Randall Lockwood, Ph.D., Courtesy of Greater Birmingham Humane Society, Birmingham, AL

Checklist for Factors in the Assessment of Dangerousness in
Perpetrators of Animal Cruelty

Randall Lockwood, Ph.D.
The Humane Society of the United States

1. High victim vulnerability
   
2. Two or more victims in the same instance
   
3. More than one instance or attack with 24 hours
   
4. Injury resulted in death of victim(s)
   
5. Multiple injuries inflicted on one or more victims
   
6. Multiple types of injuries inflicted on one or more victims
   
7. Act involved restraint of or direct contact with victim
   
8. Victim was bound or otherwise physically incapacitated
   
9. Use of fire
   
10. Abuse or injury took place over a relatively long time frame
    
11. Act was preplanned rather than reactive or opportunistic
    
12. Act involved overcoming obstacles to initiate or complete the abuse
    
13. Act was committed with high risk of detection or observation
    
14. Other illegal acts were committed at the scene of the animal cruelty
    
15. Individual was the instigator of an act involving multiple perpetrators
    
16. Animal cruelty was used to threaten, intimidate, or coerce human victim
    
17. Act of cruelty involved hypersensitivity to real or perceived threats or slights
    
18. Absence of economic motive
    
19. Past history of positive interactions with victim
    
20. Animal victim was subjected to mutilation or postmortem dismemberment
    
21. Animal victim was sexually assaulted or mutilated in genital areas or perpetrator indicated sexual arousal as a consequence of the abuse
    
22. Act of cruelty was accompanied by sexual symbolism associated with the victim
23. Perpetrator projected human characteristics onto victim
    
24. Perpetrator documented the abuse through photographs, video or diary entries
    
25. Perpetrator returned at least once to scene of the abuse, to relieve the experience
    
26. Perpetrator left messages or threats in association with the act of cruelty
    
27. Animal victim was posed or otherwise displayed
    
28. Animal cruelty was accompanied by ritualistic or “satanic” actions
    
29. Act of abuse involved staging or reenactment of themes from media of fantasy sources
    
30. Perpetrator reportedly experienced altered consciousness during the violent act
    
31. Perpetrator reportedly experienced strong positive affective changes during the violent act
    
32. Perpetrator lacks insight into cause or motivation of the animal abuse
    
33. Perpetrator sees himself as the victim and/or projects blame on other

Courtesy of