Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law

divertees spent more days in the community than in jail,

received a higher number of treatment services, and

showed improved mental health symptoms. On the

other hand, the same study also showed that divertees

had higher rates of emergency room usage and hospital-

izations, and a similar number of new arrests compared

with nondivertees. Additionally, a study on clients from

one mental health court found reductions in the number

of arrests and increases in the number of treatment ser-

vices used, but no change in mental health symptoms

over the course of court participation.

Studies have also shown that there are individual

characteristics that influence whether diversion is suc-

cessful. That is, diversion is not a “cure-all” that works

equally well for every participant. The exact character-

istics (such as gender, criminal charges, diagnosis) that

lend themselves toward success are still being explored.

Major research studies of all forms of diversion pro-

grams are now underway.

Future of Diversion Programs

In the years to come, diversion programs are likely to

continue to proliferate. President George W. Bush’s

New Freedom Commission on Mental Health recom-

mended the wide adoption of these programs, and the

federal government has provided millions of dollars in

financial support to create new, and sustain existent,

programs. The number of persons with serious mental

illness involved in the criminal justice system is a sig-

nificant and complex problem. Diversion can play an

integral role in the solution to this problem.

Allison D. Redlich

See alsoDrug Courts; Mandated Community Treatment;

Mental Health Courts; Police Interaction With Mentally Ill

Individuals; Therapeutic Jurisprudence

Further Readings

Broner, N., Lattimore, P., Cowell, A. J., & Schlenger, W. E.

(2004). Effects of diversion on adults with co-occurring

substance abuse and mental illness: Outcomes from a

national multi-site study. Behavioral Sciences and the

Law, 22,519–541.

Council of State Governments. (2002, June). Criminal

Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project.New York: Author.

Retrieved from http://consensusproject.org/the_report

Redlich, A. D., Steadman, H. J., Monahan, J., Petrila, J., &

Griffin, P. (2005). The second generation of mental health

courts. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 11,527–538.

Reuland, M. (2005). A guide to implementing police-based

diversion programs for people with mental illness.

Delmar, NY: National GAINS Technical Assistance and

Policy Analysis Center for Jail Diversion.

Steadman, H. J., Cocozza, J. J, & Veysey, B. M. (1999).

Comparing outcomes for diverted and non-diverted jail

detainees with mental illness. Law and Human Behavior,

23,615–627.

SERIALKILLERS

People are fascinated by violent crime, and serial mur-

der may be the most fascinating crime of all. Books,

newspapers, television shows, and movies recount the

destructive paths of those who kill repeatedly. Many of

these accounts leave the impression that serial killers

are distinct from other types of criminals and from the

public at large. However, current knowledge on serial

killers is based almost exclusively on a small number of

case studies and a handful of moderately sized archival

investigations. Thus, our current level of knowledge on

serial murder is, at best, sketchy, and this knowledge

may not stand up to more rigorous empirical testing.

This entry reviews the definition of serial killing, demo-

graphics of serial murder, results of research on serial

killers and their motivations, and typologies that have

been used to classify serial killers.

Definition

Serial murder is defined by three key elements: num-

ber, time, and motivation. Most murderers have only

one victim; serial killers, by definition, have multiple

victims. The minimum number of victims listed in

various definitions of serial murder proposed in recent

years range from 2 to 10, with a modal value of 3. The

time element in serial murder is designed to distin-

guish serial killers from mass murderers and spree

killers. Whereas mass murderers have multiple vic-

tims in a single episode and spree killers have multi-

ple victims in several separate but related episodes, in

neither case is there an emotional cooling off period

between murders. In contrast, in serial murder, there is

a cooling off period of several days, weeks, months, or

years. Finally, to differentiate serial killers from pro-

fessional hit men, political terrorists, and military

combatants, most definitions of serial murder omit

individuals who kill exclusively for financial, politi-

cal, or military gain.

Serial Killers——— 713

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