Failure to Arrest Serial Killer Sparks Row in USA

Failure to Arrest Serial Killer Sparks Row in USA

From our correspondent in New York

A row is growing in the USA over how to deal with a serial killer who has been active for 22 years and is thought to have killed thousands of people across the country.

Relatives of the victims and many NGOs are demanding that police investigate the crimes committed by the serial killer, with a goal of arresting and prosecuting him. In addition to murder, crimes committed by the serial killer are thought to include rape, arson, torture, mutilations, paedophilia, kidnappings and theft.

However, police forces in the US are divided over how to approach the serial killer, with none even publicly admitting that what is taking place are crimes that require police to intervene.

Some police forces argue that as the killings have taken place inside the killers home, it is a private matter and they cannot intervene, even though police standing outside the house while killings are taking place can hear victims screaming for help.

Other police forces argue that investigating and imprisoning the killer would be counter-productive, and instead a less confrontational approach should be taken, befriending the killer.

"It is possible that the killer has no friends, and feels lonely, we should let him join local social clubs, said one police force in the same area as the killer."Once he has made friends with more normal people, maybe some normality will rub off on him.”

However, one ex-police officer, who now claims to be an expert on serial killers, blamed the victims and their friends for the ongoing crisis, saying how they responded to the killings, demanding justice, is the real problem. "The killer is forced to keep killing because people keep saying he must stop. My personal view is that taking the killer on holiday would pretty much solve the problem."

The killer’s confidence that he can act with impunity seems to have grown in recent years, leading to an increase in the murders he carries out. Bodies of victims, some with brutal injuries and even beheaded, are left in the killer’s front garden for all to see, but still police have failed to act.

In desperation, NGOs have been conducting their own investigations, compiling evidence in the hope that presented with the facts police will feel compelled to act. So far however, police have ignored the evidence.

NGOs believe that the evidence they have compiled, even with their limited resources, is more than enough to justify a full scale investigation. Many crimes have been committed which break local and national laws.

"Unlike some serial killers, who prefer a particular type of victim, this killer is more indiscriminate, but clearly has a preference for ethnic minorities," said one NGO worker.

Federal police, who some argue have a legal duty to investigate the killer, have also avoided intervening in the case. They say that it would take a Council Committee vote before they can intervene.

NGOs express frustration at this, saying friends and neighbours of the killer are on the council, and that these neighbours even have joint business investments with the killer.

NGOs are now calling on US President Obama to intervene and show leadership, but so far he has remained silent.

While the debate over who should do what and when continues, so do the killings, several victims in the past month have been children.