The fasciation of serial killers is brought from many famous hit thriller movies and ionic characters such was Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates, Leatherface, and much more. Although all these characters are just fictional, the inspiration behind them had to come from somewhere, from true crimes and real serial killers, and the crime activity that were occurring through the 1970’s and 80’s offered that. The 1970’s and 80’s produced the most serial killers due to the lack of technology when it came to DNA, which made it easier for criminals to repeat the same offense again, and people’s mindset back then were more trusting of others, which some saw as an opportunity to take advantage of.
First let’s establish what a serial killer is, the word ‘serial killer’ was only coined around 50 years ago, in the 70’s, and the FBI states that a serial killer/murderer is “the unlawful killing of two or more or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events.” The fact that the word was only just coined in the 70’s provides insight that this issue of serveral murders caused by the same individual was reoccurring, and the act of explaining it needed to be summed up into one word, into serial killers. To give number to the issue, there was 145 serial killers between 1980-1989 and combining 1970-1989 there was a total of 240 serial killers in the US, according to findings of Radford University/FGCU Serial Killer Database. Keep in mind that the numbers only represent U.S killers and those who have been caught and identified, which means there is definitely room for more possible serial killers during that time frame. There has been a decline of serial killers since then, according to the data there was only 54 serial killers from 2010-2015 (Aamodt 5). Comparing that finding to that of 1980-1989, there is a significant difference and definitely a decline in the United States. But still, why is there a significant amount of serial killers between 1970-1989 compared to today?
The 1960’s brought a sense of peace, love, and tranquility for all, but instead what soon followed a decade later was the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Watergate scandal, and the Jonestown Massacre. These events did not represent peace but a period of a sense of loss and lack of trust towards the government, also an exposure of violence never seen before by the American public. The Vietnam war was a time of change, and the American people were beginning to realize that they have been duped into believing that the government would do everything to protect them, so protest aroused, and the people begin to rely on one another, which some took advantage of. This era produced high rate of crime activity and some of the most known serial killers that would go on and influence media entrainment and other copycat crimes. It is important to note that there have always been serial killers throughout history, but it is rare for such a high amount of serial killers in a large and developed nation.
The 1970-80’s was a great time to commit crime and get away with it for the most part. It was easy to just dropout of society and move to another state and start up a new life. Especially with the construction and completion of the US Interstate highway system, that made it much easier for criminals, such as serial killers, to be mobile. So serial killers could go commit a murder within one state and move to the other and perform the same crime until eventually being caught, if they ever did. It was hard to catch serial killers since they had an easy access from running away from authorities, especially with the lack of knowledge and technology advancement for forensic science. However, drifting apart from society is very hard and nearly impossible in today’s society due to the advancement in technology. But due to drifting being so easy back then, it gave rise to more serial killers and their ‘run-ins’ with the law. Serial killers had a head start.
Not only was it easy for serial killers to move around the nation and commit crimes, but picking their next victim was easier as well. If you look back to the victim type in the 1970’s-80’s, they were carefree and easily deceivable, especially with the events occurring during the time. It was normal to hitchhike, or offer rides, and children were more free-ranged. People back then were just more trusting of their fellow man. Hitchhiking was normal, everyone was doing it. People weren’t thinking about pedophiles and murderers to be lurking around every corner, because they weren’t aware of it so there was no fear for it. Also, with the rise of the sexual revolution, women grew more empowered and began living life to the fullest and living on their own, which increased the risk of them being a victim, Ted Bundy prowled on these types of victims. Even with the news coverage of crimes, people weren’t always updated and didn’t have consist news coverage on almost everything occurring everywhere such as today’s society. But those serial killers who did make it on the news probably caused a snowball effect and inspired not only movies but real people who would then go on and commit real crimes.
With the easy access to victims, serial killers only had to worry about law enforcement, or did they? There are many specializations onto why there was so many serial killers running loose in America during the time, but one of the most reliable one is of the lack of crime detection, such as DNA testing. Forensic science was not as advance as it is today, and it was also at the time of just building a database, so relying on forensic science back then was not as reliable. Serial killers were at an advantage when it come to the crime scene, even with the little DNA evidence authorities had, it was still not enough to make a complete picture on who committed the crime. Especially since the majority of the serial killers moved around and committed murder in different locations, which made it hard on the authorities to distinguish whether the murder was committed by another individual or if they had a serial killer at their hands. The spark of news coverage on these murders did not help serial killers get locked up and instead inspired copycat murders to occur. Which would then make law enforcement instead look for one killer for the cause of five murders, when actually at times, those five murders were committed by five separate individuals, just to put it as in an example of what may have occurred. It wasn’t till the 90’s that the FBI were able to catch murderers before they become serial killers by analyzing their lifestyles, attributes, and location of their victim(s) and the way they committed the murders.
But what created these serial killers, why did they do such heinous crimes? Well the majority of serial killers from the 1970’s-80’s come from families from the 50’s and 60’s which was a post war era, most likely they had fathers who returned home from war in a traumatized state which could have affected them. Also mental illness was not as openly discussed as today, so many people in general had to suppress their feelings for as long as they could, or could handle. There wasn’t an outlet for these people, so many acted to them in forms of violence. Not only was there no outlet to get rid of anger but also to one’s sexual desire, sadistic desires. For instances if internet was available at the time, then maybe Jeffrey Dahmer wouldn’t have acted out on his desires because he could have just search it up and not rape, beat, and kill all the guys he picked up. Especially since his weird fantasies and desires is what drove him to act out them out and fulfill them. Although these serial killers of the time, may have come from disgruntled families and may not have had an outlet, does not support their actions.
Thankfully there has been a decline of the amount of serial killers from the 1990’s onward due to advancement in technology and the ideals of society changing. Now mental illness is something openly discussed and there are many resources for people struggling with anger management and personal struggles, or just in need for someone to talk to. Society is more aware of the dangers of the world because of consist coverage of news and it is hard today to go unware due to social media. Also it is hard to go unnoticed if one committed a crime due to surveillance and advancement in DNA findings. Not just that but it is easier for authorities to pick up a correlation of a string of crimes and stop the them before it continues.
The 1970 and 1980 had by far the most serial killers in U.S. history due to the mindset of people back then and lack technology when it comes to forensic science. Not only that but law enforcement was new to the newly coined word, serial killers, and did not have the knowledge that some of the crimes were committed by one individual only. But with the advancement within forensic science and more news coverage, there has been a decline in the amount of serial killers. Just because there has been a decline over the years, does not mean there are no more serial killers. In fact, it is predicted that there are currently 30 active serial killers as of 2015 within the United States.