Natalie Scerra
School of Applied
Social & Human
Sciences
4.
5.
Doctor of
Philosophy
Associate Professor Meg Smith
Name of Student Supervisor
3.
[email protected]
977924214
0401734779
Address for Correspondence *Students must provide an external mail address
67/169 Horsley Road Panania NSW 2213
Anticipated Duration of the Project
Proposed commencement date:
June 2005
Proposed completion date:
December 2006

Funding


Is the research project the subject of an application to an internal or external grants body, or will be granted
other funding support?
Yes
If yes, Name of the funding agency
What was the outcome?

No
_______________________________________________
Approved

Pending

Refused


Are there any constraints placed on the release of research data by the funding body
Yes
No

If yes, provide details
6.
Lay Summary of Project
Write in words a layperson would understand a brief description of the project, ie use ‘Plain
English’
First and foremost, this research aims to compile and systematically
analyse a previously disparate body of procedures, practices and experiencebased knowledge of investigators on serial crime. Thus, this research will
bridge the gap in knowledge of the methods employed to investigate serial
crimes in Australia and the issues and problems that arise in the practices and
techniques employed. The aim of this research is to determine what factors
impact upon, and contribute to the investigation of serial crime in Australia.
These include the investigative practices and policies such as: the allocation of
resources; the identification criteria for serial crimes; and the methods utilised
to link these crimes. The investigative aids that will be considered include:
forensic techniques; and criminal profiling. These practices and techniques will
347
be considered to determine what, if any, issues or problems arise in the
utilisation of these techniques, in particular how it relates to organisational
practices.
Serial crimes such as murder and rape, which are the focus of this
research, have become increasingly evident in Australia. A serial crime can be
defined where two or more crimes occur over a period of time, which can be
linked through the similarities between each case, and the belief that these
offences were committed by the one offender. Serial crimes provide a number
of issues for investigators. Due to the random nature of these crimes,
investigators often face many challenges when investigating an incidence of
serial crime.
The contribution that the various police practices and techniques have to
the investigation of serial crime as a whole has been neglected by past
research. This research aims at expanding upon previous research. Previous
academic research in the area of serial crime has focused on the offenders of
these crimes, in particular the motivations for committing the crimes and the
background of the offenders. Other researchers have focused their attention on
the accuracy of investigative aids such as criminal profiling, but not in the
context of other investigative practices or issues. A study conducted by the
Australian Institute of Criminology found that investigators believed that there
were problems with the time delay in receiving the forensic report, and that it
was often phrased in a way which they couldn’t understand. In this same study
investigators identified the allocation of resources as a factor which
investigators believed affected the outcome of the investigation. This study
however did not consider serial crime in any capacity as it related only to
homicide cases in general.
7. Scientific, Educational or Cultural Aims of Project
Refer to Guidelines Section 7. for information on details required
There are a number of aims and objectives of this research:
• To gain an understanding of what police practices and policies affect the
investigative process and to what extent these practices and policies are
seen to affect the outcome
• To gain an understanding of how and to what extent investigative aids
such as forensic techniques and analysis and criminal profiling are
utilized in a serial crime investigation in NSW, what are the issues or
problems with utilizing these aids and how do they contribute to the
investigative outcome
• To compile and systematically analyse a previously disparate body of
procedures, practices and experience-based knowledge of investigators
on serial crime
348
•
8.
To fill the gap in criminological knowledge of the issues that arise in the
investigation of serial crime in Australia and how these issues affect the
investigative outcome and how these issues relate to organisational
practices.
Value and Benefits of Project
Refer to Guidelines Section 8 for information on details required
(use approx. the space provided and type in 12 point font)
This study aims to bridge the gap in criminological research of serial crime
investigation in Australia through the compilation and systematic analysis of
procedures, practices and experience-based knowledge of investigators of
these crimes. It considers the problems police face in the investigation of serial
crime and how these problems can be countered. How future investigations of
serial crime can be improved will be addressed through identifying gaps in
knowledge, resources, or training of NSW Police from their previous
experience.
9.
Details of Research Methodology/Procedures and Recruitment Procedures
Refer to Guidelines Section 9 for information on details required.
There are two methods that will be employed in this qualitative study:
case studies of serial crime incidents and in-depth semi-structured interviews of
members of the NSW Police who have worked on serial crimes in an
investigative or forensic capacity. This use of two methods in conjunction with
the extensive literature review, triangulation ensures a complete set of data is
obtained.
Case studies will provide information in relation to the issues surrounding
investigative techniques and policies. This will provide information about the
pressures on police to solve the crime through the utilisation of secondary data
such as biographical and media accounts of serial crimes which detail factors
relating to the investigation. Thematic analysis will be employed to analyse
case study data, the results of which will be compared with the interview data.
Such information will also be used in the development of interview schedule. A
preliminary thematic analysis of secondary case study data in conjunction with
a thorough literature review has been utilised to develop the draft interview
schedule (attached).
The second research method is in-depth semi-structured interviews,
which will provide primary data to compare with the results obtained from the
first stage of research. Interviews will be voice-recorded and transcribed at a
later date. Interviews will then be subject to a thematic analysis the findings of
which will be compared to the themes and data gathered from the case studies.
Many issues may not be apparent in these accounts and thus the interviews will
349
enable a richer, more accurate picture of the issues. Data from interviews may
also identify lacuna arising from the case studies. By conducting such a
comparison between the investigator’s opinion of such practices and the
recording of such practices by a third person, the accuracy and applicability of
such opinions can be determined. A computer program specifically designed to
analyse qualitative data such as QSR NVivo will be used where appropriate.
Participants will be recruited through the NSW Police. Contact has been
made with the research coordinator of the NSW Police, Mr. Chris Devery, who
has agreed to recommend suitable participants or identify the squads that need
to be contacted to access suitable participants. Recruitment will utilise a
‘snowball sample’ to access a larger number of suitable participants.
Participants will include NSW Police officers and forensic technicians who have
worked on a serial crime investigation. Research approval will need to be
gained from NSW Police. However, I have been advised that approval can only
be sought after receiving approval from the UWS Ethics Committee.
Prior to the interviews participants will receive a consent form and
Information Statement detailing the aims of the research. Participants may
withdraw at any time. Participants will be given ample time to read the
information statement, ask the researcher any questions they may have and
consider the consent form. The consent form and the Information Statement
are attached. Interviews will be conducted at a time and place convenient and
suitable for the purpose. The anonymity of participants will be assured.
Information collected from the interviews will be coded and de-identified prior to
thematic analysis. Confidentiality will be maintained at all times.
10.
Participant Sample Description and Sample Size
Refer to Guidelines Section 10 for further information on details required.
You must clearly define the ‘type’ of participants, and in particular if the participants are children
or young people, persons with an intellectual or mental impairment, highly dependent on medical
care, persons in dependent or unequal r elationships, p ersons from a distinct collective, or
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The participants will be adults, over the age of 18, of no specific race,
gender, or age. Persons with an intellectual or mental impairment, highly
dependent on medical care, persons in dependent or unequal relationships, or
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will not be targeted.
350
Participants will be drawn from the research population employed by
NSW Police currently or previously as identified by NSW Police who have
contributed to the investigation of serial crime. Forensic technicians employed by
the NSW Police will also be recruited as participants in this research. The
number of participants will be dependant upon the availability of suitable
participants. However it is anticipated that interviews be obtained from as many
suitable participants as possible (for example chief investigator, senior forensic
technician). As this research is aimed at collating data that will generate a
saturation of qualitative data rather than attempting to create any sort of
statistical or quantitative outcomes, it is not the intention to interview large
numbers of individuals.
The participants will be asked to take part in semi-structured interviews.
All information gathered will be treated in strictest confidence and stored
securely. The respondents will be made aware that should they decide, at any
stage of the research, that they now longer wish to participate then they can
withdraw. Respondents will be made aware that no data will be reported that
compromises their anonymity.
Values and Ethics – Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Health Research
Researchers, both staff and students who are conducting research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander participants are required to review the Values and Ethics – Guidelines for Ethical Conduct
in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research. (see Guidelines for more detail)
Criminal Checks
In s ome ci rcumstances, i nvolving c hildren, i t may b e n ecessary for t he r esearchers t o h ave
undertaken a cr iminal record check. Y ou should indicate if this is required and provide a copy of
the documentation.
(use approx. the space provided and type in 12 point font)
The researcher/s will be required to undertake a criminal check
Yes
 No 
11. Evaluation of Potential Harm or Risk of Harm from Research Procedures
Refer to Guidelines Section 11 for information on details required
Does the project involve any of the following research procedures?
a) the possibility of physical stress/distress, discomfort to the participants Yes
If yes, how will the potential harm or risk of harm be addressed?
351
 No 

