E3a1 Offender profiling

Question 1

Criminal consistency

Answer 1

the idea that a person will commit a crime in a way that mirrors his or her own personality or ability. An organised person will commit an organised crime

Question 2

Profile

Answer 2

a list of predicted abilities, personality characteristics, occupation, marital status, etc, that can be used to narrow down a list of suspects for a crime

Question 3

Clues a criminal may leave at the crime scene

Answer 3

1) type of victim
2) type of crime
3) location
4) time of day/ night
5) specific features of crime
6) what is taken (souvenirs)/ left behind

Question 4

Aims of offender profiling

Answer 4

1) help narrow down suspects
2) predict type of future victims and offences
3) give clues about evidence that might be found on the criminal (e.g souvenirs)
4) suggest interview techniques for police to use on criminal

Question 5

Creating a profile

Answer 5

1) Analysis of crime- police make detailed records of victim, place, photos, DNA evidence, time of day
2) building a profile- criminal profiler constructs a list of probable features of criminal:
sex of offender
race
age
marital status
occupation
intellectual ability
possible criminal history
area where criminal lives

Question 6

Problems with offender profiling

Answer 6

1) can lead to the entrapment and victimization f innocent people (e.g Colin Stagg)
2) if a profile is wrong, a criminal could slip through unnoticed
3) most police officers think they’re useful ut that they don’t always solve a crime- traditional policing still more effective
4) some argue it is nothing better than experienced guesswork