Report co-author Professor David Wilson

A British university has published the first ever academic study evaluating the interaction between social media and criminal behavior.

The study was conducted by a team of criminologists headed by Dr Elizabeth Yardley and Professor David Wilson from the Centre of Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom.

In a survey of 48 separate cases involving “Facebook killers,” the researchers believe they have identified six distinct ways that killers use the social network in their crime. They referred to these types as Reactor, Informer, Antagonist, Fantasist, Predator, and Imposter.

Reactor: Killers who attack their victims in reaction to posts they made online. For example, the study mentions the case of Wayne Forrester, who killed his wife after she posted on Facebook that they were separated and she was interested in seeing other men.

Informer: People who use Facebook to talk about a murder they intend to commit or one they have already committed

Antagonist: People who become involved in heated exchanges on Facebook that escalate into physical violence

Fantasist: People suffering from delusions and who act out their fantasies online. They may kill out of the desire to maintain the fantasy or to prevent others from discovering the truth.

Predator: Killers who use fake bait profiles to lure victims to a secluded location with the intent to murder them. They may use personal info available about the victim online to be more convincing.

Imposter: People who post in someone else’s name, often in the victim’s name with the intent of making it appear they are still alive

Dr Yadley believes that it is important to study the role social media plays in crime, but she does not blame the platforms themselves for the ways they are used. Dr Yadley said:

Social networking sites like Facebook have become part and parcel of our everyday lives and it’s important to stress that there is nothing inherently bad about them. Facebook is no more to blame for these homicides than a knife is to blame for a stabbing – it’s the intentions of the people using these tools that we need to focus upon.

The study itself is available for free download from The Howard Journal of Criminal Science.