LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE.



          The perspective with which one looks at satanic, occult, or 

          ritualistic crime is extremely important. As stated, sociologists, 

          therapists, religious leaders, parents, and just plain citizens each 

          have their own valid concerns and views about this issue. This 

          discussion, however, deals primarily with the law enforcement or 

          criminal justice perspective.



          When you combine an emotional issue such as the sexual abuse of 

          children with an even more emotional issue such as people's 

          religious beliefs, it is difficult to maintain objectivity and 

          remember the law enforcement perspective. Some police officers may 

          even feel that all crime is caused by evil, all evil is caused by 

          Satan, and therefore, all crime is satanic crime. This may be a 

          valid religious perspective, but it is of no relevance to the 

          investigation of crime for purposes of prosecution.



          Many of the police officers who lecture on satanic or occult crime 

          do not even investigate such cases. Their presentations are more a 

          reflection of their personal religious beliefs than documented 

          investigative information. They are absolutely entitled to their 

          beliefs, but introducing themselves as current or former police 

          officers and then speaking as religious advocates causes confusion. 

          As difficult as it might be, police officers must separate the 

          religious and law enforcement perspectives when they are lecturing 

          or investigating in their official capacities as law enforcement 

          officers. Many law enforcement officers begin their presentations by 

          stating that they are not addressing or judging anyone's religious 

          beliefs, and then proceed to do exactly that.



          Some police officers have resigned rather than curtail or limit 

          their involvement in this issue as ordered by their departments. 

          Perhaps such officers deserve credit for recognizing that they could 

          no longer keep the perspectives separate.

          

          Law enforcement officers and all professionals in this field should 

          avoid the "paranoia" that has crept into this issue and into some of 

          the training conferences. Paranoid type belief systems are 

          characterized by the gradual development of intricate, complex, and 

          elaborate systems of thinking based on and often proceeding 

          logically from misinterpretation of actual events. Paranoia 

          typically involves hypervigilance over the perceived threat, the 

          belief that danger is around every corner, and the willingness to 

          take up the challenge and do something about it. Another very 

          important aspect of this paranoia is the belief that those who do 

          not recognize the threat are evil and corrupt. In this extreme view, 

          you are either with them or against them. You are either part of the 

          solution or part of the problem.



          Overzealousness and exaggeration motivated by the true religious 

          fervor of those involved is more acceptable than that motivated by

          ego or profit. There are those who are deliberately distorting and 

          hyping this issue for personal notoriety and profit. Satanic and 

          occult crime and ritual abuse of children has become a growth 

          industry. Speaking fees, books, video and audio tapes, prevention 

          material, television and radio appearances all bring egoistic and 

          financial rewards.



          Bizarre crime and evil can occur without organized satanic activity. 

          The professional perspective requires that we distinguish between 

          what we know and what we're not sure of.



          The facts are:



          * a. Some individuals believe in and are involved in something 

          commonly called satanism and the occult.



          * b. Some of these individuals commit crime.



          * c. Some groups of individuals share these beliefs and involvement 

          in this satanism and the occult.



          * d. Some members of these groups commit crime together.



          The unanswered questions are:



          * a. What is the connection between the belief system and the 

          crimes committed?



          * b. Is there an organized conspiracy of satanic and occult 

          believers responsible for interrelated serious crime (e.g., 

          molestation, murder)?



          After all the hype and hysteria are put aside, the realization sets 

          in that most satanic/occult activity involves the commission of *no* 

          crimes, and that which does usually involves the commission of 

          relatively minor crimes such as trespassing, vandalism, cruelty to 

          animals, or petty thievery.          



          The law enforcement problems most often linked to satanic or occult 

          activity are:



          * a. Vandalism.



          * b. Desecration of churches and cemeteries.



          * c. Thefts from churches and cemeteries.



          * d. Teenage gangs



          * e. Animal mutilations.



          * f. Teenage suicide.



          * g. Child abuse.



          * h. Kidnapping.



