SOC 2760 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Spree Killer, Crime Spree, Serial Killer

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2760
• Professor: Rob Shearer

Document Summary

This unit starts to examine "social types" of homicide. Social types refers to the fact that homicide can be categorized based on the social relaionship between the vicim and ofender or the social process (circumstances) that lead up to the homicide. Regardless of how one decides to categorize homicide, the various social types of homicide are oten not mutually exclusive. Mass homicide, inimate partner homicide, ilicide and familicide are examples of social types. Understanding the diferent social types of homicide requires that our thinking is lexible and that we recognize each homicide may belong in a number of categories. The media loves to cover serial killers, mass murders and spree killers. These types of ofenders are oten portrayed as unpredictable, random in their choice of vicims and a potenial danger to all of us. In reality these mass murders are very rare. The objecive of this unit is to become familiar with the various types of muliple homicide.