b) the possibility of psychological/mental stress/distress, discomfort
Yes
No
to the participants. If yes, how will the potential harm or risk of harm be addressed?:

It is not anticipated that interviews will trigger any form of discomfort as interviewees
are experienced criminal investigators who deal with these issues on a day-to-day
basis. However, as interviewees will be required to discuss criminal cases that they
have investigated in case it may trigger their emotional responses to the crimes, the
New South Wales Police Service have their own internal counselling services that
members have access to. However if interviewees do not wish to utilise the services
provided by the NSW Police then participants can contact Dr. Fiona Rummery
Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Sydney by phone on (02) 9685 9120 or
by email [email protected] . Dr. Rummery has extensive counselling
experience.
This will also be addressed by including the contact number of my supervisor who
will put them in contact with a qualified counselor, on the Information Statement
attached to the survey. Participants will also be informed that they can withdraw at
any time without penalty or prejudice.
c) deception of participants at any stage of the project
Yes
If yes, give details, will the participants be debriefed after the procedure?
 No 


No
d) the use of drugs or invasive procedures
Yes
For example, chemical compounds, drugs, ionising or non-ionising radiation, other biological
agents, human tissue, special diets or modified foods, sensory evaluation of genetically modified
food. Evidence of clearance from the University Biosafety Committee should be submitted with
your application.
If yes, give details as to how any potential harm or risk of harm will be minimised:
12.
Potential Ethical Issues
352
You should address each potential ethical issue as it relates to your project
(use approx. the space provided and type in 12 point font)
12 a. Integrity, Respect for persons, Beneficence and Justice
Refer to Guidelines Section 12 a for further information on details required.
You must provide a statement that demonstrates that you have considered the ethical principles of
Integrity, Respect for Persons, Beneficence and Justice as it relates to your research project.
The researcher is committed to the principles that guide reputable
research, including the principle of beneficence. The researchers
supervisors and professional advisor (Mr. Devery) have many years of
experience and commitment to research and understand the importance of
ethical conduct toward research participants. The researcher will therefore be
operating within a framework that reflects the respect for persons and justice
that the research requires. All research will be undertaken with care and
respect for the respondents’ professional and personal circumstances, with
attention paid to the nature of the profession of police work.
This research will be conducted with the greatest respect to persons
involved and with high integrity. There are no benefits to be gained by the
researcher from being dishonest with participants. The researcher is aware of
providing for the welfare and rights of all participants. All participants will have
the opportunity to ask the researcher any questions they may have and the
researcher will respect and consider any such questions seriously. None of the
research carried out in relation to this project will disrespect any of the
participants.
12 b. Consent
You should refer to Guidelines Section 12b for information on detail required.
Provide d etails a bout how you will o btain t he agreement o f your p articipants to ta ke p art in th e
research. Provide as attachments copies of Information Letters, Consent forms, etc. as set down in
this section.
All participants will receive a consent form and Information Statement prior
to the commencement of interviews. The Information Statement will outline in
plain English the aims of this project and the role of participants in this project.
Two copies of this will be available, so that participants can retain one copy for
themselves and the researcher will retain the other copy. Participants will be
given ample time to read the information statement, ask the researcher any
questions they may have and consider the consent form.
Participants will have the option to remain anonymous if they should wish.
This will be outlined on the Information Statement and consent form. If a
participant requests to be anonymous, their anonymity and confidentiality will
be maintained at all times. There is no benefit to be gained by this study by the
353
identification of participants or by breaching their right to anonymity and
confidentiality.
12 c. Research Merit and Safety
You should refer to Guidelines Section 12c for information on details required.
Your r esponse s hould d emonstrate t he r esearch i s j ustifiable a nd i s d esigned as t o en sure t hat
any risks to participants are balanced by the likely benefit/s to be gained. T he research should
be co nducted o r s upervised only b y p ersons with e xperience, q ualifications a nd co mpetence
appropriate to the research.
The risks involved in this research are extremely minimal, as the ethical
approach in regards to participant consent and the access to counseling
services, reduces the likelihood of this occurring. In 2002 I have conducted and
completed research as part of my Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours)
Criminology thesis.
The principle supervisor, Associate Professor Meg Smith has extensive
experience in conducting research. Associate Professor Meg Smith has also,
amongst other things, conducted her own research for her Ph.D.
d. Ethical Review and Conduct of Research
Refer to Guidelines Section 12 d for information on details required.
Provide details about h ow the results of the research will be di sseminated a nd to whom. Y ou
must provide details of how the data collected will be stored securely, who will have access and
the disposal time line.
The contents of the interviews will be voice-recorded and transcribed to
enable analysis by the Chief Investigator. All identifying material will be locked
in a filing cabinet in my office for the duration of my PhD research. After
completion it will be stored in the same manner by my supervisor. Participants
will not be identified unless they wish to be and give written permission to be
identified. All recordings and related transcripts and related materials will be
stored in a locked filing cabinet for a five year period. All material will be
accessible by the researcher.
A copy of this thesis will be made available to participants at the University
of Western Sydney library or by contacting the School of Applied Social
Sciences, from early 2007. Participants will be informed of this access to the
thesis on the Information Statement.
13.
Privacy requirements
Refer to Guidelines Section 13 for information on details required for Questions a & b
a. Will you be accessing data held by a Commonwealth Department or Agency? Yes
354
 No 
b. Will you be accessing data held by a State Department or Agency?
Yes

