Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Bees Help Detectives Catch Serial Killers

Posted by kdawson on from the geographic-profiling dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "The way bumblebees search for food could help detectives hunt down serial killers — because just as bees forage some distance away from their hives, so murderers avoid killing near their homes, says a University of London research team. The researchers' analysis describes how bees create a 'buffer zone' around their hive where they will not forage, to reduce the risk of predators and parasites locating the nest. This behavior pattern is similar to the geographic profile of criminals stalking their victims. 'Most murders happen close to the killer's home, but not in the area directly surrounding a criminal's house, where crimes are less likely to be committed because of the fear of getting caught by someone they know,' says Dr. Nigel Raine. Criminologists will fold this insight into their models using details about crime scenes, robbery locations, abandoned cars, even dead bodies, to hone the search for a suspect."

6 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. dont shit where you eat by timmarhy · · Score: 5, Funny

    we've known this for a long time sherlock...

    --
    If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
  2. Two ways? by JohnnyKlunk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If read and understood by a sane serial killer (assuming these things exist). Could they then pattern their kills around a location other than where they live? Hence leading police to profile the wrong location based upon these kind of patterns?

    1. Re:Two ways? by lukas84 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yes, of course.

      If you kill a random person at a random location, with the only value that influences your choice of victim being the chance of getting away with it, the chances of getting away with it, if properly executed, are almost 100%.

      But that's not how it works in the real world - most murders happen for a reason, even those be insane or sane serial killers.

    2. Re:Two ways? by drmofe · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes. 1. Find a known serial killer. 2. Commit crimes around their home. 3. ??? 4. Profit.

  3. Re:By the same token.. by Cillian · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That's the problem with psycological theories and profiling. As soon as the subject knows the model, they probably stop following it.

    --
    -- All your booze are belong to us.
  4. Re:As do Nation States by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    doing their serial killing far away, bombing countries half the world away. While just imposing embargoes on those next door, to reduce the risk to the hive. You don't need Bee theory, forensics or the CSI team to figure out who is doing the killing though.

    Riiight. So please explain Russia invading Georgia, China invading Tibet, Indonesia invading East Timor.

    Look, if you want to pick on the USA, please go ahead. There are many good & bad things about US foreign policy. But meaningless new-age psychobabble doesn't accomplish anything except making you look like an anti-American kook.