Serial Killers: Hunting Britons and Their Victims, 1960-2006

by David Wilson

Serial Killers looks at every serial murder in Britain from the 'gay murders' of Michael Copeland in 1960 to the Ipswich murders of 2006 and from a victim-related perspective. Informed by direct experience of his work with serial killers, David Wilson's investigations identify people from vulnerable groups as being most at risk from Hunting elderly people, women involved in prostitution, gay men, runaways, throwaways, and children and kids moving from place to place. His book also looks at the phenomenon of serial killing in the context of 40 years of change in social attitudes, public mores and working methods and cultures across the criminal justice process. 'Lifts the lid on the social, institutional, political and economic contexts that make serial killing possible': John Muncie 'Reflects on serial homicides in ways which go beyond the usual focus of ... clinical characteristics. David Wilson paints on a much wider canvas': Keith Soothill 'Tackles the subject ... from a fresh perspective... Serial Killers will undoubtedly stir up a great deal of debate': Roger Hood 'Perceptive and accessible ... and David Wilson offers a new analysis on how to understand the failure ... to stop the Ripper killings': Douglas Sharp 'A timely - and because of its quality - a significant contribution to the field': Homicide Studies

Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Wilson is Professor of Criminology and founding Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University – one of the university’s “research centres of excellence”. He is the co-Editor of the prestigious Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, which is produced five times per year. Prior to taking up his academic appointment in September 1997, David was Senior Policy Advisor to the Prison Reform Trust, and between October 1983-April 1997 he worked as a Prison Governor.

David completed his PhD at Selwyn College Cambridge in 1983, and immediately joined HM Prison Service as Assistant Governor at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. He worked as a Prison Governor at a variety of establishments, including HMYOIs Huntercombe and Finnamore Wood – where at the age of 29 he was the youngest governing Governor in the country – and at HMPs Grendon and Woodhill. At HMP Grendon he ran the sex offender treatment programme, and at HMP Woodhill he designed and managed the two specialist units for the 12 most disruptive prisoners in the penal system. This experience brought him into contact with some of the most notorious criminals in the country.
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David has advised on live police investigations related to a linked series of murders and has provided training to new Senior Investigating Officers who will take charge of murder inquiries.

His current research interests range from the phenomenon of British serial murder, family annihilation, hitmen and lethal violence within organised crime, to all aspects of prison history and penal reform.

His first work of fiction is The Rules of Restraint.