No

If the researcher/s answer yes to question a or b they should be aware of and agree to abide by the
Privacy Principles in dealing with personal Information.
c. Does your research involve the use of existing records, which identify individuals but which are not in
the public domain (eg medical or other personal records) that are held by an organisation.
Yes
Provide details if you answer yes to a, b or c

No

B. It is my intention upon approval from NSW Police to access the NSW Police
Library in Goulburn. Access to this library will provide me with further
information regarding police policies and procedures relating to investigative
methods. It is not envisaged that I will be accessing any personal data on
individuals from the NSW Police Library. Information obtained from the library,
although not readily available to the general public, should not consist of
restricted or confidential material. I am, however, aware of the Privacy
Principles in regards to personal information, and I agree to abide by those
principles when dealing with any personal information I may obtain.
It is also my intention to discover from NSW Police if access to
closed/completed police case files will be available to contribute to the data
gathered for the case study component of this study. The information that will
be sought from these case files would be specific to investigative practices only
and confidential information or information of current operational interest will be
treated with the greatest respect and confidentiality. Access to this information
will be conditional to permission being granted by NSW Police and conformity
to any guidelines or protocol that they establish to ensure the sensitivity and
privacy of the data is respected. Again, I am, aware of the Privacy Principles in
regards to personal information, and I agree to abide by those principles when
dealing with any personal information I may obtain.
14. Ethics Approval from Another Institution
Does this research require the ethics approval of another institution? If yes, give details including
whether or not you have submitted an application to that institution for ethics approval.
(please )Yes

No

Name of Institution/Human Ethics
Committee
Application Approved/disapproved
Application Pending
New South Wales Police
Ethics approval from NSW
Police is pending ethics
approval from the UWS
Ethics Committee.
Ethics approval from
NSW Police is
pending ethics
approval from the
UWS Ethics
Committee.
355
15. Chief Investigator/s Declaration (Staff or Student)
I/we certify that the information given in this application is correct to the best of my/our knowledge.
I/we acknowledge that I/we must notify the Committee if there is any ethically relevant variation or if
the project is discontinued prematurely. I/we have read, and agree to abide by the relevant code of
practice for research involving humans.
Chief Investigator Signature/s:
Signed................................................
Signed................................................
Signed................................................
Date………………………………………..
16. Student Supervisor Declaration
I certify that the information given in this application is correct to the best of my knowledge.
Supervisor’s Signature:
Signed.........................................……………………...... Date……………………………….
Before lodging the application please complete this checklist
All questions have been answered
Chief investigator/s and if applicable Student Supervisor have signed the declaration
Supporting documentation is attached
Required number of copies plus the original
are attached
The Human Ethics Officer has reviewed the application

Yes

No

Staff, P hD o r M asters ( Hons) can didate - Application h as b een s ubmitted to th e UWS H uman
Ethics Research Committee (See Instruction Sheet 1.)

