TheBritish Hitman: 1974–2013

Abstract

This exploratory article presents a typology of British ‘hitmen’ as identified within newspaper reports about contract killing. Demographic and criminological data related to these hitmen and their victims are analysed and, on the basis of this analysis, a typology of British hitmen is developed. Our typology suggests that British hitmen are: ‘Novices’; ‘Dilettantes’; ‘Journeymen’; or ‘Masters’. It is hoped that this typology will be of use to law enforcement.

Hitmen and the Spaces of Contract Killing: The Doorstep Hitman

“…This paper aims to follow recent work in this field (MacIntyre, Wilson, Yardley, & Brolan, ) and, from a more psychological perspective (Crumplin, ), by offering additional description and explanation, specifically focusing upon the types of location at which a hit is carried out. Throughout the paper, following Calhoun (), we define a hitman as a person who accepts an order to kill another human being from someone who is not publicly acknowledged as a legitimate authority regarding ‘just killing’ for financial or material gain.…”

“…We use the sample of hits developed by MacIntyre, Wilson, Yardley, and Brolan (), all of which occurred between 1974 and 2013 and, as such, do not discuss more recent cases involving the shooting of Paul Massey in Salford in July 2015, for example, which the Greater Manchester Police euphemistically described as a ‘targeted attack’ (‘Paul Massey's Brother Calls for No Repercussions in Wake of Fatal Shootings’, Manchester Evening News , 28 July 2015). It is acknowledged that this sample includes many hitmen who undertook just one ‘hit’ and is therefore at odds with the media and popular portrayal of contract murder.…”

“…Perhaps unsurprisingly, Schlesinger was forced to describe contract killing and the people who carry these killings out as a ‘poorly understood type of homicide’ (Schlesinger, : 295). Of note, MacIntyre et al () did not consider the location of these hits, although they did suggest that ‘the sites of British hits were not usually bars, clubs, or casinos but were far more likely to be the shopping centre, or the suburb in which the intended target lived. As a result, members of the public were all too often witnesses to a hit’ (MacIntyre et al ., , p. 15).…”

“…Of note, MacIntyre et al () did not consider the location of these hits, although they did suggest that ‘the sites of British hits were not usually bars, clubs, or casinos but were far more likely to be the shopping centre, or the suburb in which the intended target lived. As a result, members of the public were all too often witnesses to a hit’ (MacIntyre et al ., , p. 15). However, they do not provide any detail about the specific places within shopping centres or exactly where in the suburbs that these hits occurred.…”

“…Nor did MacIntyre, Wilson, Yardley, and Brolan () include in their sample hits for which no perpetrator was convicted, such as the high profile murder of the TV personality Jill Dando in London in 1999, which is now widely believed to have been a professional hit (e.g. Duncan Campbell, ‘With Barry George Innocent, Who Did Kill Jill Dando?’ Guardian , 1 August 2008), or the unsolved murder of Alistair Wilson in Nairn, Scotland, in 2004.…”