Criminal Profiling

Question 1

Criminal profilers are NO BETTER in being able to identify a criminal or criminal behaviour than a 300-level psychology student at UoO: true or false?

Answer 1

True

(While it is an increasingly popular “method” of finding and analysing criminals and their behaviour, its presence especially in the media creates unrealistic expectations of criminal profiling, and is not as hard or legitimate as it is purported to be. Psychologists are equally as capable at creating profiles, as are most other professions, including students and economists.)

Question 2

Criminal profiling can be inductive, deductive or:

Answer 2

Typological

Question 3

Profiling that takes our prior knowledge of offenders from statistical data and applies it to individual cases is:

Answer 3

Inductive

Question 4

Profiling that analyses behaviour directly from the case/crime scene is:

Answer 4

Deductive

Question 5

Inductive profiling assumes that individuals who commit similar crimes therefore have similar characteristics. This assumption is called:

Answer 5

The homology assumption

(Homo = same.)

Question 6

What type of profiling assumes the behavioural consistency assumption - that an offender’s behaviour is consistent over time?

Answer 6

Inductive

Question 7

“Modus operandi” means:

Answer 7

Method of operation

Question 8

An offender’s behaviour which is not required in order to commit a crime (e.g. covering the victim’s body with a blanket after killing them) is called a:

Answer 8

Signature

Question 9

Which type of profiling assumes that offenders always have a motive?

Answer 9

Deductive

Question 10

People are likely to believe so strongly in criminal profiling due to which 2 factors?

Answer 10

Messages, the mind