Students – Bachelors (Hons) candidates, Masters (Course Work) - Application has been submitted
to the UWS Human Research Ethics Student Panel (See Instruction Sheet 2.)
Application submitted.....................................(Date) End of Application
Research Services Web Page: http://www.uws.edu.au/about/adminorg/devint/ors/ethics/humanethics
356
Interview Schedule- Police
Semi structured interview schedule. Questions in capital letters are the questions that
will be asked. The questions in point form below each main question are prompts to aid
the interviewer.
Name
Age
Rank/Position
Number of years with NSW Police
HOW MANY SERIAL CRIME INVESTIGATIONS HAVE YOU BEEN PART OF?
• What type of crimes were involved- murder, rape, arson
HAVE THESE CASES BEEN SOLVED, LEADING TO THE PROSECUTION OF
AN ALLEGED OFFENDER?
- Yes
• Was a conviction obtained
• If a conviction was obtained who was the offender
• If a conviction was not obtained, what was the reason for this
- No
• What were some of the reasons for this
• Was there a lack of evidence, no viable suspect
AT WHAT STAGE OF THE INVESTIGATION WERE DID YOU BECOME
INVOLVED
● After how many reported victims
• In what capacity/ what was your role
• Had you any previous experience in serial crime investigations
• Were you reassigned to another case at any time during the investigation
• What was the reason for this- progress of investigation at the time of reassignment
AT WHAT STAGE WERE THE CRIMES CONSIDERED TO BE RELATED OR
SERIAL
• How long after the second reported victim
• Was there any problems in linking these crimes
• Was the violent crime linkage analysis system used to help link these crimes
• Did this effect/impact the investigation in any way
• Were more manpower allocated/resources
• Was a taskforce set up
SERIAL MURDER- WERE ANY OF THE VICTIMS REPORTED MISSING FOR A
PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE THE DISCOVERY OF THEIR REMAINS
357
•
•
•
•
Was their disappearance investigated in relation to a serial crime before the remains
were found
If so, what suggested that this victim was linked to other cases
If not, what is your opinion as to why this was
If more than one victim was reported missing prior, were these disappearances
linked
WHAT FORENSIC TECHNIQUES WERE EMPLOYED IN THIS INVESTIGATION
• Was DNA profiling used to link related crimes
• Was DNA profiling used to identify a suspect
• To what extent was fingerprint analysis used and how beneficial was it to the
investigation
• Was other techniques used such as blood pattern/stain analysis, ballistics.
• Were there any forensic techniques not used but you feel would have been
beneficial to the investigation
FOR THE FORENSIC TECHNIQUES USED IN THE INVESTIGATION DID YOU
RECEIVE A REPORT
• Did you understand the content of the report and how it applied to your
investigation
• Did you understand the terminology
• Was the terminology explained to you at any time
• Did a lack of understanding of the terminology effect the investigation in any way
• Was there a delay in receiving such a report
WAS CRIMINAL PROFILING USED AS AN AIDE IN THE INVESTIGATION
• How did the profile contribute to the investigation
• How much weight was given to the profile
• Do you consider the profile to be accurate
• If the profile was inaccurate, did this impact the investigation negatively
LOOKING BACK ON THE INVESTIGATION IN ITS ENTIRETY, WHAT
BENEFITED THE INVESTIGATION MOST
• What techniques or practices contributed positively
• What policies allowed greater contributions- taskforce/manpower
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IMPACTED THE INVESTIGATION NEGATIVELY
• Did policy effect the investigation- resource allocation, manpower reassignment
• Were there any techniques not used that you feel would have been beneficial
358
Interview Schedule- Forensic Technicians/Consultants
Semi structured interview schedule. Questions in capital letters are the questions that
will be asked. The questions in point form below each main question are prompts to aid
the interviewer.
Name
Age
Rank/Position
Number of years employed by NSW police in forensics
• As a civilian
• As a NSW Police member
HOW MANY SERIAL CRIME INVESTIGATIONS HAVE YOU WORKED ON?
• What was your role
• What type of crimes were involved- murder, rape, arson
HAVE THESE CASES BEEN SOLVED, LEADING TO THE PROSECUTION OF
AN ALLEGED OFFENDER?
- Yes
• Was a conviction obtained
• If a conviction was obtained who was the offender
• If a conviction was not obtained, what was the reason for this
- No
• What were some of the reasons for this
• Was there a lack of evidence, no viable suspect
DID ANY OF THE FORENSIC EVIDENCE CONTRIBUTE TO AN ARREST OR
CONVICTION
• What type of forensic evidence contributed to this
• To what extent
• Was it used as evidence in court
AT WHAT STAGE OF THE INVESTIGATION DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED?
• From first reported victim
• Part of a team that was involved from the beginning
• What form of forensic analysis did you conduct
• What other forms of forensic analysis were conducted by others according to
your knowledge
WERE YOU PHYSICALLY INVOLVED IN COLLECTING EVIDENCE FROM
ALL RELATED CRIMES?
359
•
•
•
If yes, do you believe that this is an important measure in collecting evidence
from related cases
If no, was the other technician/s from your office/team
Do you believe that this could impact an investigation- different perspectives,
not aware of similar evidence
WERE THERE ANY ISSUES/PROBLEMS IN THE COLLECTING OF EVIDENCE
• Were crime scenes secured adequately to protect the evidence
DID THE FACT THAT THESE CASES WERE CONSIDERED AS SERIAL
IMPACT THE WAY IN WHICH YOU TREATED/VIEWED THE EVIDENCE
• How, to what extent
WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE TIMEFRAME BETWEEN THE COLLECTION OF
EVIDENCE AND THE AVAILABILITY OF A REPORT TO POLICE
• Is this a common/standard timeframe
• Were any problems associated with processing the evidence
• In your experience did the police have any issues in the timeframe
TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE DID THE POLICE HAVE ANY ISSUES IN
UNDERSTANDING THE FORENSIC REPORTS
• If so, what type of problems arose
• Were issues explained to them if they requested it
CONSIDERING YOUR ROLE AS A WHOLE IN THE INVESTIGATION, IS
THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CONSIDER MAY HAVE IMPROVED THE
FORENSIC ASPECT
• Improvement in services, access to evidence
360
Information Sheet for Participants
Study of the Investigation of Serial Crime in Australia
Project Description
This s tudy i s part of a Doctor of P hilosophy p roject at t he University o f
Western Sydney. The aim of this research is to determine what factors affect the
investigation of s erial crime in Australia: in particular, the impa ct of forensic
techniques and criminal profiling on the outcome of an investigation. The impact
of pol icies, pr ocedures a nd pr actices of t he N SW Police S ervice, a nd how t hey
contribute to an investigation of serial crime will also be considered. In order to
participate in this study, you must have contributed to the investigation of serial
crime in NSW, in any capacity.
Your Role & How It May Affect You
As a pa rticipant, you will be a sked t o answer several qu estions w hich w ill
identify what you, as a member of, or employee of, the NSW Police, perceive as
issues s urrounding t he i nvestigation of s erial crime. For e ach question, you will
also ha ve t he opportunity t o add a ny c omments y ou may f eel necessary. T his
interview will take approximately 45-60 minutes to complete.
If you do not w ish t o pa rticipate, w e r espect y our decision. T here i s no p enalty or
disadvantage to you, for not participating. You may also withdraw from participation at
any t ime, w ithout a ny pe nalty or di sadvantage t o y ou. A s a pa rticipant, y ou may be
completely anonymous if you so wish. Any information provided by you will be kept in
a secure place at the University of Western Sydney.
The c ompleted thesis w ill be av ailable i n early 200 7 from t he U niversity of Wes tern
Sydney library or by c ontacting t he S chool of A pplied S ocial a nd H uman Sciences by
mail, to School of Applied Social and Human Sciences, University of Western Sydney,
Locked Bag 1797, Penrith DC, NSW 1797
361
Further Information
Any questions concerning the project can be directed to the Chief Investigator
Natalie Scerra by email [email protected] or the Project Supervisor Associate
Professor M eg S mith b y phone on 0297726299 or m obile 0411 030 256 . Or b y
mail, to the School of Applied Social and Human Sciences, University of Western
Sydney, Bankstown c ampus, Locked B ag 1797, Penrith DC, NSW, 1797, or b y
email [email protected].
If participation in this study has caused you distress and you wish to seek counseling you
can either contact Associate Professor Meg Smith who will provide suitable contacts for
counseling services. Alternatively, you can contact Dr. Fiona Rummery at the University
of W estern S ydney by ph one on (02) 9685 9120 or by e mail f [email protected] .
Note- This s tudy ha s be en a pproved by t he U niversity o f Western S ydney H uman R esearch E thics
Committee. I f you have any co mplaints or reservations about the ethical conduct of this research, you may
contact the Ethics Committee through the Research Ethics Officers (tel: 02 4736 0883). Any issues you raise
will be treated in confidence and investigated fully, and you will be informed of the outcome.
362
SIGNED AGREEMENT/ CONSENT
I (the participant) have read the information supplied on the Information Sheet
and any questions I have asked have been answered to my satisfaction.
I agree that I am participating in a PhD study and that any information I
provide to the study may be published in the PhD thesis or any related publications. I
understand that a copy of the thesis will be available at the University of Western
Sydney library, from late 2006.
I agree to participate in this study, realising that I may withdraw at any time
without penalty or prejudice.
Please read the statements below and select your preference. Your confidentiality will
be respected at all times.


