| Product: |
crimelibrary.com |
| Date: |
08/07/01 (273 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Very informative and educational. Loads quickly.
Disadvantages: Could have been easier to navigate
The recent release of Thompson and Venables left me wanting to know more about their case. I’d been living abroad when they committed their crime and although I knew it involved the murder of a young child, the nation’s reaction told me that there was more to this than I knew of. To find the information, I turned to The Crime Library.
On arriving at the site, I was somewhat uncertain as to where I should begin. There’s no search facility and crimes are grouped under headings like “Classic Crimes” – “Gangsters, Outlaws & G-men” and “Mass & Serial Murders”. I guessed that the story I was looking for would be filed under Classic Crimes and clicked on the appropriate link.
The next page offered me a list of links to the most notorious of crimes committed throughout modern history. The very first link was James Bulger, along with links to hundreds of other cases including Ruth Ellis, Mary Bell and Madeleine Smith (a Victorian murder).
Having found the tragic story of James Bulger, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information The Crime Library offered. They’d covered the whole story, from the time of the actual abduction, the long journey through Liverpool, and the fateful visit to the railway lines. All written in detail, sickeningly detailed at times, leaving no questions unanswered. Along with the actual events, there’s background information on the two killers, events following their arrest, a report of their trial, and updated information related to their release. It’s extremely sad that these events should ever have needed to be recorded, but there was no doubt in my mind that The Crime Library covered it as extensively as possible.
Having finished reading what I’d originally come to read, I decided to have a look around and see what else I could find.
I went back to the main page (you have to scroll right to the bottom of actual case p
ages to find a link back) and clicked on “The Criminal Mind”. A new list of links to some very interesting and sometimes shocking articles.
Here I found information and theories on, amongst others, the methods and motives of the female serial killer, what turns kids into killers and how understanding the victim can help find their killer. Click. Click. Click. Very fascinating and educational, albeit somewhat morbid!
Then there’s information related to forensic science and criminal profiling. More interesting stuff and more clicks. How does the polygraph (lie detector) work and what on earth is voiceprint analysis? I was engrossed.
If you’re really interested in crime, you can sign up to be notified of new crime stories as they’re added. I gave this a miss as I wouldn’t like to have my in-box filled with depressing murders and other horrendous crimes, but I can understand the usefulness of this for those who have a particular interest in crime and the criminal mind. Even without the newsletter I can still keep myself updated on new crime stories should I want to, as they’re all listed under the “new” link.
You can also suggest feature stories if you know of a crime that isn’t listed, and that would be of international interest. Thankfully, I don’t!
If you’re one of those people who enjoy a good crime story but prefer to steer clear of real-life crimes, there’s also a selection of fiction for perusal. I didn’t actually read any of these so I can’t comment on how well written they are, but if the quality of the writing on the sections I visited is anything to go by, they’ll probably be worth a read.
The site is very informative, offers extensive crime coverage and loads quickly. But please do note that the site can be disturbingly graphic in places.
The only negative point I’d make is that navigation coul
d have been easier. I would have liked to have not had to keep going back to the main page to switch sections or return to the listings and a search facility would have been useful, but the exceptional quality of the content made up for that.
If you enjoy reading about crime, this is one site you really won’t want to miss.
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