"Sorting Things out": A Scoping Review of Sexual Homicide Typologies

Area of Science:

• Criminology
• Forensic Psychology
• Criminal Justice

Background:

• Sexual homicides are complex crimes requiring effective classification systems.
• Numerous typologies have been developed over the past 25 years to categorize these offenses.
• Existing typologies aid investigations, offender behavior understanding, and treatment planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of empirical typologies for sexual homicides.
• To examine the evolution of these typologies and their defining characteristics.
• To identify research gaps and propose recommendations for future typology development.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review of 19 empirical typologies from various countries.
• Analysis of offender, victim, and crime characteristics used in typologies.
• Examination of data sources, primarily police and offender data.

Main Results:

• Identified 19 distinct empirical typologies of sexual homicide.
• Common categories include 'sadistic' and 'anger-driven' homicides.
• Highlighted limitations such as small sample sizes and lack of cultural diversity.

Conclusions:

• Current typologies vary in structure and scope.
• There is a need for more comprehensive and validated typologies.
• Future research should incorporate diverse data sources and advanced methodologies like machine learning.