Lecture 10: Geographic Profiling

Question 1

what I GP

Answer 1

• An investigative methodology used to determine the most probable location of an offender’s anchor point, (usually their residence), by analysing crime related spatial and temporal data
  o Used to try and prioritise an area / anchor point
  o Temporal and spactial activity of offences
• Supports single incident and series of crime

Question 2

WHAT needs t be known to GP

Answer 2

• What time of date it happened
• Route they took after crime  eg what way they moved after
• Where the offences took place

Question 3

what type of cases do GPs usually do

Answer 3

Vast majority of cases Foucses on serial crime and geographic software  not the core of cases in the UK (85%) where offences are usually single cases (so cant use the software) distorted picture

Question 4

what is the work from GP also used in

Answer 4

• Animal hunting behavioural activity
• Sourcing origins of disease
  o London 1953 cholera outbreak

Question 5

what is the only certainty in offending

Answer 5

The only certainty in a crime of a violent/sexual nature is that the offender and victim come together at a time and location. ‘Everything happens somewhere’

Question 6

what are the theories of GP

Answer 6

least effort principle 
distance decay 
routine activity theory 
the brantinghams crime site selection model 
rational choice theory

Question 7

who created the least effort principle

Answer 7

zipf 1950

Question 8

describe the least effort principle

Answer 8

• Laziness of humans
• Zipf 1950
• Different opportunities, all equal, tend to always go for the closest one
• ‘Everything else being equal we will use least effort’
  o Find out why the encompass the least effort
•  Applicable in Non-Criminal and Criminal Behaviour.

Question 9

what is distance decay

Answer 9

• We don’t always do things in the same place, but seem to have a certain distance that you are willing to go
• Looking at criminals and criminal acitivity around this
• Model looks at how far criminals go from their home to their crime
  o Aggregated data
• Buffer zone (green)
  o Don’t always like to commit crime too close to home  people know them etc

Question 10

In distance decay, what is meant by a biuffer zone

Answer 10

don’t always commit a crime to close to the home, as people will know the criminal

Question 11

what is routine activity theory

Answer 11

• Criminals are non-criminal In many things they do (eg eating sleeping)
• To commit a crime you have to have these three things
  o 3 things together= crime opportunity
  o Often doing a routine activity (non-crimnal) when commit a crime

Question 12

who created routine activity theory

Answer 12

• Cohen and felson 1979

Question 13

what are the 3 things needed to commit a crime according to the routine activity theory

Answer 13

motivated offender
suitable target
lack of capable guardian

Question 14

what are the three anchor points according to brantinghams crime site selection model

Answer 14

• 3 anchor points (important locations)
  o Home
  o Work
  o Recreation

Question 15

what is brantinghams crime site selection model

Answer 15

• Crimes tend to be located around anchor points and the journeys between the routes

Question 16

describe the rational choice theory

Answer 16

-	Crimes are outcomes of choices made by offenders 
o	Involvement & Planning 
o	Execution & Opportunity 
-	Cost/Benefit analysis 
o	Goals, Resources & Risk 
-	Factors affecting rationality
o	 State of mind 
-	Individual differences 
-	choices change over time
o	 Knowledge and Experience
-	Changes on each occasion

Question 17

what factors affect rationality

Answer 17

state of mind
individual diff
motivation
knowledge and experienes

Question 18

what motivates crime

Answer 18

• Patterning of crime = physical and mental components
• Motivation
• Opportunity
• Mobility
• Perception

Question 19

why does GP work

Answer 19

Geographic profiling works because criminal behaviour and human movement are not random processes

Question 20

how Is the brain involed in criminals areas that they commit crimes

Answer 20

Sense of place and the ability to navigate are fundamental to our existence, the sense of place gives a perception of position in the environment

• Hippocampus
• Entohinal cortes

Question 21

name some softwares that GPs use

Answer 21

• Eg dragnet  canter
• Rigels software
• Colours= likely hood of areas where the anchor points are from where the crimes were committed
  o Red most likely anchor points
  o Gives prioritisation of homes (peak area) where the criminals anchor poits are

Question 22

how can cctv assist GP

Answer 22

• Help identify pre and post offence movement of the offender
• Eg if post offence heading the opposite way to was following the victim, then might suggest his home is in that area towards walking

Not only finding out where they live but also finding out if they are a commuter

Question 23

WHAT DID canter 1994 say about GP

Answer 23

• Hunter  near hme base
• Or commuter  travels to a location away from their home base
• Or a fishing hole (Norris 1988)

Question 24

what did colin Sutton describe GP as

Answer 24

‘Geographic profiling a serial criminal makes a lot more sense than the more traditional psychological profiling… Geographic profiling is a much more exact science that can help target resources and enquiries into a specific place.’