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Introduction
The delivery of policing services is constantly adapting to the social, economic, political, technological, environmental and legal nuances of the time. During the past 30 years, the increased mobility of goods, services and people has significantly altered how society operates, developing new patterns of offending in the physical (e.g. illicit drugs and people trafficking) and virtual environment (e.g. fraud and pornography). This paper specifically examines how the physical mobility of individuals has also influenced homicide, specifically in relation to spree killing. Spree killings can be distinguished from other serious crimes because they exist as crimes in action, a factor that generates significant challenges for the police and other services. Whilst in serial murder the investigation typically commences when the first body is discovered and then proceeds at a pace generally dictated by the investigators; in spree killing the response occurs at a more frantic speed, with most offenders only desisting when they are no longer able to kill. As such, the less effective and efficient the police response, the more devastating the consequences can be. This paper explores the police response to spree killing, initially providing a global perspective, before explaining how the UK police traditionally manage serious and dynamic events - referred to as a "critical incident". It will then use interviews of police staff who responded to an English spree killing, to establish what lessons can be learnt for the future.
Literature review
Spree killing
Offenders who kill numerous victims have been allocated into three categories. First there are mass murderers, depicted as those who kill a collection of victims within one single episode (e.g. utilizing an explosive device). Second there are serial killers, who are defined as those who attack their victims in single episodes, often punctuated by extended periods of time. Finally there is the spree killer who lies between these descriptions, defined as a person who murders several victims in one single event over a short period, of hours or days ([12] DeLisi and Scherer, 2006). This latter individual is often described as an impulsive killer, who makes little effort to avoid detection ([16] Gresswell and Hollin, 1994; [18] Keeney and Heide, 1995).
Commentators describe the typical spree killer as a lone male ([27] NYPD, 2012), between 30...