NCJ Number
126722
Journal
C.J. the Americas Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: (August-September 1990) Pages: 13-16
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Law enforcement interest in occultism, which in itself is a legal practice, arises when the person or people involved commit a crime. Although adult involvement in occult and ritualistic crime activities has probably remained stable over the past few years, adolescent involvement in these activities has increased significantly.
Abstract
There are several levels of involvement in the occult: the "fun and games" level in which the person is not a believer but uses the occult as a means to gain social acceptance; the "dabbler" level, when the person begins to show a serious interest in the occult; the "true believer" level, in which practice of the occult as a religion is still legal; and the "ritualistic criminal involvement" level in which persons commit crimes ranging from trespass, vandalism, and cruelty to animals to kidnapping, sexual abuse, and murder. While most teenager dabblers may engage in relatively petty criminal activities, adults who engage in ritualistic crime are either those who believe that criminal action is necessary to achieve their occult goals or those who are prone to violence and use the occult as justification for their actions. While adolescents generally become involved in the occult because of peer pressure or rebellion, adults join the occult because it provides an opportunity to reject responsibility for their decisionmaking or because it is a way to oppose establishment religions.