I wish to remain anonymous and not be identified in the resulting
publication/s.
I wish to be identified with my statements and give permission for the
use of my name in the resulting publication/s.
Signature ______________________________ Date ______________
For use by the researcher only:
Name____________________________________
Contact Phone Number_____________________________
Please sign this statement and return to researcher.
363
APPENDIX B
365
Example of Preliminary Thematic Cluster
Victimology
Victim "groups" "stereotypes"
↙
↓
↘
Missing persons
↖
↑
↗
Police stereotypes associated
with victim
Innocent
↕
positive
Formal
days
↙
↖
←
Other linkage
↕
Impact
↕
Crime Linkage
weeks
↖
↑
↔
months
↗ ↗
Worthless/Deserving
↕
↘
negative
→
Informal
↗
years
Formalised linkage system
Diagram 1: Preliminary Thematic Cluster- Victimology
This is a n example of the preliminary th ematic c lusters us ed as a guideline to
analyse the da ta. This di agram ide ntifies the is sues r elating to the vi ctimology of the
cases of serial crime. As these factors did not occur in isolation from the other factors
which impact on the investigation of serial crimes. Therefore there would be an overlap
and repetition of some factors.
366
APPENDIX C
367
Letter to NSW Police Requesting Access to Closed Case Files
Natalie Scerra
University of Western Sydney
Locked Bag 1797
Penrith South DC 1797
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a PhD candidate at the University of Western Sydney and would like to conduct
interviews of NSW Police employees who have contributed to serial crime investigations. My
research aims at addressing the impact of policies, procedures and practice on the investigation
of serial crime in Australia. In particular, how forensic techniques and criminal profiling contribute
to an investigation of serial crime will also be considered.
In order to conduct this research I am requesting permission to access closed/completed
cases files from NSW Police. These case files would need to pertain to the serious serial crimes
of murder and rape. These case files will only be utilized for the purpose of gaining information
about the investigative practices and techniques used in the individual investigations.
In accordance with the University of Western Sydney Ethics Approval, I would like to
emphasise that the information that will be sought from these closed case files would be specific
to investigative practices only and confidential information or information of current operational
interest will be treated with the greatest respect and confidentiality and in adherence to State
Privacy Laws. The inclusion of confidential information or information of current operational
interest would not benefit or contribute to the research in any way. It is understood that access to
this information will be conditional to permission being granted by NSW Police and conformity to
any guidelines or protocol that they establish to ensure the sensitivity and privacy of the data is
respected.
If you have any queries you can contact me, the Chief Investigator, by phone on
(02)9772 6411 or email [email protected] or the Project Supervisor Associate Professor Meg
Smith on (02)9772 6299 or [email protected]. Both the Chief Investigator and the Project
Supervisor are contactable by mail to, School of Applied Social and Human Sciences, University
of Western Sydney, Bankstown campus, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith DC, NSW, 1797.
Yours Sincerely
Natalie Scerra
Note- This study has been approved by the University of Western Sydney Human Research Ethics
Committee. If you have any complaints or reservations about the ethical conduct of this research, you may
contact the Ethics Committee through the Research Ethics Officers (tel: 024736 0883). Any issues you raise
will be treated in confidence and investigated fully, and you will be informed of the outcome.
SERIAL CRIME
IN
AUSTRALIA
Investigative Issues & Practice
Research Proposal to NSW Police
Submitted by Natalie Scerra
University of Western Sydney
Phone: (02) 9772 6411, or
0401 734 779
Email: [email protected]
388
Serial Crime in Australia: Investigative Issues & Practice
AIMS 349
PROPOSED OUTCOMES & BENEFITS
BACKGROUND
349
350
Australian Police Context 351
Defining & Linking Related Crimes
351
Police Policy and the Allocation of Resources 352
The Contribution of Forensic Techniques
353
Criminal Profiling as an Investigative Aide
354
The Victim
354
NEED FOR RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
355
356
Time Frame
356
1. Case Studies
356
Sources of Information 357
Sample 357
2. Interviews
358
Consent 358
Sample 359
Interview Method
359
Analysis
360
Confidentiality and Privacy
REFERENCES
360
ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
i
AIMS
First a nd foremost, this research aims to compile a nd systematically analyse a
previously disparate body of procedures, practices and experience-based knowledge of
investigators on serial crime. Thus, this r esearch will br idge t he gap i n academic
knowledge of t he m ethods e mployed t o i nvestigate s erial c rimes i n A ustralia a nd t he
issues and problems that arise in the practices and techniques employed. The aim of this
research is to determine what factors impact upon, and contribute to the investigation of
serial crime in Australia. These include the investigative practices and policies such as:
the allocation of resources; the identification criteria for serial crimes; and the methods
utilised to link these c rimes. The inve stigative aids tha t w ill be c onsidered include:
forensic t echniques; a nd c riminal pr ofiling. T hese pr actices a nd t echniques w ill be
considered from an academic viewpoint to determine what, if any, issues or problems
arise in the utilisation of these techniques, in particular how it relates to organisational
practices.
PROPOSED OUTCOMES & BENEFITS
This r esearch aims t o i dentify how t he va rious a spects of t he i nvestigative
procedures and processes interact and contribute to the outcome of an investigation of
serial c rime in Australia. As s erial c rime oc curs inf requently in comparison to other
offences, t he a pplication of m odels s uch as intelligence-led pol icing a nd crime
management have not been adequately considered by previous academic research in the
sphere of serial crimes.
It is hoped that this research can lead to more efficient and applicable investigative
policy for serial crimes. Not only may this lead to the identification and arrest of serial
offenders, but the sooner such an arrest occurs in a serial offender’s career, the greater
impact such investigations have as crime prevention measures by reducing the number
349
of victims targeted by such offenders. As serial crime creates uncertainty and fear in a
community exposed to these cr imes, efficient detection will eas e t he i ssues of t he
community.
BACKGROUND
Much academic research in this f ield has f ocused on the o ffenders of t hese
crimes, in particular the motivations for committing the crimes and the background of
the of fenders (see F ox & Levin, 1998; H ickey, 1997; H olmes & H olmes, 1998) .
Another f ocus of researchers ha ve be en on t he accuracy of i nvestigative aids s uch a s
criminal profiling (Kocsis, 1999; Kocsis, Cooksey, & Irwin, 2002).
However s erial cr imes, in particular s erial m urder and s erial r ape, provide a
number of i ssues f or i nvestigators. T hese problems a rise f rom t he i nherent
characteristics shared by many of these crimes. Characteristics such as the lack of prior
relationship between the victims and offender, the lack of apparent motivational drives,
and t he of fender’s m obility, of ten hi nder t raditional i nvestigative pr ocedures (Egger,
1998). For example, interviewing family and friends for an indication of motivation is
unlikely to be useful.
According to Mouzos (2000) Australian police agencies accept the Federal
Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) definition as outlined by Cook and Hinman (1999,
quoted in Mouzos, 2000), which states that:
there are 2 or more separate homicide events which occur over a period of time (hours,
days, weeks, or ev en years). There i s a coo ling-off pe riod be tween e pisodes. These
crimes are predatory. The offender frequently stalks his victims. The motive is clearly
psychological. The o ffender’s be haviour a nd the crime scen e ev idence t ypically
