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Criminal profiling as an investigative tool
Criminal profiling as an investigative tool
Profiling in law enforcement
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Offender Profiling
Offender profiling is a set of techniques used by law enforcement
agencies to try to identify perpetrators of serious crime. Profiling
techniques have been used increasingly by police forces in many parts
of the world, while fictional representations in films and television
series like Silence of the Lambs and Cracker have generated a huge
fascination with the topic.
A)
In 1994, as a result of the work by David Canter, the potential of
offender profiling was discovered. His involvement in the John Duffy
case proved vital in convicting the railway rapist who was originally
in a list of about 2000 suspects for two murders and five rapes.
Canter believed that the offender was a man who had or had previously
been in a long-term relationship with a woman, most likely with a
violent history within this relationship. He was right because Duffy
had first come to police attention after raping his ex-wife at
knifepoint. His need for sexual dominance was clear at this early
stage. His ex-wife recalled incidents throughout their marriage where
he had bound her and forced her to have sex with him against her will.
Canter also suggested that the offender would be living in the
Kilburn area of London where the most of the crimes were committed, in
places the attacker was familiar with.
12 of Canter’s assumptions were spot-on, Surveillance was carried out
and Duffy’s activities convinced detectives that he was their man. He
was later arrested.
Following a series of interviews with Duffy and further forensic
investigation, his childhood friend David Mulcahy was also arrested.
He was found guilty and sentenced to 3 life sentences for murder and
also received 24-year jail terms on each of the 7 rapes and 18 years
each for 5 conspiracies to rape.
B)
The outcome of this case really did help the reputation of offender
profiling which was thought to be very unreliable up until David
Canter proved how useful it could be in solving a crime.
There were some aspects of his method though which were unconvincing,
was wrapping a piece of twine around her neck while he sodomized her. The twine
marriage. She was to do just as he said, without so much as uttering a
what he did, death became his punishment. Not only does he beat her, but he
with it and blamed the slave woman Tituba for forcing her to join the devil.
Racial Profiling can happen to anyone, anywhere such as the streets, in the airports, or even just walking home. Racial profiling and the media influence an individual’s perspective on a trial. Racial Profiling is using someone’s race or ethnic background as suspicion for committing a crime. Evidence from past trials dating back to 1920s Sacco and Vanzetti trial to George Zimmerman’s trial in 2013 prove that racial profiling has existed for nearly a century. According to the article “The Quiet Racism in the Zimmerman Trial” by Steven Mazie, he states
There has always been racial profiling in our history. The problem here is that at some point the ones who are oppressed and discriminated sooner o later will claim why they are treated unequally. There are many examples around the world, but one only has to take a look at how the American society has been designed to realize the great difference between individuals. It was even normal and acceptable to see these differences during the creation of this nation because the ones who supposedly had the power and knowledge of conquering made sure to create a huge division between leaders and subordinates.
Every day you see and hear about minorities groups complain about cops and their tactics against them stopping them while in traffic taking them in to custody or even getting kill over nothing. Racial Profiling is a common thing in this community and it is causing a lot of trouble. According to Minnesota House of Representatives analyst Jim Cleary, "there appear to be at least two clearly distinguishable definitions of the term 'racial profiling ': a narrow definition and a broad definition... Under the narrow definition, racial profiling occurs when a police officer stops, questions, arrests, and/or searches someone solely on the basis of the person 's race or ethnicity... Some ways to stop it is find out who is guilty of it, look at their
Over the last few decades classification systems for offenders have been used for a variety of organizational purposes. Over time these classification systems have evolved, not only as a whole in the criminal justice system, but also varying between different organizations. Classification systems that create models based on the risks and needs of offenders are most popular. Throughout the years these models and the purposes for their use have been in a state of change, as well as the way their effectiveness is gaged.
did a great un-justice to her emotionally, crippling her for the rest of her life.
Rape, murder, theft, and other crimes almost always leave a devastating mark on the victim. More often than not, it would be impossible to identify the perpetrator a crime without forensic science and the technology it uses. Forensic science allows investigators to unmask the secrets of the crime scene. Evidence gathered at the crime scene helps to identify the guilty party, murder weapon, and even the identity of the victim (Harkawy, 1991: 276). The new technologies enables the forensic experts to have better and faster access to accumulated information, to be more accurate in the identification of victims or delinquents, and minimizes the possibility of wrongful accusations. New technology has improved the methods and techniques that forensic scientists and law enforcement investigators use, in order to provide a safer environment for other people. Information technology is one of the most important aspects in forensic science. It is very important for the forensic experts to receive the undisturbed evidence, such as fingerprints left at the crime scene, as quickly as possible, for more accurate readings. Thus using space technology, such as satellite communication, enables the forensic experts to "gather and digitize evidence at the crime scene, enter it into an on-site computer, and beam the data to a crime lab for swift analysis" (Paula, 1998: 12). Therefore, due to the use of this technology, forensic experts in laboratories can examine the evidence in short time, and the possibility of damage or unlawful manipulation of the evidence before the trial is minimal (Paula, 1998: 12). More often than not, "criminals" wear gloves at the time of the crime, thus to obtain a fingerprint...
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.
Chapter 6: Psychological profiling is gathering information on a person, such as background investigations, observations, psychological tests, personality inventories, risk assessment instruments, and interviews with that person or with those who know him or her. Psychological profiling was originated during WWII by the US OSS. Psychological profiling was used to predict what Hitler would do after an allied victory and hoe he should be dealt with if he was captured. Threat assessment helps predict if a threat is serious or not. Threat assessment plays a huge part in school violence/shootings. Some early warning signs of violence are preferring music expressing violent themes, victim of bullying and/or lack of impose control. Warnings signs
“It’s really clear that the most effective way to turn a nonviolent person into a violent one is to send them to prison,” says Harvard University criminologist James Gilligan. The American prison system takes nonviolent offenders and makes them live side-by-side with hardened killers. The very nature of prison, no matter people view it, produces an environment that is inevitably harmful to its residents.
“AHHHHhhhhh!” I let out a girlish scream and squirmed as shivers went strait up my spine. I was glued to the latest episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a show that I have watched religiously since its debut. Criminology is something that has always fascinated me, and is a career that I hope to pursue in the future as an FBI agent. I frequently surf the web looking for short stories to read about different criminal cases and to find information about job opportunities and internships. One day I found a website of an organization that studied crime independently of the government. I was immediately intrigued by the organization, and began reading about the American Society of Criminology.
gave in to his feelings by marrying her in spite of her and her family's