The ‘Worst of the Worst’: Detectives’ Beliefs about Dangerous Violent Offenders and How to Deal with Them

Abstract

Police detectives come into contact with a community's most dangerous violent offenders, but there is little empirical research concerning detectives’ beliefs about their characteristics. Twenty experienced detectives compared the characteristics and attributes of two offenders they believed to be the most dangerous repeat violent offenders in their community with two violent offenders who they believed to be less dangerous. Eighty offenders were identified in total. Thirteen bipolar dangerous–less dangerous constructs that differentiate the most dangerous violent offenders from other violent offenders were identified. The most frequently identified themes, mentioned by three quarters or more of the detectives, are being a heavy drug user (particularly amphetamines), being impulsive, and not thinking of the consequences of one's actions. The next three themes, mentioned by half of the detectives are extensive and regular offending, breadth of offending, and wishing to portray oneself as a ‘tough guy’. One theme detectives did not mention frequently is mental illness as being associated with the most violent offenders, suggesting that detectives may miss mental illness in their interactions with offenders. Detectives suggested responding to the most dangerous violent offenders with longer sentences, extensive monitoring and better intelligence.

Key words:

• crime
• detectives
• high-risk offenders
• police
• violence

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Assistant Commissioner Maurice Careless with this project.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [grant number SR07000002].