Editing Serial killer (section)

====Organization====
[[File:Albert deSalvo.jpg|thumb|[[Albert De Salvo]], who claimed to be the "[[Boston Strangler]]", after being caught in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1967]]

The structural organization of an investigation is key to its success, as demonstrated by the investigation of [[Gary Ridgway]], the Green River Killer. Once a serial murder case was established, a task force was created to track down and arrest the offender. Over the course of the investigation, for various reasons, the task force's organization was radically changed and reorganized multiple times – at one point including more than 50 full-time personnel, and at another, only a single investigator. Eventually, what led to the end of the investigation was a conference of 25 detectives organized to share ideas to solve the case.<ref name="guillen2007">{{harvnb|Guillen|2007}}</ref>

The FBI handbook provides a description of how a task force should be organized but offers no additional options on how to structure the investigation. While it appears advantageous to have a full-time staff assigned to a serial murder investigation, it can become prohibitively expensive. For example, the Green River Task Force cost upwards of $2&nbsp;million per year,<ref name="guillen2007"/> and as was witnessed with the Green River Killer investigation, other strategies can prevail where a task force fails. A common strategy, already employed by many departments for other reasons, is the conference, in which departments get together and focus on a specific set of topics.<ref name="egger1990">{{harvnb|Egger|1990}}</ref> With serial murders, the focus is typically on unsolved cases, with evidence thought to be related to the case at hand.

Similar to a conference is an information clearing-house in which a jurisdiction with a suspected serial murder case collects all of its evidence and actively seeks data that may be related from other jurisdictions.<ref name="egger1990"/> By collecting all of the related information into one place, they provide a central point in which it can be organized and easily accessed by other jurisdictions working toward the goal of arresting an offender and ending the murders. A task force provides for a flexible, organized, framework for jurisdictions depending on the needs of the investigation. Unfortunately due to the need to commit resources (manpower, money, equipment, etc.) for long periods of time it can be an unsustainable option.<ref name="egger1990"/><ref name="FBI-2010"/><ref name="keppel1990"/>

In the case of the investigation of Aileen Wournos, the Marion County Sheriff coordinated multiple agencies without any written or formal agreement.<ref name="egger1998"/> While not a specific strategy for a serial murder investigation, this is certainly a best practice in so far as the agencies were able to work easily together toward a common goal. Finally, once a serial murder investigation has been identified, the use of an FBI Rapid Response Team can assist both experienced and inexperienced jurisdictions in setting up a task force. This is completed by organizing and delegating jobs, by compiling and analyzing clues, and by establishing communication between the parties involved.<ref name="egger1998"/>