Criminal Profiling
Criminal profiling is a tool, used by investigators and law enforcement agencies that can aid in the determination of likely suspects as well as aid in the analysis of criminal patterns that will help predict future offenses. The term criminal profiling designates a set of standards that attempt to recognize characteristics of an unidentified offender, through a comprehensive investigation of the crime scene, through the characteristics of the victim, and previous cases of similar nature (Devery, 2010). The criminal profile is usually applied to those who commit murders, sexual assaults and arson. The general concept of profiling is to foresee the characteristics of the unknown offender(s) by using the characteristics of
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Disorganized Offenders
Ressler & Burgess (1985) defines an organized offender as someone having an average to high intelligence. Organized offenders are commonly the first born son in the family, in which the parental discipline is irregular, and the father 's work environment is stable, whereas the offender’s work history is often sporadic. Despite a higher than average intelligence, the offender often works in a career well below his normal capabilities. An organized offender is socially skilled and in most cases lives with a significant other. Situational stresses occur, usually by the hand of the offender, which consist of (1) monetary, (2) marital, (3) occupational or (4) women related, and often presents itself preceding the offence or murder (Ressler & Burgess, 1985). The consumption of alcohol is also common prior to the crime, which is said to help the offender’s frame of mind. Organized offenders have reported that during the time prior to the murder, he was in a depressed state, however after the crime; he admits feeling relaxed and calm. The offender usually fantasizes over the victim or state of the crime scene after his departure, and collects newspaper clippings following the events of the criminal investigation (Ressler & Burgess, 1985, p.
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By doing so, it could potentially alert serial criminals, which would provide them the ability to manage their criminal behavior to avoid being criminally profiled (Devery, 2010). This lack of transparency makes it very difficult to compare the advantages of the ICIAF approach to the approach and range of services offered by a forensic psychologist. Devery (2010) states, in recent years; the scientific legitimacy of criminal profiling has come under scrutiny, because of the lack of theoretical or empirical support that documents its effectiveness. Furthermore, in regards to the lack of research supporting criminal profiling, there is a notable lack of evidence that profiling has ever made a considerable impact to solving unsolved cases (Devery, 2010).
Every so often, a profile has been found to be accurate, but only to a certain extent, after the case has been solved. Statistically, Muller (2000) reports out of 192 requests for criminal profiles, only 17% of those profiles were used to help identify an offender, but 77% had reported that the profiles aided in their investigation. On the negative side, and in most cases, a criminal profile has been known to sidetrack investigators, or have even contributed to the arrest of a person who was convicted and consequently found not guilty
Forensic Psychology: Criminal Profiling - Peter Dupas Research Research Questions: - What is criminal profiling and what is its purpose? - What are the description and summary of Peter Dupas' crimes, including any signature behaviors? - What is the offender's history (criminal/personal), characteristics, employment status, socioeconomic status, marital status, and prediction of future behaviors? - If a stalker, what type of stalker is Peter Dupas, and what are the reasons for stalking? Notes in Point Form only: - Criminal profiling is a technique used to assist in identifying and apprehending likely criminal offenders for a crime.
The RAND Criminal Investigation Study: Its Findings and Impacts to Date. (1979). Rand.org. Retrieved 2 September 2017, from
police then look for a suspect who might possibly have committed it. Profiling means that a suspect is discovered and the police then look for a crime for the person to have possibly committed” (Tator & Henry, 2003, p3).
Used all over the world, Offender profiling can be used to narrow the field of investigation for law enforcement. The four different approaches of criminal profiling can be
Understanding Crime: Theory and Practice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishers. Woodham, J., & Toye, K. (2007). Empirical Tests of Assumption of Case Linkages & Offender’s profiling with Commercial Robbery.
Travis Siska Professor Fos Alvin Community College Racial Profiling in Criminal Justice Racial Profiling in Criminal Justice This paper will define the topic of racial profiling, as well as the history, present day issues, how it may be dealt with in the future, and my opinion on the topic. Racial Profiling is the practice of targeting people of color or a certain ethnicity for investigation or arrest. History starts with the New Jersey State Police Department investigating activities instituted the term racial profiling that we know today in order to raise awareness of the issue. Some of the current issues today with racial profiling have caused many problems for the criminal justice system, hindering police efforts in communities and losing the reliability of the people.
This article gives some examples of crimes and how they were solved using a psychology technique along with how criminal profiling is used to solve crimes and how the profilers know how to slim down the suspects. In the first case, there was a man that planted bombs in multiple places each time writing a note in block letters- signing it F.P. The first bomb was found in 1940, in 1954 he struck four times, and in 1955 five times. In
The process of using behavioral evidence left at a crime scene to make inferences about the offender, including inferences about personality characteristics and psychopathology is called criminal profiling. Around the country, several agencies rely on the minds of criminal psychologists to lead them in the right direction to finding the correct offender. Criminal profiling provides investigators with knowledge of the appearance and behavior of a potential criminal.
Bartol, C. R. (2002). Criminal behavior: A psychosocial approach. (6 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Most serial murderers have been deprived of any control over their home, their body, and their entire life. “Psychokillers take their fantasies and make them a reality living their dreams” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture 2). Both physical and especially emotional abuse is the consistent, reoccurring factor among a majority of serial killers. Traumatic abuse in childhood has long been viewed as a primary cause of violent behavior in adulthood (Dolan 24). Abusive parents do not generally vent their anger equally on all their children. Such parents tend to unleash the anger and negative emotions on their more difficult children; this potential aggression and physical and emotional abuse of the child shapes the future criminal. “Most serial murders are not classified as psychotics, but rather as psychopaths- their perception of reality is clear except that they feel no social or moral obligations” () Killers are taking control of their own lives through their fantasies in the only way they know fit, through
Historically, crime and criminals have always caught the attention of law-abiding citizens. Whenever there is mention of serial killers or unsolved murders or abductions, psychological profiling, now a household term, floats to the top of the list of concerns (Egger, 1999). Psychological profiling is an attempt to provide investigators with more information about an offender who has not yet been identified (Egger, 1999). Its purpose is to develop a behavioral composite that combines both sociological and psychological assessment of the would-be offender. It is generally based on the premise that an accurate analysis and interpretation of the crime scene and other locations related to the crime can indicate the type of person who could have committed the crime (Egger, 1999).
Roesch, R., & Rogers, B. (2011). The cambridge handbook of forensic psychology. Canadian Psychology, 52(3), 242-242-243.
“White male, age thirty-five, drives a blue Ford F-150, and might have experienced bullying and isolation as a child, etc.” Everyone who has ever watched the news, watched a criminal justice based show, or read investigation reports has heard/read someone say a sentence of what the suspect looks like, drives, problems that might have led to their break, and any other type of information they would think could help aid in finding the offender. But what else does a criminal profiler bring to the investigation beside description of the suspect. Does psychology play a role in the profiler’s part? Is it just physical and material aspects that they can figure out?
A large misconception of criminal investigative analysis is that there is a difference between profiling and criminal investigative analysis. Criminal Investigative Analysis is the same tool as criminal profiling and there is no true difference. A survey was done by Torres and the survey consisted of a couple of questions about profiling and about criminal investigative analysis asked to mental health professionals with profiling knowledge. The following table contains the results from the
“According to Eric Hickey (Author of Serial Murderers and Their Victims), stress caused by childhood 'traumatizations' may be a trigger to criminal behavior in adulthood. It is important to understand that most people go through one or more of these traumatizations with no lifelong effects. However, in the future serial killer, the inability to cope with the stress involved with these trauma...