Serial criminals 'need to be studied', Thai experts say

[webfact]

Serial criminals 'need to be studied'
PIYANUT TUMNUKASETCHAI
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- IN THE wake of reports that a serial rapist targeting elderly women remains on the run, several experts came together yesterday to address the threat of serial criminals.

"Most serial criminals have bipolar disorders. So, it's hard to detect something wrong by just observing their personality from a distance," Nathee Chitsawang, a former chief of the Corrections Department, told a seminar yesterday, "These criminals seem to lead a normal life".

Being a trained criminologist, Nathee defined a serial criminal as a person who committed more than three similar crimes with an interval between them.

"These crimes can be murders, rapes, or burglaries," he said.

The Thailand Institute of Justice organised the seminar to discuss the silent threat of serial criminals after a still-unidentified man had raped many elderly women in Thailand in recent years. DNA tests had confirmed the attacker - who has claimed about 10 victims, most of them in their 70s - was the same man.

Dr Sita Sumrit, an adviser to projects for the promotion of women's and children's rights, said this serial attacker had stressed the need for the public to understand that the elderly are not immune to sexual attacks.

This fact sounded acutely alarming given that Thailand looks set to become an ageing society by 2025.

Sita emphasised that sexual attacks did not happen to just young women or those wearing sexy dresses.

"Statistics show that a rape happens every 15 minutes," she said.

"In other words, there are 32,000 Thai rape victims each year".

Sita said Thailand should study each crime case, compile crime statistics and analyse information so as to develop better crime-prevention measures.

Nathee said most serial criminals were intelligent and that explained why they could escape the law, often on several occasions.

The current serial rapist targeting elderly women, for example, had planned carefully how he could get past a family dog and enter the house of his latest victim without anyone noticing him.

"He even cut the electricity to the house," Nathee said.

Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, who heads the Galyarajanagarindra Institute, believed it would be useful to compile more information on sexual attackers as a group.

"It remains unclear why many people with sexual deviations have committed crimes. If we gather solid information for medical research, we may be able to prevent crimes by these people," he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Serial-criminals-need-to-be-studied-30254383.html


-- The Nation 2015-02-19

[jaidam]

Headline should end "rather than be elected".

[Fiddlesticks]

Sita said Thailand should study each crime case, compile crime statistics and analyse information so as to develop better crime-prevention measures.

Here's a novel idea, get the police to do their job apprehending criminals and then get the judiciary to convict and punish offenders. Right now these two legal entities are simply self employed profit centers. You would be surprised how much crime in Thailand would be prevented if the law as actually a deterrent to crime.

[Robby nz]

There would also be those who would say that they need to be locked up and stay locked up.

[aparasher]

Could they take a leaf out of so many studies conducted in US? Or, more money for research grant to reproduce that has already been found?

[Strangebrew]

ROFLMAO Trained? need brain first then maybe if person being trained gets it from overseas. Try catching them first. Fact rapist's will rape can't prevent that but if you catch and convict then jail you will reduce there numbers.

[berybert]

Hang around any Police station or Government building and you can study all you want.

[GreasyFingers]

There would also be those who would say that they need to be locked up and stay locked up.

And those doing the study should be locked up with them so they can study them closely 24 hours a day.

[iReason]

Send them down to study that petri dish Koh Tao.

[rethaier]

Could they take a leaf out of so many studies conducted in US? Or, more money for research grant to reproduce that has already been found?

Don't be silly. Thais are too smart to need help from the outside world.

[Godders]

A couple of relevant points not mentioned in this report:

1 Serial rapists are a relatively small part of the problem. Most rape victims are abused by somebody they know, not a stranger.

2 The rape incidence figure for Thailand is based on the official statistics for reported rape. The real toll is much greater, as many rapes - particularly those where the rapist is known to the victim - are not reported.

[Robby nz]

Not to denigrate the concerns of the experts for the victims or society in general, however could there just be a smidgeon of self interest here.

After all if funding is to be obtained for these studies they are going to need experts to do these studies, which could provide someone with a comfortable income for quite a period of time.

[OmarZaidMD]

There would also be those who would say that they need to be locked up and stay locked up.

Serial rapists need to be put down

[ggt]

"Statistics show that a rape happens every 15 minutes,"

This is not about "serial criminals"...it shows there is a need for a cultural reset...where women are treated as equal human beings and not a lesser being to be easily sexually exploited...

[tomacht8]

in gerneral i would say:
It is better to arrest serial-criminals first.
After you can study them.

[falangjim]

Piyanut could open a school for studying serial killers on Koh Tao.