Threats to kill: Does the dog that barks also bite?

Making threats to kill has been a neglected topic in criminological research. The main focus of this paper is to consider the extent to which persons convicted of threats to kill subsequently go on to be convicted of homicide. Background information regarding threats to kill in England and Wales will provide the context for this study. There has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of 'threat or conspiracy to murder' offences recorded by the police in England and Wales since the early 1980s, but this has not been matched by a similar increase in convictions. This study focuses on the 10,792 males and 781 females who were convicted at least once for 'threat or conspiracy to murder' between 1963 and 2001. Of these, 7.8% of the males and 7.7% of the females had convictions for 'threat or conspiracy to murder' on more than one occasion. The follow-up will assess the likelihood of homicide of those convicted of threats to kill compared with some other types of serious offenders.