READER’S DIGESTWhile the need to get our heart
racing may be true, David Wilson,
professor of criminology, former
Prison Governor and author of the
recent book, My Life With Murderers,
thinks there’s another reason why
we’re so fascinated by true crime.
“The phenomenon of the true
crime output is so diverse. It includes
everything from serial
murder to miscarriages
of justice, and for
most it’s about trying
to solve the mystery.
As was the case with
the podcast Missing
Maura Murray, we
can galvanize the
‘armchair detectives’
into bringing their
knowledge—which
might be very
specialised and unique—to solve
the mystery. The public’s interest
can lead to beneficial good, because
when the police aren’t looking at
it any longer and a member of the
public doing an internet or archival
search is able to uncover information
it could lead to a cold case becoming
live again.”
Wilson expands by explaining
that this outcome—while it might
be an objective of the true crime
producer—is extremely rare. What
he’s concerned with are the few more
sinister individuals who may be
encouraged by the glamorisation that
often comes with a sensationalised
story. This idea is no doubt at the
forefront of the minds of those who
are opposed to seeing violent crimes
flash on their screens in the form of
entertainment, and it does beg the
question: why do we focus so much
on the crime and perpetrators in
place of the victims?
Perhaps it’s because—unlike the
unfortunate targets,
who could be anyone—
it takes a particular type
of person to be able
to carry out atrocities
and human nature
evokes a powerful urge
to discover what it is
that creates evil. Canter
explains that often
those who knew a killer
would be shocked to
find out the truth as
it didn’t fit with their preconceived
notions of their former life; terms
such as “he was a quiet chap” or
“married with kids” are produced
by neighbours in a confused bid to
understand how someone like that
could do something like this. “True
crime becomes fascinating because
people want to get some sort of
handle on what goes on in a killer’s
head.” Canter adds.
“It is also interesting,” he expands,
“that people typically respond much
more traumatically to news reports
about bombings or people being hurt
or killed in real events. People find
that more distressing than a fictionalJULY 2019 • 71SOME WON’T
WATCH THE
NEWS BECAUSE
IT’S TERRIFYING
YET THEY’LL
WATCH A CRIME
ACCOUNT AND BE
ENTHRALLED