A group of criminologists from Birmingham City University (BCU) has published a first-of-its-kind study that looks into how convicted killers used the social-networking site Facebook in relation to their crimes.
Specifically, the research identified 48 international cases of “Facebook murder” between 2008 and 2013, and looked into how the digital technology influenced the killer’s decision making.
The study, which was led by Dr. Elizabeth Yardley and Professor David Wilson from the Center of Applied Criminology at BCU, led to the identification of six different types of killers:
The Reactor
Description: Individual who reacts to content posted on Facebook by attacking the victim face to face. This may be as soon as the content is read; it could also be some time after reading the content, whereupon the post is revisited and the individual reflects on its meaning.
The Informer
Description: Individual uses the social-networking site to inform others that they intend to kill the victim, have killed the victim, or both. Ultimately, the individual is using Facebook to demonstrate their control over the victim and the situation.
The Antagonist
Description: Individual engages in hostile, online exchanges which ultimately escalate into face-to-face violence. The antagonist might bring weapons to the physical altercation in an attempt to gain an advantage over their adversary.
The Fantasist
Description: Individual uses the social-networking site to perform or indulge in fantasy. For this group, the line between fantasy and reality is blurred, and the homicide may be a way of maintaining the fantasy or preventing others from discovering the deception.
The Predator
Description: Individual creates and maintains a fake Facebook profile in an attempt to lure a victim and meet them offline. Typically uses the information available on the victim’s profile to identify and exploit vulnerabilities to establish grounds upon which to develop a relationship.
The Imposter
Description: Individual who posts in the name of someone else; could be the victim so as to create the illusion they are still alive, or another person to gain access to and monitor the victim’s profile.
The team focused on homicide cases in which Facebook was reported by the media as being a significant factor. 48 cases were identified in total, including one story in which a man killed his wife after reading her Facebook posts claiming the two had separated and she wanted to meet other men.
“We had been coming across references to 'Facebook Murder' in the media over the past few years but there had been no research in this area,” explained Dr. Yardley. “We wanted to see whether homicides in which Facebook was reported to have been involved were any different to other homicides and found that on the whole they are not — victims knew their killers in most cases, and the crimes echoed what we already know about this type of crime.”
Dr. Yardley did caution, though, that social-networking sites should not be blamed for these crimes.
“Social networking sites like Facebook have become part and parcel of our everyday lives and it's important to stress that there is nothing inherently bad about them. Facebook is no more to blame for these homicides than a knife is to blame for a stabbing — it's the intentions of the people using these tools that we need to focus upon.”
Her team’s report was published in the international peer-reviewed Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. It is available to download free of charge.
Via Phys.org
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