indicate
sexual and sadistic features, and may i nvolve t orture and mutilation of t he victim
(p.364).
350
In New South Wales, the legal definition of rape, referred to as sexual assault, I
“any person who has sexual intercourse with another person without the consent of the
other pe rson and w ho knows t hat t he ot her pe rson doe s not c onsent t o t he s exual
intercourse…” ("Crimes Act 1900 ( NSW)," Section 61I). The definition for serial rape
is however, more difficult to operationalise. Unlike serial murder, definitions of serial
rape are not f reely available i n the publ ications of ac ademics. Instead, t he t erm s erial
rape is often presumed by many to be self-explanatory.
Therefore i n simple t erms, serial r ape can be cons idered as r epeated r ape
offending. H owever, w hen w e r efer t o s erial r apists, w e us ually r efer t o predatory
rapists w ho vi ctimise s trangers. R apists w ho repetitively offend a gainst s omeone
known t o t hem, e xample g irlfriend, or t hose m ake a h abit of r aping many s exual
partners over a period of time, a rarely considered as serial rapists.
Australian Police Context
It is also the researcher’s intention that the findings from this study be available
to NSW Police. All of the factors that will be discussed are considered as components
of the int egrated crime management mode l. The int egrated crime ma nagement m odel
considers t hat f unctions s uch a s t he i nvestigative, i ntelligence, f orensic a ll w ork
together t o contribute t o a m ore effective way o f m anaging a nd responding t o crime.
This research ma y be ut ilised by Australian Police forces to consider ho w t his model
performs when confronted by serious serial crime.
Defining & Linking Related Crimes
The mobility of serial offender’s may also hinder investigations as investigators
of one case may not be aware of the occurrence and/ or evi dence f rom an other related
case. One i ssue w hich will be addr essed is t he m ethods or s ystems employed by
investigators to determine that cases of serial murder or serial rape are occurring. This
351
relates both to the technologies employed such as the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis
System ( ViCLAS) (Killmier, 1997; M ouzos, 2001) and the pol icies r elating to the
procedure to make such a determination. By determining that cases are linked and thus
may be serial in nature, it is also aimed that it can be ascertained as to what impact this
has on t he i nvestigative pr ocesses e mployed and t he pr ocedures t hat ut ilised i n t he
investigation of these crimes. Particularly if these differ from conventional investigative
processes or procedures employed in the investigation of non-serial crimes.
Previously, l ittle r esearch ha s b een conducted i nto how de fining a nd l inking
serial crimes can contribute to an investigation of serial crime in Australia. One study
conducted b y A dderley and M usgrove (2001) considered several com puter s oftware
systems implemented in police forces internationally. One o f t he m ain pr oblems with
such linkage systems that were identified in this study was the ability of the investigator
to ask the right question of the system. As such systems require that specific questions
must be a sked b y t he u sers, i t w as f ound t hat often t he us er would no t know w hat
question was relevant thus affecting the ability of the system to be used to link related
crimes. Adderly and M usgrove however, di d not consider t he ViCLAS s ystem t hat i s
currently utilised in Australia. Thus one aim of this research is that an understanding of
the issues Australian police have with a similar system can be gained.
The issues of defining and linking serial crime will be considered in the context
of pr evious r esearch in the a rea of i ntelligence-led pol icing, as m any o f the conc erns
identified above arose from this framework of policing.
Police Policy and the Allocation of Resources
Another i ssue, w hich m ay i mpact upon a n i nvestigation of s erial c rime, is t he
length of time between related cases, which may be up to several months or years. This
period of inactivity of the offender may lead to a reduction in police resources. Police
policy m ay b e one t hat be lieves t hat pol ice r esources m ay b e m ore f ruitful on m ore
recent and possibly solvable cases. A study conducted by Mouzos and Muller (2001) on
352
factors related to the solvability of murder investigations in Australia, found that one of
the m ain issues r aised by i nvestigators w as t he l ack of r esources av ailable. This
includes a lack of appropriately experienced investigators, support staff, and analysts.
Another i mportant resource w hich was i dentified b y M ouzos a nd M uller a s
hampering investigations was the lack of time devoted to the process due to the policy
that a n i nvestigator c an work on onl y on e m urder a t a t ime. A s t his i ssue doe s not
appear to be particularly apparent in serial crime investigations in which task forces are
usually formed, this research will aim to determine how this differs. However it is also
recognized that there ma y be similar issues relating to support staff, particularly if an
investigation loses momentum over a period of time.
The Contribution of Forensic Techniques
The use of investigative technologies can aid serial cases by providing evidence
when t here a re no ot her a venues t o e xplore. T hese t echnologies i nclude t race/fibre
evidence, D NA p rofiling, f ingerprinting, a nd bl oodstain a nalysis. A f actor c onsidered
important in the inve stigation of s erious c rimes s uch as m urder i s t he collection of
evidence from the crime scene (Mouzos & Muller, 2001). However, the contribution of
forensic t echniques t o serial cr ime i nvestigations i s cons idered to be a g iven fact and
reasearch into this area is in its infancy. According to Mouzos and Muller, investigators
considered the securing of a crime scene or scenes as necessary to solve a crime such as
murder. The need for forensic specialists at the crimes scene/s was also considered as
an i mportant f actor. T his e nsured t hat e vidence w as pr eserved, c ollected a nd
uncontaminated. C onversely one o f t he m ajor i mpediments t o a m urder i nvestigation
was found to be the length of time taken for the forensic analysis to be completed.
However, the study conducted by Mouzos and Muller (2001) was not specific to
serial crimes and thus one aim is to determine if there findings regarding resources and
the forensic process have been considered an issue by investigators of serial crime. The
impact of this information on the investigation will also be considered to determine the
353
extent of which forensics contribute to the outcome of a serial crime investigation. For
example was forensic evidence the key factor linking related crimes?
Another as pect of t he us e of f orensic t echniques w ill a lso be c onsidered. A
timeline of the a vailability o f va rious f orensic te chniques w ill be de termined and
considered in relation to how this development affected investigative capabilities over
time.
Criminal Profiling as an Investigative Aide
The us e of m any o f t hese t echnologies are s tandard i n t he i nvestigation of
serious crimes, however the use of criminal profiling is a tool which is often utilised in
serial crimes in which there are very few leads. The aim of criminal profiling is to limit
the focus of the investigation, to suspects which conform to the profile, in an attempt to
limit t he s cope of a n i nvestigation pa rticularly w hen t here a re num erous pos sible
suspects (Turvey, 2002a ). H owever, c riminal pr ofiling i s not a n e xact s cience, a nd
sectors s uch as t he m edia of ten l ay m uch w eight on this t echnique. T here ha ve be en
incidents where the criminal profile has been criticized by the media and other outlets
for mis leading an investigation. An example of thi s w as the or iginal p rofile of the
‘Granny Killer’ stated that the offender would be young when the offender was middleaged. T hus t he c ontribution t hat this t echnique makes t o a n i nvestigation, how it is
utilized and to what extent, is one of the aims of this research.
There ha ve be en a num ber of s tudies i nto t he a ccuracy of t he c riminal profile
and the l evel o f ‘ expertise’ r equired to form on e, however t his r esearch ai ms t o go
