and other information. BRITISH SERIAL KILLING: TOWARDS A STRUCTURAL EXPLANATION

Leyton (1986) argues that in order to understand the phenomenon of serial killing factors beyond the psychological tradition need to be analysed. His structural account using evidence of American serial killing and focusing on socio-economic factors provides a powerful contribution to a neglected area. How applicable, though, is Leyton's thesis of 'homicidal protest ' to the British experience of serial killing? In focusing on known British serial killers since the 1960s, our results suggest that Leyton's work cannot be wholly applied to the modern British experience. While finding Leyton's analysis both limited and limiting, we support the general approach. However, we argue that the focus should be widened to include other social relations, such as patriarchy