Blind-Sided: Homicide Where It Is Least Expected

by Gregory K. Moffatt

Overview

While print and broadcast media are filled every day with homicide accounts, the general public seems most disturbed by crimes attributed to individuals who otherwise seem normal. Murders by those perceived to be historically non-violent often appear to erupt with no warning whatsoever. Moffatt argues that certain key predictors of a predisposition to violence are usually present. Citing case studies of workplace, school, and domestic homicides, he debunks the myth that these murders happen out of the blue. He also includes valuable information on predicting and preventing future tragedies.

This book explains why friends and colleagues who knew the perpetrators of violence overlooked or misunderstood warning signs, and it addresses the role that mental illness often plays in such crimes. Chapters are devoted to homicide in the workplace, domestic homicide, stalkers who kill, and homicide by children, including an entire chapter on the Columbine High School shooting. Using his experience as an educator, researcher, and clinician, Moffatt demonstrates how to identify the historically non-violent murderer through a process of risk assessment before a crime is committed. He also describes seven common mistakes people make that have resulted in one or more deaths.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275969295
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/30/2000
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)
Lexile:	1240L (what's this?)

About the Author

GREGORY K. MOFFATT has been a college professor for 15 years./e Since 1987, he has also been in private practice as a therapist, specializing in children. He has addressed hundreds of audiences, including law enforcement, parenting groups, and schools on the subject of homicide risk assessment, and he has lectured many times at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. He is also a Diplomat in the American College of Forensic Examiners. He authors a local newspaper column that addresses family and children's issues, and he consults with business in regard to violence risk assessment and prevention.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Homicide—Its Many Forms
Violence and Mental Illness
Homicide in the Workplace
Homicide at Home: Domestic Violence
Stalking
Homicide by Children, Part I
Homicide by Children, Part II: Columbine
Assessment of Risk for Homicide
Intervention and Prevention of Homicide
Seven Mistakes that Cost People Their Lives
Conclusions
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Here is a book that focuses on homicides by "historically nonviolent" persons and serves as a guide to intervention and prevention. Moffatt (a clinician, part-time psychology professor, and lecturer) utilizes a large number of recent case studies and derives many general conclusions regarding this specific category of homicide. The idea that certain homicides come "out of the blue" is strongly challenged by Moffatt, who argues that nearly all perpetrators have histories of violence that were usually not documented as warning signs of potentially dangerous behavior. Moffatt identifies four specific triggers that lead individuals to commit murders: poor coping skills, dysfunctional thinking, mental illness, and an attempt to capture, maintain, or regain power. Proper diagnosis of these behaviors allows for potentially successful intervention. Beyond that, this extremely interesting book describes various techniques (e.g., watching for clues, not ignoring warning signs) that all persons can learn in order to keep from being "blind-sided" themselves by seemingly unpredictable tragic events. Strongly recommended for public and academic libraries.--Tim Delaney, Canisius Coll., Buffalo Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Library Journal

Homicide committed by those deemed "normal" a.k.a. murder "out of nowhere," is what interests Moffatt, a teacher and children's therapist. He argues that key predictors of a predisposition to deadly violence usually present, citing killings that have happened in the workplace, school, and home. He also demonstrates how to identify the historically non-violent murderer through a process of risk assessment, and cites seven common mistakes that have led to one or more deaths: failure to respond adequately to threats, to help oneself under threat, to develop or implement a survival plan, to get help and do so soon enough, failure to keep calm, and failure of patients to take their medication. While this book contains the usual scholarly paraphernalia, it is accessible to a very wide audience indeed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews