Psychosis and the Risk of Stranger Homicides.

Introduction: Psychosis increases the risk of committing homicide, but it remains unclear whether it also affects victim selection. Individual cases of stranger homicide elicit a lot of public attention and outrage, even though evidence of their incidence is scarce.

Methods: Forensic psychiatric reports of 389 patients who had committed homicide in Finland during 1980-2014 were examined to determine the relationship between the offender and the victim.

Homicide clearance in Western Europe.

This study provides an overview of homicide clearance in four West European countries: Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Using data from the European Homicide Monitor, employing similar definitions and uniform coding schemes, this study allowed for unique cross-country comparisons in factors influencing differences in homicide clearance rates. Findings based on homicides occurring in the period 2009-14 revealed overall low homicide rates in all countries, with a wide variety in homicide clearance rates, ranging from 77 percent in the Netherlands to 98 percent in Finland.