Crime in America: Violent Crimes Violent crime is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. Violent crimes include those done with and without weapons; males are usually the primary victims of all forms of crime. The only exception to this is rape. Violent crimes in America include serial murder, school violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.
Serial Murder Serial murder is defined as the killing of several victims in three or more separate incidents over weeks, months, or even years. Serial murders fall under four varieties or typologies. The typologies or taxonomies are visionaries, mission-oriented, hedonists, and power/control oriented. Visionary serial killers often report that they have committed a crime in response to the voices in their head. Angel Maturino Resendiz is a good example of a visionary serial killer. Resendiz, also know as the Rail Killer, said that it was God who instructed him to rape and kill Dr. Claudia Benton because she was an evil force. Along with killing Dr. Claudia Benton, Resendiz confessed to killing nine people in Texas, Illinois, and Kentucky between 1997 and 1998. Visionary serial killers murder because of a message that arises from their psyche; this message demands an act of fatal violence toward an unknown victim identified only by a voice or visions. The motivation to kill resides with in psyche of the killer; these voices or demons are only manifestations of a mentally ill person. A visionary serial killer usually kills within a close geographical area simply because the killer feels comfortable in familiar surroundings. Mission-oriented serial killers main goal is to rid society of “undesirables”, like prostitutes. Mission-oriented serial killers feel they are doing society a favor by eliminating certain “undesirables”. An example of a mission-oriented serial killer is Robert Pickton. Pickton is from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia and is being charged with murdering twenty-seven prostitutes and is suspected of killing up to thirty more. Another example of a mission-oriented serial killer is the “Green River Killer”, Gary Ridgway. Ridgway was know for killing prostitutes in the Seattle area, but in late 1988 twenty bodies of prostitutes were found in the San Diego area leading detectives to believe that the “Green River Killer” moved and continue to kill. Hedonists or “thrill seekers” are serial killers that kill for the comfort, profit, pleasures in life, and lust murders. There are three types of hedonists, the comfort-oriented, lust-oriented, and thrill-oriented. The comfort-oriented finds pleasure in killing, but gains some profit or personal gain from killing. Females are usually part of this category. The lust-oriented serial killers often associate sexual pleasure with murder; sex while killing and necrophilia are considered erotic experiences for a lust-oriented serial killer. The third type of hedonists is the thrill-oriented. The thrill-oriented serial killer experiences a “rush” or “high” from killing, an elixir of thrills, excitement, and euphoria at his victim’s final anguish. The power/control serial killer takes pleasure in manipulation and domination, and experiences a “rush” or “high” from his victim’s misery. A power/control serial killer is the most common among serial killers. Power/control serial killers are sometimes abused as children; they often use forms of abuse they suffered on their victims. Most power control serial killers will sexually abuse their victims. The sexual abuse suffered by the victims is not motivated by lust, and rape is simply used as another form of dominating the victims. Serial killers usually have three characteristics that are present during childhood, these three characteristics do not guarantee that the child will for-certain grow up to become a serial killer. The three characteristics are bed-wetting, fire-starting, and animal torture. These characteristics are used