U.S. serial killings peaked in 1989 and have declined since despite growing urbanization
The number of active serial killers in the United States plummeted from a 1989 peak of several hundred to just dozens today, defying theories that urban density breeds more violence.
Active serial murder in the United States reached its zenith in 1989 before entering a sharp, sustained decline that contradicts the expected correlation between urbanization and anonymity. Criminologist Mike Aamodt and researchers at the Radford University Serial Killer Database note that while hundreds of such offenders operated during the 1970s and 80s, that number has dwindled significantly in the 21st century.
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