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Editorial

Editorial AUST.& N.Z. JO·URNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY (Sept., 1971): 4, 3 Detective psychiatrists THE recently published book by Brussel, Casebook of a Crime Psychtatrtstt, brings up the problem of whether or not a (forensic) psychiatrist has any real contribution to offer those connected with the detection of criminals. Brussel comments on six cases with which he was concerned and in the case of the "Boston Strangler" he recites how the then Assistant Attorney­ General of Massachusetts, John S. Bottomley, set up a Medical-Psychiatric Oommttteee whose function was to offer opinions as to the number of "stranglers" involved and what type of person for whom the police should be looking. It would appear that the committee as a whole was not especially successful in the light of subsequent events; indeed, only Brussel is shown to have been essentially correct in his prognostications. Not only was he essentially correct regarding the type of person the strangler was, but he correctly predicted that (after the killing of Mary Sullivan, perhaps the 11th killing) the strangler would no longer strangle. Brussel writes What has happened to him (the Strangler), in two words, is instant maturity. In this two-year period, he has SUddenly grown, psycho­ sexually, http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology SAGE

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Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
Copyright © by SAGE Publications
ISSN
0004-8658
eISSN
1837-9273
DOI
10.1177/000486587100400301
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AUST.& N.Z. JO·URNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY (Sept., 1971): 4, 3 Detective psychiatrists THE recently published book by Brussel, Casebook of a Crime Psychtatrtstt, brings up the problem of whether or not a (forensic) psychiatrist has any real contribution to offer those connected with the detection of criminals. Brussel comments on six cases with which he was concerned and in the case of the "Boston Strangler" he recites how the then Assistant Attorney­ General of Massachusetts, John S. Bottomley, set up a Medical-Psychiatric Oommttteee whose function was to offer opinions as to the number of "stranglers" involved and what type of person for whom the police should be looking. It would appear that the committee as a whole was not especially successful in the light of subsequent events; indeed, only Brussel is shown to have been essentially correct in his prognostications. Not only was he essentially correct regarding the type of person the strangler was, but he correctly predicted that (after the killing of Mary Sullivan, perhaps the 11th killing) the strangler would no longer strangle. Brussel writes What has happened to him (the Strangler), in two words, is instant maturity. In this two-year period, he has SUddenly grown, psycho­ sexually,

Journal

Australian & New Zealand Journal of CriminologySAGE

Published: Sep 1, 1971

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