An unending sea of chalk

I thought there was going to be a Battle of the Armchair Criminal Profilers in the criminal psychology course I’m attending this term. The lecturer is aware that I’m a longtime fan of true crime (I’ve been reading about serial killers since 1983) and in the lecture last night, he mentioned a couple of names. Generally, it went like this:

“Anyone besides Andrea know who this is? No? Well, [brief description]… ”

Oh yeah. FTW!

(There’s an interview with Arthur Shawcross on on-demand teevee that I’m refusing to watch — it’s just ghoulish.)

Oh! Oh! And the most interesting person in history outlined in the lecture? Alphonse Bertillon, the French criminologist. Apparently he was the first person to solve a murder using fingerprint identification even though he didn’t like that method!

Re-opening an old case

One hopes the police have more forensic or circumstantial evidence connecting Peter Tobin and Vicky Hamilton, because the media is not reporting anything other than, “GASP! They were in the same town in 1991!”

Her father Michael Hamilton has said he plans to visit Tobin in jail to ask if he killed Vicky.

The case was reopened last November and police are planning to speak to Tobin in jail.

I mean, it’s POSSIBLE, his known behaviour shows that he is the TYPE of person who could’ve done it, but that doesn’t mean he did. If he’s the manipulative sort, he could cop to the crime and send the police and the missing girls’ family all over the place on a wild goose chase — he’d be controlling them.

No sympathy for Madeleine McCann’s parents whatsoever

It appears that any sympathy the older folks in our small town had for the McCanns has completely evaporated. At first it was, Oh, how sad, tragic, I’m crying, etc. etc. Now that they’ve been on the teevee daily, vowing to do whatever it takes (stay in Portugal, travel Europe) to find her, it’s They are paying for their callous neglect in leaving their kids alone.

When I was in Australia, I was taught about what is known as the Tall Poppy syndrome. With all the media coverage, the McCanns have been perceived as getting too big for their britches, and so deserve no pity for what has happened to their family.

There isn’t enough information at the moment for casual observers with an obsession with criminal profiling (like myself) to make any useful speculation (if any speculation is useful)*, but compared to earlier cases I’ve read about where the victim’s family has taken a very proactive role, the McCanns have received a lot more financial support and are more able to travel widely. Not knowing much about them, it’s hard to say if their behaviour is a reasonable reaction to a traumatic event (given that being able to stay on in a resort in Portugal or travel in Europe using donated money isn’t a bad way to holiday — sounds terrible of me to even think that, I know, but I can’t be alone in having been struck by that evil thought).

The WORST worst case scenario is that they are responsible for her disappearance, and they are milking the public outpouring of support to for personal benefit (eg. future selling of story to the tabloids). The BEST being that she has been kidnapped — although if there hasn’t even been a smidgen of kidnapper’s demand after so long, it’s unlikely that she will be returned for any reason.

Worst case scenarios tend to be really shitty like that.

* I do believe that the authorities need to withhold some information in order to successfully investigate a case, and sometimes they need to take on a more proactive approach to get help from the community (or get the perpetrator to make a mistake).

At least Glasgow isn’t boring… I guess

Attacks on people in Glasgow? A “girl gang” and a “gang of up to 12 youths”? What attracts adolescents to meaningless violence? Whether or not the attackers had some score to settle with the victims (and the article says both attacks were unprovoked), it really boggles my mind. Even if I was a teenager and desperate to be perceived as cool, I would definitely draw the line at hurting someone like that.

What kind of people would commit such violence? Are they unemployed, with low self-esteem, doing poorly at school (if they even show up regularly), products of dysfunctional families? Are they easily influenced by more charismatic peers? They would, I imagine, have committed other crimes before, although perhaps not quite this shocking — something like shoplifting? Might they have bullied other, weaker children?

It just seems so senseless.

(By the way, four people are treated for knife wounds in Scotland EVERY SINGLE DAY.)

Should’ve called John Douglas to Iraq

John Douglas sounded really effective when he was interviewing suspects. The Guantanamo Bay crew may be using psychiatrists while interrogating prisoners, but they really should be consulting with the FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit.

Ahem.