Predatory Criminals

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RESPONSE:

1. Describe what other factors, in addition to a victim's psychological characteristics, can affect how predatory criminals select their victims. Explain how those factors can influence an offender looking for an "ideal" victim.

Briefly, gleaned from Holmes (2002), some of the geographic factors that affect how predatory criminals select victims include:

1. Geography plays an essential part of the predator finding a "suitable?victim. The offender has a series of geographic zones referred to the predator's activity space (work, home, shopping malls and entertainment centers and paths between them) that provides protection as the perpetrator hunts for a victim (p. 215). Why does a perpetrator over look some suitable targets? Because when the predator selects a target it also has to do with the "rightness of the place.?"Is the area appropriate for predation? Does it include suitable victims? Is it familiar? Does it possess a feeling of comfort? Is the risk of apprehension low? Are there escape routes? The offenders consider these factors, so must the profiler consider them. As confident builds close to home, some predators expand the space including more distance (Holmes, 2002, p. 214).

2. Types of crime locations e.g. encounter site, attack site, victim site, disposal site and vehicle dump site; also impact the hunting for the "ideal?victim because they must be the "right?place. The above geography questions apply to each of these crime locations and interact with the psychological factors in hunting, attacking and disposing of the victim. For example, Ted Bundy chose cemeteries for his victims in a familiar place, one of comfort, such as Taylor ...