COPYCAT CRIMESBy Kylie

Period 1

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

• What is a copycat

crime and why does it

happen?

• Give an example of a

copycat crime

WHAT IS A COPYCAT CRIME?

• Also called the copycat effect or imitation effect

• A crime imitating another crime (from a book, movie, TV show, or sensationalized

news story) in specific details or general theme

”I don't know if you've heard

of it, but it's called 'Dexter',

and it's on Showtime. And I

feel like him because he's a

serial killer of bad

people…but I just feel like

him.”

-Andrew Conley, after killing

his brother

WHY DO THEY HAPPEN?• Copycat crimes are usually committed by people with an

existing mental disorder

• Those who commit them are usually seeking attention,

drawing advice from a crime that has already proven to

have a “shock factor”

• A person who commits a copycat crime may empathize

with the character who commits the original crime

• “Depersonalization”

• Even negative attention is attention, and the media is a

great way to get it

• Movies, books, etc. can provide a “How to” for many

crimes

THE SORROWS OF YOUNG WERTHER

• Written in 1774

• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

• Werther falls in love with a woman betrothed to another

• Shoots himself at his writing desk in specific attire

• Following publication, many young men committed

suicide in a similar fashion, with a copy of the novel on

their desk

• This led to the book being banned in Italy, Germany, and

Denmark

• First documented copycat effect

MARILYN MONROE

• Following Marilyn Monroe’s suicide there

was a 12% increase in suicides for the rest

of the year

• Many of these suicides were young

blondes who used Monroe’s methods as a

frame for their own actions

• In the four weeks following her suicide, 197

young blondes from the Hollywood area

took their lives

• Monroe’s suicide was glamorized by the

media

SCHOOL SHOOTINGS• The school shooting epidemic began in 1996 when

Barry Loukaitis shot two students and a teacher in

Moses lake WA

• He was inspired by Natural Born Killers, The

Basketball Diaries, and Rage

• “This sure beats Algebra, doesn’t it?”

• Many other school shootings followed, including

Columbine

• Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold also based their

rampage on these sources

• Their journals and videos included their search for

attention

HOW CAN WE PREVENT THEM?

• Details of crimes should not be released to the public

• Social media accounts of those who commit high profile crimes should be deleted

• The name and description of the killer should not be released immediately

• Families of victims should not be interviewed in their most vulnerable moments

• Stop using the words “successful” and “unsuccessful” when referring to murders/suicides

• Stop stereotyping criminals

• The media should use caution when showing footage of crimes

• Avoiding descriptors such as 'loner', 'outsider' or 'troubled’