Situational Aspects of Homicide: Variations Across Homicide Types – Te Puna Haumaru Seminar Series

It has long been recognised by researchers that homicides are heavily influenced by their immediate contexts. However, there is little research on how situational factors differ depending upon the type of homicide. This presentation presents the results from the Australian Homicide Project, which included structured interviews with 260 male and female homicide offenders who provided detailed information on the circumstances of their offence.

Professor Wortley, with co-authors Dr Li Eriksson and Professor Paul Mazerolle, examined situational aspects of homicide including offenders’ degree of planning, their emotions immediately prior to the offence, what they were doing with the victim beforehand, the weapon used and how it was obtained, and how they felt immediately after the event. They also compared responses from participants convicted of killing an intimate partner, someone else they knew, or a stranger. In this talk, Professor Wortley will consider the implications of the findings for crime prevention.