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The changing face of homicide research: the shift in empirical focus and emerging research trends

Maria Ioannou (International Research Centre for Investigative Psychology (IRCIP), University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK)
Laura Hammond (International Research Centre for Investigative Psychology (IRCIP), University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK)

Journal of Criminal Psychology

ISSN: 2009-3829

Article publication date: 3 August 2015

318

Abstract

Purpose

Homicidal behaviour is influenced by a complex interaction of behavioural, situational and environmental factors that raise many challenging psychological questions. A large and continually growing body of research has explored the crime of homicide, its epidemiology, victims and perpetrators. The area is developing rapidly, opening up new avenues of study. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This special issue of the Journal of Criminal Psychology brings together an exciting array of papers on homicidal behaviour, examining a wide range of issues including juvenile homicide perpetrators, school shootings, child homicide, homicide-suicide and differences in offence behaviours and victim characteristics between hard-to-solve one-off homicides and serial homicides.

Findings

The range of papers included in this special edition cover a wide range of aspects of homicidal behaviour, reflecting the importance of – and the need for – applied research moving away from examining general homicide to specialised research focusing on subtypes of homicide and subgroups of homicide offenders. A research agenda is proposed.

Originality/value

This editorial gives an introduction to the themes explored in this special issue and provides an overview of the selected papers.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This Special Issue represents an important collection of papers in the area of homicidal behaviour. The authors would like to thank Dr Daniel Boduszek for the opportunity to act as guest editors and the authors of these papers for their contributions. Thank you also to our reviewers for their insightful and constructive feedback.

Citation

Ioannou, M. and Hammond, L. (2015), "The changing face of homicide research: the shift in empirical focus and emerging research trends", Journal of Criminal Psychology, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 157-162. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-06-2015-0019

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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