Finnish Bomb Threats: Offence and Offender Characteristics

Abstract

The current explorative study explored the offence and offender characteristics in Finnish bomb threats (N = 69). The results showed that the bomb threats were most frequently targeted at restaurants and shopping centres. The offenders almost exclusively used telephones in communicating their threats. Most frequently, it was their own, recognisable phone number. The bomb threats were usually direct and contained very little information. In 29% of the cases, the offender had been at the target location within 24 hours of the bomb threat. The results showed further that a typical person making the bomb threat was a middle-aged man with a criminal background, who works at a construction site. The most frequent motive for making the threat was revenge or vandalism. The results also indicated that the offender characteristics cannot be reliably inferred by assessing the target or the threat. The findings are discussed with regard to the previous research on bomb-related offences.