Presumably, with Halloween looming, we’re all avoiding dark alleyways, double-locking the door and checking under the bed before we go to sleep, right?
Well, prepare to start triple-locking your doors, folks, because the FBI has reported some bone-chilling serial killer numbers.
Just how many serial killers are there on the loose in the US right now? Well, if you’re thinking between five and ten, you’re in for an unwelcome surprise.
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According to World Atlas, the FBI reckons there are between 25 and 50 active serial killers in the United States at any given time, and most haven't been caught.
The FBI actually has an entire section dedicated to ‘serial murder’ on its website, which notes: “Every day, law enforcement officers across America are called to respond to murders. Each homicide case is tragic, but there are few cases more heartrending and more difficult to understand than serial murder.” Gulp.
In better news, when Bustle published an article on modern serial killers back in 2020, the outlet noted that ‘numbers are on the decline’.
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Bustle pointed to the Radford University/FGCU Serial Killer Database, which is a collection of serial killer data (fun) collated by forensic psychology professor Dr. Mike Aamodt.
According to Aamodt’s data, there was a proliferation of serial killers in the USA between the 70s and 90s, with 104 active serial killers operating in 1974, 147 in 1984, and 151 in 1994.
You’ll notice this is significantly lower than the FBI’s current active serial killer estimate, and as per Radford University's data, the number of active serial killers in the US had dropped to 30 by 2015.
Offering up a reason for the decline in the number of serial killings, criminologist Dr Greg Broberg pointed to the rise of technology when speaking to Bustle, saying: “The wide use of the internet has made it much more difficult for serial killers to stay hidden.”
He added: “Advances in identifying possible suspects (DNA, etc.) now act as a deterrent for serial killers.”
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As for profiling serial killers, Broberg said: "Researchers typically focus on psychological or sociological explanations for serial killing; a number of psychopathy-related disorders have been attached to serial killers."
But before we all get carried away, it’s worth remembering that serial murder is a super rare event, making up literally less than 1 percent of all US murders in a given year.
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Topics: US News, True crime
Aisha Nozari