The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper | Socyberty

1 of 7

http://socyberty.com/social-sciences/the-psychology-and-profiling-of-a-sn...

Home
About
Contact
Advertise with us
Submit an Article

You are here: Home Social Sciences The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper

The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper

by Joan Swart in Social Sciences, August 8, 2010

Psychological profiling of snipers have been conspicuously inaccurate as

the offender is difficult to define due to a variety of situational aspects
and motivations underlying this behavior, and a general lack of data
and research. Some generalizations and conclusions are however
possible that could provide leads to an investigator.

4/8/2013 12:25 PM

The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper | Socyberty

2 of 7

http://socyberty.com/social-sciences/the-psychology-and-profiling-of-a-sn...

The psychology of sniper offenders is fascinating, but elusive as not much statistics and academic literature is
available. A sniper might indulge in his actions for various reasons, including professional career, killing for
profit, or to commit serial or spree murders. For the purpose of this discussion, I will focus on the serial sniper, as
briefly mentioned by Bartol and Bartol (2008) as a homicidal offender type.

The criminal behavior of an offender provides clues to likely personality traits, preferences, movements,
psychological state, and background. The serial sniper, or media term L.D.S.K. (long-distance serial killer),
commits an impersonal crime where distance is maintained from the victims and personal contact is almost
always none (Meyer, 2008). The behavior of a sniper is organized and the crime requires some technical
expertise and meticulous planning (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 2006). It is usually accepted that the
offender has some military training and background, or engages in sports hunting. He is commonly assumed a
loner, either single or divorced with impaired social skills, and experienced a stressor such as losing his job that
triggered his criminal behavior. The snipers victims are usually indiscriminate, selected purely by being at the
wrong place at the wrong time. A serial sniper is not associated with uncontrollable hate or anger and takes time
to plan his attacks for maximum value and opportunity. He might be harboring a grudge and seek to terrorize a
community and seek a psychological response. Snipers are however notoriously difficult to analyze and profile as
historical statistics and data is too insufficient to draw reliable conclusions. According to Devery (2009), this is
indeed a common problem amongst criminal profilers, as a reliance on statistics is preferred above the
painstaking analysis of behavioral and crime scene evidence.
Read more in Social Sciences
Two criminal theories that may describe the development and actions
Karl Marx: Founding Father of The Irs of a sniper are strain and attachment theory. When individuals cannot
Assignment
achieve success goals, strain or pressure is experienced (Akers, &
Sellers, 2004). If the resulting discomfort is severe enough, this might
act as a trigger to engage in criminal behavior in order to escape or vent the negative feelings, and sometimes to
create a new sense of purpose and self-value. Attachment theory might be related in the developmental pathway,
but refers specifically to the nature, success or failure of attachments that the offender has formed with family,
peers, and other significant individuals in his life. Repeated failures to form positive attachments with role
models in a childs life might isolate him from social interaction, result in a lack of social skills and low
self-esteem, and increase resentfulness and an increased need to fit in and prove himself. Such individuals might
be drawn to military careers to seek an accepted role in a structured community, but be devastated when they
are rejected or fail in such an environment. According to Hayslett-McCall and Bernard (2002), there is a definite
link between attachment disruption at a young age, and male criminal behavior. These attachment problems
might cause an individual to continue to pursue relationships and achievements for which he is not socially
equipped, and failure could culminate in criminal activities such a serial sniping.

References
Akers, R. L., & Sellers, C. S. (2004). Criminological theories: Introduction, evaluation, and application (4th
ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing Company.

Bartol, C.R. & Bartol, A.M. (2008). Criminal behavior: A psychosocial approach (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River,
New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Devery, C. (2009). Criminal profiling: Problems and prospects. NSW Police Force. Retrieved from
http://ceps.anu.edu.au/events/criminal_investigations_workshop/papers

4/8/2013 12:25 PM

The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper | Socyberty

3 of 7

http://socyberty.com/social-sciences/the-psychology-and-profiling-of-a-sn...

/Chris%20Devery%20-%20Criminal%20Profiling.pdf.

Douglas, J. E., Burgess, A. W., Burgess, A. G., & Ressler, R. K. (2006). Crime classification manual (2nd ed.).
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hayslett-McCall, K. L., & Bernard, T. J. (2002). Attachment, masculinity, and self-control: A theory of male
crime rates. Theoretical Criminology, 6(1), 5-33. doi:10.1177/136248060200600101

Meyer, C. B. (2008). The recent sniper murders in the U.S. and profiling. Swiss Criminal Scientific Profiling
Research. Retrieved from http://www.criminalprofiling.ch/sniper.html.

Like

3 people like this. Be the first of your friends.

0
Liked it
I Like It
Tags: Crime, criminal behavior, criminal profiling, forensic psychology, investigative, offender, serial killer, sniper
ShareThis

User Comments Post Comment

4/8/2013 12:25 PM

The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper | Socyberty

4 of 7

http://socyberty.com/social-sciences/the-psychology-and-profiling-of-a-sn...

0 comments

Best

Community

Share

The Secret of Being Popular with People

Learning a Foreign Language is Healthy

4 comments a day ago

1 comment 2 days ago

Film Review of Safe: an Abducted Genius, a

Besieged Widower,
1 comment 3 days ago

stessily Derdriu, This movie is gripping and actionpacked. Luke's rapport with Mei is redemptive for him. I
love that Mei gets

What's this?

ALSO ON SOCYBERTY

Omor Hayat Great work and thanks for

sharing...

ConnieHinesDorothyProvine
Agreed

Are North Koreas Nuclear Threats Serious?

8 comments 3 days ago

Andrew Eguavon The international community

should not mind the North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un.
He is just seeking

Subscribe today and get the latest articles when they are posted!
Search Socyberty
Search

4/8/2013 12:25 PM

The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper | Socyberty

5 of 7

http://socyberty.com/social-sciences/the-psychology-and-profiling-of-a-sn...

Submit Your Story

Get published on Socyberty. Sign up now.
Username:
Password:
Email:

By clicking Sign Up, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Powered by

4/8/2013 12:25 PM

The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper | Socyberty

6 of 7

http://socyberty.com/social-sciences/the-psychology-and-profiling-of-a-sn...

Recent Activity
Tennis Star Sania Mirza Blue Film Hot
Scandal
27 people recommended this.
Who are The Real Heroes in Society?
One person recommended this.
Stop & Go Method, Renew Sex
Pleasure
17 people recommended this.
What is a Society
12 people recommended this.

Facebook social plugin

Select a Topic
Activism
Advice
Crime
Death
Disabled
Economics
Education
Ethnicity
Folklore
Future
Gay & Lesbians
Government
History
Holidays
Issues
Languages
Law
Lifestyle Choices
Men
Military
Organizations

4/8/2013 12:25 PM

The Psychology and Profiling of a Sniper | Socyberty

7 of 7

http://socyberty.com/social-sciences/the-psychology-and-profiling-of-a-sn...

Paranormal
People
Philanthropy
Philosophy
Politics
Psychology
Relationships
Religion
Sexuality
Social Sciences
Society
Sociology
Spirituality
Subcultures
Support Groups
Uncategorized
Work
Copyright Socyberty. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use Privacy Policy
Subscribe: Posts(RSS) and Comments (RSS)

Powered by
-->

4/8/2013 12:25 PM