Gloucestershire WI - Murder in mind

MURDER is the most serious of crimes, but it is perhaps, more than any other crime, the crime of ordinary people.

200 members and guests of Gloucestershire WI gathered together on Thursday, July 9, at St Andrew’s Church Centre, Churchdown, to discover the minds of murderers and to find out what drives people to commit murder.

This lecture was part of a series to offer an insight into the behind the scenes activities of the legal and investigative professions.

The speaker, Dr Jane Monckton-Smith, is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Gloucestershire.

She is an expert in the area of murder, stalking, domestic abuse, and criminal investigation.

She described different types of homicide, and explained the role of profiling in criminal investigation.

The focus of her talk was serial killers, those individuals who have killed three or more people who were previously unknown to them.

She explained that serial killers, have a ‘cooling off’ period between each murder and are categorised into two groups, the ‘organised’ and the ‘disorganised’.

Using evidence from the Jack the Ripper murders she led members through an exercise in profiling to decide into which category he fell, and to expose the myths and errors in the various films about him.

The audience ranged in age from sixth formers to the retired.

They asked many questions ranging from ‘how accurate was television’s portrayal of forensic investigation?’, to ‘how should we deal with children who commit homicide?’

The quantity asked was testament to the inquisitiveness of the audience, the knowledge of the speaker and the passionate delivery of her subject.