Could you crack the code of a serial killer?

For People who take interest in cracking serial killer codes to narrowing down suspects, this site has plenty of examples of that. There is a lot to agree on and a lot to debate, the atmosphere is pretty friendly for the most part. Being a part of this community means feeling like you have some role in bringing justice to the victims’ families, while meeting like minded people who have the same interest as you. What does it look like to interact with this community on a daily basis?

How to…

Becoming a websleuth isn’t all that bad, you would need to; Search every digital corner, Develop thick skin, Leave squeamishness at the door, and Visualise it. What is a websleuth exactly? Ah great question, a websleuth is a person who does any kind of detective work using the internet. The kind of internet detective work we’ll be exploring for websleuths is the cold case, serial killer side.

Helpful to the police?

This community does indeed help the police. How? you may ask, well when the police “give up” on some cases they become “cold cases”, these are cases that are too hard to figure out or if they just don’t have the time anymore to get to the case this community comes into play. In his article Baraniuk goes to say “Some law enforcers say they are thankful for their efforts, yet in a few cases, self-appointed sleuths have veered close to vigilantism.” They do not work for the police, most are privately owned or volunteer work. Most get paid through donations or fundraising seeing as this is not an actual career. This community may help you find that you have an interest in a career in computer forensics or cyber security.

This inserted image shows how this specific web community has a good way of communicating and keeping its people updated. This community not only provides information on serial killers but also cold cases and missing persons cases. This goes to show that they aren’t only a community for serial killer finding fans but those looking to help in any way they can keep people safe from unidentified murderers and kidnappers.

Websleuths…Internet Detectives

Web Sleuthing or being an internet detective is not for the weak, somethings you may see or read in this community may make you sick to your stomach. While it may seem like easy work it is not, but to be a part of this community you don’t have to be a websleuth you could simply enjoy keeping up with information they have on cases. Some may say they have a lot of time on their hands while others would praise them for what they do. Not only are they helping victims’ families but also the police in a way, by taking some of the workload of cold cases. The amount of time and work they put into helping narrow down suspects to cracking codes to even believing they have solved the case is astounding. I’ll leave you with this quote from Koppelman , “The families stay in limbo for decades, literally decades, and they can never really move on with their lives until they get resolution.”