Probing the inter-relationships between serious types of crime

The inter-relationships between serious types of crime have been neglected. Focusing on all those convicted of arson (n=46,144), blackmail (n=5,854), kidnapping (n=7,474) and threats to kill (n=9,976) between 1979 and 2001 in England and Wales, it is clear that offenders are more likely to be convicted of the same offence again rather than one of the other serious offences (including rape and homicide) being considered. Hence, there is evidence of specialisation among serious offenders. These four serious offences (arson, blackmail, kidnapping and homicide) have similar rates of subsequent homicide (0.6%) which is considerably higher than the general population where around 1 in 3000 males might be expected to be convicted of homicide over a twenty-year follow-up period. However, the speed of the subsequent homicide varies between the four offences, suggesting that there are different relationships between the defining offence and the subsequent homicide. Examining those convicted of two or more of these serious offences is of particular interest as these involve both specialists and generalists. The differences between the groups will be probed.