Non-sharing of data enables serial killings - boston herald

Kevin Borgeson, May 10 2008

With the most recent cases of the “Smiley Face Killer” and the “Western Massachusetts Serial Killer,” some people ask how can such horrific cases like this go on for long periods of time without law enforcement knowing a serial killer is in their area?

Unfortunately for the victims, and their families, this scenario is all too common with these cases. Most serial killer cases go undetected because agencies lack communication with surrounding agencies creating what is called “linkage blindness.”

…

To read more of this op-ed, please visit: http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/opinion/op_ed/2008/05/non_sharing_data_enables_serial_killings

The New Face of Terrorism-Salem News

Kevin Borgeson and Robin Valeri, December 8,2015

The recent mass shooting that took place in San Bernardino, California, was based on instructions from an alternative terrorist playbook, that of the lone-wolf cell and individual self-radicalization. It is something we may likely experience more frequently as ISIS and al-Qaida work to broaden their reach.

At the crime scene, police discovered that the couple, who wore tactical gear and carried assault weapons, fired 75 rounds at the facility and left 1,400 rounds of ammunition and three pipe bombs. What is more telling, however, is this: Following the violent chase and standoff, police recovered 1,600 rounds of ammunition inside the SUV, along with a large assortment of weapons. Inside the couple’s apartment were 6,700 rounds of ammunition and 12 more pipe bombs.

Want to read more of this article. click here:

https://www.salemnews.com/opinion/column-the-new-face-of-terrorism-in-america/article_09d908ba-4c09-5d2d-b6ce-2c656d1e869b.html

Over the past six weeks, Boston has endured two abduction cases involving two young women-Jassy Correia and Olivia Ambrose.  Both had gone to clubs in Boston to enjoy a night out and became the victims of violent sexual predators who were driven by the desire for power, control, and the need to fulfill some abnormal sexual attraction.

These types of crimes committed against adults are rare in nature-- most abductions involve children who are abducted by parents that have no sexual motive. But, when these crimes do happen against older victims, they are more violent than child abductions due to the fact that most of these offenders have some form of mental illness combined with abnormal sexual fantasies that contributes to the brutality of the treatment of their victim. Victor Pena, who abducted 23 year old Olivia Ambrose a little over six weeks ago, is a prime example of this dangerous combination of factors.

Both Victor Pena, and Louis Coleman-the abductor of Jassy Correira—most likely had paraphilia’s, which are abnormal sexual attractions that can range from beatings, binding, rape, mutilation or some combination. Brutal violence is used in many of the cases to show dominance over the victim and to control their actions. These violent abductors sometimes become serial in nature due to the thrill and sense of power they get from controlling their victims.

Despite the rarity of these types of crimes, they generate a significant amount of fear for people due to the random nature of the act.  What needs to be done to help decrease fear is to increase the safety of the area, and surrounding areas, where the crimes took place.  We need to create a safe zone for women to feel confident that nothing is going to happen to them when they go out in public. A greater police presence, or private security, at public places to help detect predators and odd behaviors amongst those in attendance is also needed. Increased video surveillance in public places such as bars and dance clubs is also needed to monitor the actions of those who attend. These public safety actions are put into place in casinos and day care centers to protect the public from predators and therefore should also work on places attended by young adults.

Another long-term solution is to increase the penalties of these crimes within the criminal justice system to deter future perpetrators from committing similar acts.  If the #me too movement has taught us anything, it is that violent crimes against women are not taken seriously enough in the CJ system and that tougher penalties should be in place to protect women from all kinds of violent crimes.