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,
feared him in some aspects. That he forced himself on her, and that it was not
was wrapping a piece of twine around her neck while he sodomized her. The twine
When police stop someone of a minority because they fit the profile of suspect people become outraged and say that the officer was racially profiling. White argues that profiling based on statistical evidence is an effective way to save time, money and sometimes lives. Many people feel the opposite of White and say that profiling is a way to harass minorities and make them feel unequal in the land of the free. Many people that are pro-profiling say that it happens in almost everything we do, from applying to college to interview for a job. Even shop owners profile so why can’t the police department profile when they are trying to keep the city streets safe. The individuals against profiling say that it targets minorities in order to make them feel out of
Being a criminal profiler is not like it is on all the television shows, but it is still an interesting and important job. Criminal profilers have been used to close many police and federal cases. They work in several homicide cases involving rape, racial killings, brutal killings, and involving serial killers. They help make it easier for the police to find the right person by examining the crime scene. Being a criminal profiler is a tough job but with hard work and dedication it is a great career choice.
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
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.
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.
“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.
Imagine this: You are in a crime scene. The air is cold and dry, almost as if in a storage locker or laboratory. The room is neat and tidy; everything has a place that has been carefully planned. The victim, positioned and dressed peacefully, lays in the center of the room. There are no visible wounds or signs of a struggle, but you see drag marks where a large object has been pulled across the carpet. Though, there are currently no suspects, the investigating authorities have received a calling card with a cryptic message.
Criminal profiling isn`t a common career path most middle aged individuals aim for, but its most definitely going to be the field I succeed in working in. Criminal profiling requires two college degrees which involve four years of psychology, and four years of sociology for the minimum requirements. This job requires those degrees because you`re trying to comprehend the behavior of criminals, formerly caught criminals, and the mentally ill in order to stop crimes before they occur or stop another of the same kind from happening again. Crimes occur at any given moment all over the United States, so traveling around to new areas is a perk by itself while on the job, as well as interrogations of suspects or everyday people in the streets, and in private. Here`s details for why this is my career choice.
From the beginning of the course, I read each unit and prepared my posting for that week. I tried to post it before the weekend, so my peers have enough time to read and respond to it. I engaged in each week discussion by commenting on my group posting also responded to their feedback. Unit 01: I watched the video about Newt Gringrich said adolescence is a failed cultural model, and young people need to shift more quickly from childhood to adulthood. I wrote down about my reaction to the video and my disagreement. Unit 02 activity I used the library’s online search resources, and I found an article on a topic related to adolescence which I picked the study research about Does proper nutrition = good behavior? Does diet affect the young adult criminal behavior? I explained how the research conducted Who were the participants and how they have selected the study? I also Commented objectively on the case study. Unit 03: I watched Mr. Peter Benson's video about “Sparks” and answered the question about the distinction between the internal and external assets. I also commented on parent’s role in identifying and nourishing their teenager’s spark and helping them to find their way by doing what they love to do. Unit 04: systemic assessment for writing the fit circle for the first attempt I wrote about achieving High self-esteem and for the second attempt I wrote about Academic Success in Immigrant Students and the systemic factors.
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).
The process of inferring the personality characteristics of individuals responsible for committing criminal acts has commonly been referred to as criminal profiling. (Turvey) Criminal profiling can also be referred to as, behavioral profiling because when a profiler creates a profile they refer to the behavior of the offender. The general term criminal profiling can also be referred to as crime scene profiling, criminal personality profiling, offender profiling, psychological profiling and criminal investigative analysis. All the terms listed above are used inconsistently and interchangeably. Modern criminal profiling is owing to a diverse history grounded in the study of criminal behavior (criminology), the study of mental illness (psychology and psychiatry), and the examination of physical evidence (the forensic sciences). (Turvey) There are four very important elements that contribute to the making of a criminal profile. These elements are victimology, wound pattern analysis, crime scene characteristics and criminology. Victimology is the study of victims. The profilers ask themselves questions such as, “Why this person?” and “Was the victim related to their killer or attacker?” Wound pattern analysis is the study of the way the wounds on the victim were made. Crime scene characteristics help to the making of a profile by showing profilers what exactly went on during the crime. Criminology is the study of the crime, criminals and criminal behaviors.
According to Rachel Boba, “Crime analysis is a law enforcement function that involves systematic analysis for identifying and analyzing patterns and trends in crime and disorder” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime analysis).The information on these patterns can assist law enforcement agencies in the deployment of resources in a more effective manner; it can also help detectives to identify and catch suspects. Crime analysis also plays a role in improvising solutions to crime problems, and developing crime prevention strategies. There are various types of technology that is used in crime analysis. Crime analysis relies heavily on computer technology, and over the past fifteen years there has been a significant improvement in computer hardware and software that has led to tremendous developments in this field. One form of hardware that is used by Crime analysts to complete most of their work is Desktop personal computers, laptop computers are also used by crime analysts for fieldwork and presentations. Other forms of hardware that are used include color laser printers that can produce high-quality documents quickly, plotters which are printers that can produce large poster size color maps, scanners, and digital cameras, these specific types of hardware is mostly used by police departments when analyzing crime.
Victim precipitation is a theory in criminology that analyzes how a victim 's interaction with the offender may have contributed to the crime being committed. Variation of intent by the offender and how the victim may or may not have contributed to the crime, regardless of the actions. With some offenders looking for the right situation to commit a crime, others show little to no prior intent. The approach with assumption that all offenders are equal in their drive and desire to engage in criminal activity was untenable. In 1974, Curtis attempted an integrated approach and sketched a grid that allows the degree of victim precipitation to vary. This strategy recognized five degrees of precipitation, ranging from pure victim precipitation to total offender responsibility. The table (p. 14) "The Precipitation Grid Outlining the Relative Responsibility