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
Traditional
evidence:
-Saliva
-Bloodstains
-Semen
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
VICTIMOLOGY
Why the victim was chosen.
Was the victim known.
Things need to be known
about the victim to provide
clues about the offender
INTERACTIONIST STYLE
How long the offender spends
interacting with the victim
TROPHIES AND SOUVENIRS
Offenders take things
from the victims to keep
OFFENDING SITE
Small radius of home or very far from home
SIGNATURE
An indicator that an offender
uses that doesn't change
SEX
Significance of sexual activity
CAPTURE STYLE
The way offenders
caught their victims.
PREVIOUS HISTORY
Forensic awareness.
History of the crime
An escalation of violence
during crime period
BODY DEPOSITION SITE
Where bodies are disposed of
NATURE OF CRIME
Tortured victim. Complex crime
means smart offender
TIMING OF OFFENCE
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
PATTERN OF INJURIES
Significant injuries/wounds
The Typology approach
Early work by the FBI indicated a
broad distinction between organised
offenders and disorganised offenders
Distinction was based on interviews and case
details of 36 serial sex offenders who volunteered
to be interviewed about their crimes.
According to the Crime Classification Manual, the
organised/disorganised typology can be applied to all
sexually motivated murders and some cases of arson
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.
ORGANISED
OFFENDER. Crime
Scene Characteristics:
-Evidence of planning
-Victim is a stranger
-Controlled conversation
-Use of restraints
-Removes weapons
from scene -Body hidden
Like Personality
and Behaviour:
-Average to high
intelligence
-Socially competent
-Skilled
employment
-Sexually competent
-Living with partner
DISORGANISED
OFFENDER: Crime
Scene
Characteristics: -Little
evidence of planning
-Victim is known
-Little conversation
-Leaves evidence
-Little use of restraint
-Body in open view
Likely Personality
and Behaviour:
-Below average
intelligence
-Socially
inadequate
-Unskilled
employment
-Sexually
incompetent -Lives
alone and close to
scene
EVALUATION
Although the organised/disorganised
distinction is widely cited, its validity
has not been established.
Interviews conducted to
establish the two types
were with a limited sample
Distinction is an
oversimplification and the
addition of a third category
brings into question the
original notion of only two
types
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