          * i. Murder and human sacrifice



          Valid evidence shows some "connection" between satanism and the 

          occult and the first six problems (#a-f) set forth above. The 

          "connection" to the last three problems (#g-i) is far more 

          uncertain.



          Even where there seems to be a "connection", the nature of the 

          connection needs to be explored. It is easy to blame involvement in

          satanism and the occult for behaviors that have complex motivations. 

          A teenager's excessive involvement in satanism and the occult is 

          usually a symptom of a problem and not the cause of a problem. 

          Blaming satanism for a teenager's vandalism, theft, suicide, or even 

          act of murder is like blaming a criminal's offenses on his tattoos: 

          Both are often signs of the same rebelliousness and lack of self-

          esteem that contribute to the commission of crimes.



          The rock band Judas Priest was recently sued for allegedly inciting 

          two teenagers to suicide through subliminal messages in their 

          recordings. In 1991 Anthony Pratkanis of the University of 

          California at Santa Cruz, who served as an expert witness for the 

          defense, stated the boys in question "lived troubled lives, lives of 

          drug and alcohol abuse, run-ins with the law ... family violence, 

          and chronic unemployment. What issues did the trial and the 

          subsequent mass media coverage emphasize? Certainly not the need for 

          drug treatment centers; there was no evaluation of the pros and cons 

          of America's juvenile justice system, no investigation of the 

          schools, no inquiry into how to prevent family violence, no 

          discussion of the effects of unemployment on a family. Instead our 

          attention was mesmerized by an attempt to count the number of 

          subliminal demons that can dance on the end of a record needle" (p. 

          1).



          The law enforcement investigator must objectively evaluate the legal 

          significance of any criminal's spiritual beliefs. In most cases, 

          including those involving satanists, it will have little or no legal 

          significance. If a crime is committed as part of a spiritual belief 

          system, it should make no difference which belief system it is. The 

          crime is the same whether a child is abused or murdered as part of a 

          Christian, Hare Krishna, Moslem, or any other belief system. We 

          generally don't label crimes with the name of the perpetrator's 

          religion. Why then are the crimes of child molesters, rapists, 

          sadists, and murderers who happen to be involved in satanism and the 

          occult labeled as satanic or occult crimes? If criminals use a 

          spiritual belief system to rationalize and justify or to facilitate 

          and enhance their criminal activity, should the focus of law 

          enforcement be on the belief system or on the criminal activity? 



          Several documented murders have been committed by individuals 

          involved in one way or another in satanism or the occult. In some of 

          these murders the perpetrator has even introduced elements of the 

          occult (e.g. satanic symbols at crime scene). Does that 

          automatically make these satanic murders? It is my opinion that the 

          answer is no. Ritualistic murders committed by serial killers or 

          sexual sadists are not necessarily satanic or occult murders. 

          Ritualistic murders committed by psychotic killers who hear the 

          voice of Satan are no more satanic murders than murders committed by 

          psychotic killers who hear the voice of Jesus are Christian murders.



          Rather a satanic murder should be defined as one committed by two or 

          more individuals who rationally plan the crime and whose *primary* 

          motivation is to fulfill a prescribed satanic ritual calling for the 

          murder. By this definition I have been unable to identify even one 

          documented satanic murder in the United States. Although such 

          murders may have and can occur, they appear to be few in number. In 

          addition the commission of such killings would probably be the 

          beginning of the end for such a group. It is highly unlikely that 

          they could continue to kill several people, every year, year after 

          year, and not be discovered.



          A brief typology of satanic and occult practitioners is helpful in 

          evaluating what relationship, if any, such practices have to crimes 

          under investigation. The following typology is adapted from the 

          investigative experience of Officer Sandi Gallant of the San 

          Francisco Police Department, who began to study the criminal aspects

          of occult activity long before it became popular. No typology is 

          perfect, but I use this typology because it is simple and offers 

          investigative insights. Most practitioners fall into one of three 

          categories, any of which can be practiced alone or in groups: