Copycat Crimes Often Committed by Alienated Individuals

COPYCAT CRIMES OFTEN COMMITTED BY ALIENATED INDIVIDUALS

MUNCIE, Ind. -- Copycat offenders rarely have a political message when they commit an act such as the recent anthrax letter scares.

Instead, they are seeking a sense of control and power over others by causing havoc and hysteria, said Bryan Byers, a criminal justice professor at Ball State University.

Dozens of communities throughout the nation recently have been jolted when local schools, churches, hospitals and medical clinics received letters falsely claiming to contain anthrax, a deadly biological poison.

The spate of copycat crimes claiming anthrax-contaminated letters allows the senders, who are probably alienated individuals to feel like they have control of their lives, he said.

"Some of these types just operate alone and find a sense of power in creating a situation where communities have to put out a lot of resources and personnel to deal with a problem," Byers said. "I'm inclined to believe that most copycat incidents are not politically driven but motivated by the offender's desire to control others and to feel a sense of power in a world where they otherwise have little identity."

Four types of copycat offenders have been identified:

- Mode copiers use a media event to learn a modus operandi (method of operation) to carry out a behavior they already had planned on doing some day.

- Groups of copiers are individuals who copy acts in groups.

- Mentally ill or deficient copiers are individual copycats who may suffer from mental disorders.

- Terrorists and threateners copy or attempt to copy behaviors reported in the media in an effort to frighten a large segment of the population.

Byers believes the recent anthrax copycat scare may linger. In the 1980s, Americans were frightened when tainted Tylenol capsules were found. In the early 1990s, syringes were discovered in soda pop cans.

"We've had other scares and, while they didn't create mass hysteria, they definitely scared people," he said. "We need to realize that there are likely just a few people in society who engage in copycat crimes or behaviors. But, the terror they can reap is far-reaching."

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Byers by E-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (765) 285-1530. For more stories visit the Ball State University News Center at newscenter.bsu.edu on the World Wide Web.) Marc Ransford 11/24/98