Subtypes of Psychopaths

All psychopaths share essentially features but may be referred to as primary  or secondary psychopaths.  Primary psychopaths can frequently control antisocial impulses to suit their own purposes.  They do not respond to punishment, apprehension, stress, or disapproval. They don't follow any life plan, and are simply incapable of experiencing genuine emotions.  Secondary psychopaths are also risk-takers, but are more likely to worry about or feel guilty about things.  They are stress-reactive, worriers, and guilt-prone. They are more impulsive and have more reactive anger and aggression than primary psychopaths.  They live their lives by the lure of temptation.  Both primary and secondary psychopaths can be further subdivided into the distempered or charismatic subtype. 

The most dangerous subtype, is the distempered psychopath. They are most likely to be aggressive and violent, frequently flying into rages.  Distempered psychopaths are predominantly males with strong sexual drives and obsessions (often deviant).  They crave excitement, risk-taking and illicit or illegal indulgence.  An example of this subtype was Jack the Ripper.

The second most dangerous subtype is the charismatic psychopath. These individuals are charming, attractive, and irresistible pathological liars.  This type of psychopath is the fast-talker and the manipulator who possesses an almost demonic ability to persuade others. Basically, they can talk people out of almost everything, including their own lives (religious cult leaders frequently fall in this category).  Charles Manson is a classic example of this subtype. 

Top Twenty Clues that You are Dealing with a Psychopath

1. glib and superficial charm
2. grandiose sense of self-worth
3. for stimulation; pathological lying
4. cunning and manipulativeness
5. lack of remorse or guilt
6. shallow affect
7. callousness and lack of empathy
8. envy and jealousy
9. parasitic lifestyle
10. poor behavioral controls
11. promiscuous sexual behavior
12. early behavior problems
13. lack of realistic, long-term goals
14. impulsivity
15. irresponsibility
16. failure to accept responsibility for own actions
17. many short-term marital relationships
18. juvenile delinquency
19. revocation of conditional release
20. criminal versatility

Law Enforcements’ Interaction with the Psychopath

FBI studies indicate that over 80% of officers killed in the line of duty were killed by individuals with personality disorders.  While 56% percent of these killers had an antisocial personality disorder; 44% had psychopathology characteristics.  Psychopaths are inherently dangerous.

Remember, you cannot spot a psychopath.  When you encounter one, they will at first seem overly cooperative and friendly towards you.  Meanwhile, they are sizing you noting every detail; your physical, intellectual and moral capabilities while trying to lull you into a false sense of security.  They may invade your personal space just to see how you react. 

Psychopaths are evasive when you make contact, they will attempt to control the conversation.  Once they have a sense on what kind of person you are, they will attempt to manipulate you; they are highly skilled in this regard.  When confronted they will deny any involvement in illegal activities pointing the finger towards someone else.  If that doesn’t work, plan B is to rationalize the crime and offer their own interpretations of the laws that you believe were violated.  Although they are well versed in the laws of society, they truly don’t believe these laws apply to them. They have absolutely no remorse for the crimes they have committed against others, and will only express regret as a way to manipulate an officer in hopes that the justice system will go easier on them.  Fundamentally, psychopaths represent the greatest danger to officer safety.  If an arrest is eminent, and the psychopath believes he can get away with violence, he will resort to it.  This can be an instantaneous reaction, often catching the law enforcement officer off guard.