Offender Profiling

The preparation of a biographical 'sketch' gathered from information taken at the crime scene, from the personal history and habits of a victim, and integrating this with known psychological theory
Crime scenes
1. Traditional evidence: -Saliva -Bloodstains -Semen
2. Offender profiling: -The location -Choice of victim -Nature of the assault -The time -What is and not said to the victim
Someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short interval : serial killer
A person who is responsible for the deaths of many victims in a single incident : mass murderer
Building an offender profile
1. VICTIMOLOGY
  1. Why the victim was chosen. Was the victim known.
  2. Things need to be known about the victim to provide clues about the offender
2. INTERACTIONIST STYLE
  1. How long the offender spends interacting with the victim
3. TROPHIES AND SOUVENIRS
  1. Offenders take things from the victims to keep
4. OFFENDING SITE
  1. Small radius of home or very far from home
5. SIGNATURE
  1. An indicator that an offender uses that doesn't change
6. SEX
  1. Significance of sexual activity
7. CAPTURE STYLE
  1. The way offenders caught their victims.
8. PREVIOUS HISTORY
  1. Forensic awareness.
  2. History of the crime
  3. An escalation of violence during crime period
9. BODY DEPOSITION SITE
  1. Where bodies are disposed of
10. NATURE OF CRIME
  1. Tortured victim. Complex crime means smart offender
11. TIMING OF OFFENCE
  1. Time period between offences correspond with events to do with the offender e.g absence of offences while the offender is in prison for another offence
12. PATTERN OF INJURIES
  1. Significant injuries/wounds
The Typology approach
1. Early work by the FBI indicated a broad distinction between organised offenders and disorganised offenders
2. Distinction was based on interviews and case details of 36 serial sex offenders who volunteered to be interviewed about their crimes.
3. According to the Crime Classification Manual, the organised/disorganised typology can be applied to all sexually motivated murders and some cases of arson
4. Douglas suggested that a third category: 'mixed' offender, be added to the system to accommodate those who cannot easily be categorised as either organised or disorganised.
5. ORGANISED OFFENDER. Crime Scene Characteristics: -Evidence of planning -Victim is a stranger -Controlled conversation -Use of restraints -Removes weapons from scene -Body hidden
  1. Like Personality and Behaviour: -Average to high intelligence -Socially competent -Skilled employment -Sexually competent -Living with partner
6. DISORGANISED OFFENDER: Crime Scene Characteristics: -Little evidence of planning -Victim is known -Little conversation -Leaves evidence -Little use of restraint -Body in open view
  1. Likely Personality and Behaviour: -Below average intelligence -Socially inadequate -Unskilled employment -Sexually incompetent -Lives alone and close to scene
7. EVALUATION
  1. Although the organised/disorganised distinction is widely cited, its validity has not been established.
  2. Interviews conducted to establish the two types were with a limited sample
  3. Distinction is an oversimplification and the addition of a third category brings into question the original notion of only two types
  4. Canter et al. (2004) questioned the distinction, arguing that whilst there is some evidence for a subset of 'organised' features being typical of most serial killers, there is no evidence of a disorganised type
The Geographical approach

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Offender Profiling

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	Created by riacooke4 over 10 years ago