beyond this previous form of analysis to consider how useful this tool can be during the
actual investigative process.
The Victim
In addition, the vi ctimology of the se c rimes ma y ma ke it di fficult f or
investigators to recognise or establish cases of serial crime. For example some people
354
are more likely than others to live transiently, thus their sudden absence will not cause
alarm (Fox & Levin, 1 998). A r ecent ex ample of t his i ssue w as ap parent i n an
American case of serial murder, where the offender stated that:
I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being
noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away and might never be
reported missing. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them
as I wanted to without getting caught.
(BBC, 2003)
This research will aim to determine if the victimology of these crimes impacted
the investigation. In particular if victims were r eported missing a fter a p eriod of time
had e lapsed t hus i mpacting t he i nvestigative pr ocess. Additionally t he i ssue o f
determining a possible link between several reported cases of missing persons through
the utilisation of resources such as ViCLAS will be considered. Specifically, if at any
stage dur ing a s erial crime i nvestigation, a r eview of m issing p erson r ecords i s
conducted t o de termine i f t here a re a ny s imilar c ases. T his w ould a lso apply t o da ta
relating to serious sexual assaults or murders.
NEED FOR RESEARCH
As demonstrated, there are several gaps in the current academic knowledge of
the investigation of serial crime. Previous research into the different aspects which can
contribute to the investigative process have been limited and few have considered serial
crime as a separate investigative issue. As previously stated, serial crime poses several
issues for investigators which may not be apparent in other investigations and thus this
research aims to identify how serial crime investigation can be seen to differ.
355
METHODOLOGY
•
•
Case Studies
Interviews
There are tw o methods tha t w ill be e mployed in this qua litative s tudy: c ase
studies of serial crime incidents and in-depth semi-structured interviews of members of
the various A ustralian Police agencies who have w orked on serial cr imes i n a n
investigative or f orensic c apacity. T his us e of t wo m ethods i n c onjunction w ith t he
extensive literature review, triangulation ensures a complete set of data is obtained. It
has been determined that interviews would be an accurate method to determine police
practices and t he us e o f i nvestigative t ools as s tated by t he i nvestigators t hemselves.
The opi nions of t hese i nvestigators a re e ssential i n e stablishing how be neficial s uch
tools were, if police policy as previously outlined, impacted upon the investigation and
to what extent.
Time Frame
A time frame from which both methodologies will be structured is 15 years. This is
a le ngthy p eriod of time , however the r esearcher f eels jus tified in setting thi s tim e
frame as the incidence of serial crime is so rare. This also allows for the researcher to
gain a sufficient sample for both the interviews and case studies.
1. Case Studies
Case studies of serial crimes in Australia will be conducted. These case studies may
provide further evidence i n relation t o the i ssues s urrounding i nvestigative t echniques
and policies, as m any bi ographical a ccounts of s erial cr imes, detail f actors r elating t o
the investigation. By conducting such a comparison between the investigators opinion
of such practices and the recording of such practices by a third person, the accuracy and
applicability of such opinions can be determined. Such information can also aid in the
development of i nterview que stions a s w ell a s f urthering t he f indings f rom s uch
356
interviews. Many issues may not be apparent in these accounts and thus the interviews
will enable a richer, more accurate picture of the issues.
Similar s tudies in A merica w hich c onsidered t he ps ychological a nd of fender
characteristics of s erial murder ha ve al so utilised case s tudy research. Giannangelo
(1996) utilised case studies of American serial killers to determine what psychological
characteristics w ere apparent. Whilst E gger’s (1998) use of c ase s tudies e nabled hi s
development of unde rstanding a range of i ssues r elated t o s erial m urder i ncluding
offender characteristics.
Sources of Information
In order to conduct case study research, a variety of materials will be drawn on t o
provide de tails o f the se crimes. W hen conducting a do cument a nalysis, t here a re t wo
forms of evidence, being documents and records (Hodder, 2003). Records ar e of ficial
texts, whereas documents are texts which are formed for personal use. Thus the records
that will be analysed, de pending upon a vailability, i n t his s tudy are coroner’s reports,
closed pol ice f iles a nd, a nd t he doc uments w ill include bi ographical t exts, ne wspaper
articles, r adio t ranscripts, t elevision doc umentaries a nd pr evious c ase s tudy r esearch,
depending upon the availability of such resources. It was hoped that additional sources
in the form of completed police records of serial crime would be available. This would
provide accurate information and allow for a greater analysis of investigative issues.
However t he us e of s econdary s ources s uch a s t he doc uments out lined a bove ha s
been accepted as app ropriate m aterials f or c ase s tudy r esearch. In pa rticular,
Giannangelo (1996) and K eppel a nd Birnies (2003) have pr eviously accepted t his
utilisation of secondary materials in studies of serial crime.
Sample
It i s ai med that at l east 4 cases of s erial m urder and 2 cases of s erial r ape be
considered for t his c ase s tudy r esearch. However t his w ill be de pendant upon t he
availability of closed case f iles f rom N SW P olice. If a ccess t o individual cl osed case
files is not available through NSW Police then the cases would be chosen based upon
357
the amount of secondary sources available. As it is aimed that incidents of serial rape
will a lso be i ncluded i n this c ase s tudy r esearch to gain a f uller unde rstanding of t he
investigation of s erial c rimes in general, the una vailability o f c losed case f iles w ill
hinder t he ability t o adequately consider t his crime. This would be due t o the l ack of
available secondary sources o f i nformation, effective cas e s tudy analysis may not be
possible.
The num ber of case s tudies c hosen ha s be en s upported b y p revious s tudies of
serial crime, which aimed to identify the impact of specific offender characteristics on
issues of interest to those researchers (Egger, 1984; Giannangelo, 1996).
2. Interviews
As i nvestigation techniques and practice ar e of i nterest, it w as cons idered as
essential to be able to interview members of the police force who have worked on serial
crime cases. Interviewing investigators of serious crimes has been utilised in numerous
studies. The study by Mouzos and Muller (2001) which aimed to identify factors which
impacted the a bility of i nvestigators to solve mu rder c ases ut ilised this te chnique, in
addition to using secondary resources. Many issues may not be apparent in these case
study accounts and thus the interviews will enable a richer, more accurate picture of the
issues. Data from interviews may also identify lacuna arising from the case studies. By
conducting such a comparison between the investigator’s opinion of such practices and
the recording of such practices by a third person, the accuracy and applicability of such
opinions can be determined.
Consent
Prior to the interviews participants will receive a consent form and Information
Statement de tailing th e aims of the research. P articipants ma y w ithdraw a t a ny time .
Participants w ill be given ample time to read the inf ormation statement, ask the
researcher any questions they may have and consider the consent form. Interviews will
be c onducted at a t ime a nd pl ace c onvenient a nd s uitable f or t he purpose. T he
anonymity of p articipants w ill be a ssured. Information c ollected f rom t he i nterviews
358
will be c oded a nd de -identified pr ior t o t hematic a nalysis. C onfidentiality w ill be
maintained at all times.
Sample
