Also, this was around the time more women became part of the work force more than ever before. Women's Liberation made it possible for women to have credit cards without a husband's signature, bank loans, careers, going to college, etc.
Women were more out of the house and in public. At the time the Boston Strangler was out killing, look how many women were at home. As years went by more and more women were out of the house. It still made them vulnerable whether they were at home or not.
And, in the 50's and 60's, look how many women were at home and they opened their door to the Fuller Brush salesman, the encyclopedia salesman, the vacuum cleaner guy.
Women were not stuck at home like they were in the 50's. So, more and more kids who were growing up had two parents working and they came home from school to be alone.
Less family time, less parental supervision, etc.
Also, a lot of 'Spock' babies were out there, too...you know 'spare the rod', etc. Not saying kids should have been beat....but you know what I mean. Lots of permissiveness and less direction and discipline was everywhere. Kids were left alone more and they sought their own entertainment. They could explore darker things that appealed to them.
Not everyone went thru that.....it's just an idea to toss out on the table and add to the recipe.
And like someone else mentioned, more people were hitting the highways and backpacks and hitch-hiking. The 'summer of love' brought teens from everywhere and CA was the place to go.
And, like someone said, today's forensics are amazing.
And there's lots of crime shows that tell you what a lot of tests reveal....just watch older ID channel shows before 'ping's from cell phones became crucial. I know we don't know everything science and investigators have, but look at what IS revealed. A person now knows hairs and skin cells can be found, cell phone pings and records, DNA, etc. They know more about how to be careful. Just look at 'super glue fuming' where they can get fingerprints from plastic bags and other items. Look at how the Golden State killer was caught....thru the DNA of someone ELSE in the family.
There's just as many, if not more, serial killers than before. We are much more populated and they are more careful. The popular ones that we hear about 'to death' are just the first to be really broadcast and we had tons of information about them. What they did was so shocking and we all know and have heard about the main characters. Tons of books, movies, and now they are all being rehashed by new directors and producers.....they are making new documentaries about old serial killers, not the newer ones. That leads us to think they aren't as plentiful.
But there are many out there who have never been caught. And there are so many who ARE caught that they can't ALL get the attention the Night Stalker, Bundy, and Gacy had.
So, it's easy to think that they just aren't as plentiful. We just don't hear about them as much because there's so many.
Since joining this sub Reddit I've seen so many I've never heard of.
We see that a lot have been caught. I shudder to imagine the ones who were not only never caught, but we'll never know they existed.