Participants w ill be d rawn from th e r esearch population employed by NSW
Police currently or previously as identified by NSW Police who have contributed to the
investigation of serial crime. Forensic technicians employed by the NSW Police will also
be recruited as participants in this research. If access to closed case files is granted this
would allow for a more efficient way of determining which people could be targeted as
possible participants. This would be gained by utilising the case files to determine who
contributed to a specific investigation thus identifying a specific sample group.
The num ber of p articipants w ill be de pendant u pon t he a vailability of s uitable
participants. However it is anticipated that interviews be obtained from as many suitable
participants a s pos sible ( for e xample c hief i nvestigator, s enior f orensic t echnician). A s
this research is aimed at collating data that will generate a saturation of qualitative data
rather than attempting to create any sort of statistical or quantitative outcomes, it is not
the intention to interview large numbers of individuals.
Interview Method
The interviews will be semi-structured in nature, incorporating both closed and
open que stions. T his form of i nterview s tructure a llows f or f urther pr obing o f i ssues
that arise during t he i nterview process, when response i s unclear and/or needs further
explanation. The interviews will each be conducted over a one-hour period, and will be
face-to-face unl ess circumstances doe s not a llow f or t his f ormat. W hen f ace-to-face
interviews are not feasible, due t o financial or ot her i ssues, t hen t elephone i nterviews
will be c onducted. T he i nterviews w ill be r ecorded us ing a n a udio r ecorder a nd
transcribed at a later date.
359
Analysis
In-depth s emi-structured i nterviews, w hich w ill pr ovide pr imary da ta t o
compare with the results obtained from the first stage of research. Both the case study
information and interviews will be subject to a thematic analysis the findings of which
will be compared to the information on i nvestigative techniques and practices and data
gathered from t he c ase s tudies. A com puter pr ogram s pecifically d esigned to analyse
qualitative data such as QSR NVivo will be used where appropriate.
Confidentiality and Privacy
As it is m y int ention to discover f rom N SW P olice if a ccess to
closed/completed police case f iles w ill be available t o contribute t o the da ta gathered
for the case study component of this study, issues relating to confidentiality and privacy
will arise. In accordance with the University of Western S ydney Ethics Approval, the
researcher would like to emphasise that the information that will be sought from these
closed case files w ould be s pecific t o investigative pr actices onl y and conf idential
information or inf ormation of c urrent op erational int erest w ill b e tr eated with the
greatest r espect and c onfidentiality. T he i nclusion of c onfidential i nformation or
information of current operational i nterest w ould not be nefit o r c ontribute t o t he
research in any way. Only information pertaining to the use of investigative practices,
techniques and technologies is of interest to this research. It is understood that access to
this inf ormation will be conditional t o pe rmission be ing granted b y N SW P olice and
conformity to any guidelines or protocol that they establish to ensure the sensitivity and
privacy of the data is respected.
Participants tha t ha ve ta ken part in semi-structured interviews w ill be a ssured
that all information gathered will be treated in strictest confidence and stored securely.
The r espondents w ill be m ade a ware t hat s hould t hey de cide, a t a ny s tage o f t he
research, that they now longer wish to participate then they can withdraw. Respondents
will be made aware that no data will be reported that compromises their anonymity. All
360
documents containing confidential information related to this research will be stored in
a secure locked location. Only the researcher will have access to this information.
361
REFERENCES CITED
Adderly, R. W., & Musgrove, P. (2001). Police crime recording and investigation
systems: A user's view. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies
and Management, 24(1), 100-114
BBC. (2003). Green River killer confession. Retrieved 06/11/03, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3245301.stm
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), 61I (1900)
Egger, S. A. (1984). A Working Definition of Serial Murder and the Reduction of
Linkage Blindness. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 12(3), 348357
Egger, S. A. (1998). The Killers Amoung Us: An Examination of Serial Murder and Its
Investigation. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
Fox, J. A., & Levin, J. (1998). Multiple Homicide: Patterns of Serial and Mass Murder.
Crime and Justice, 23, 407-455
Giannangelo, S. J. (1996). The Psychopathology of Serial Murder: A Theory of
Violence. London: Praeger Publishers
Hickey, E. W. (1997). Serial Murderers and Their Victims (2nd ed.). Belmont:
Wadsworth Publishing Company
Hodder, I. (2003). The Interpretation of Documents and Material Culture. In N. K.
Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative
Materials (2 ed., pp. 155-175). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications
Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (1998). Serial Murder (2 ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications
Keppel, R. D., & Birnes, W. J. (2003). The Psychology of Serial Killer Investigations:
The Grisly Business Unit. Sydney: Academic Press
Killmier, B. (1997). Tracking Violent Crime. Paper presented at the Second national
outlook symposium : violent crime, property crime and public policy, Canberra
Kocsis, R. N. (1999). Psychological Profiling Techniques for Australian Serial Murder
Investigations. Victoria Police Association Journal, 65(10), 22-23,25
Kocsis, R. N., Cooksey, R. W., & Irwin, H. J. (2002). Psychological Profiling of
Offender Characteristics From Crime Behaviors in Serial Rape Offences.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,
46(2), 144-169
Mouzos, J. (2000). Homicidal Encounters: A Study of Homicide in Australia 19891999. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology
Mouzos, J. (2001). Investigating Homicide: New Responses For An Old Crime. Paper
presented at the 4th National Outlook Synopsium on Crime in Australia- New
Crimes or New Responses, Canberra
Mouzos, J., & Muller, D. A. (2001). Solvability Factors of Homicide in Australia: An
Exploratory Analysis. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 216
362
Neuman, W. L. (2003). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Turvey, B. (2002). Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence
Analysis. San Diego: Academic Press
363
Research Approval- New South Wales Police
--- Received from NSWP.DEVE1CHR 82813
13/09/05 10:41
------
Dear Ms Scerra
The NSW Police agrees to allow you to commence data collection for
your PhD project on serial crime.
Please remember that your ethics committee approval requires strict confidentiality in
regard to information you become aware of in relation to any victim, suspect, witness or
police officer, in the course of your work.
In due course the NSW police will require, as a condition of the grant of this approval,
receipt of a final version of your Thesis, along with your agreement that we are able to
place the thesis in the NSW Police library, and use the information therein as we see
fit, but, of course, with due respect to your moral rights as author. This will all be
detailed in the formal research agreement.
We will also appreciate receipt of a brief executive summary of the work, containing any
observations or recommendations that you think we should consider. While the NSW Police
is happy to receive recommendations, we remind you that we are under no obligation to
implement them.
I am organising a contact person within the Behavioural Crime Unit, who will be able to
coordinate your initial contact and data collection. I hope to be able to e-mail you
later today with that information.
Please let me know if there is any thing else I can do to assist
you.
Yours Faithfully
Dr Chris Devery
Principal Research Officer
Leadership Development Directorate
364