offender profiling

Question 1

offender profiling

Answer 1

the process of using all the available info about a crime, crime scene and a victim, in order to compose a profile of the perpetrator

Question 2

profiling approaches

Answer 2

top-down approach: applying generalised info to build picture of perpetrator, bottom-up approach: analysing details of the crime scene to build a profile and drawing from other statistical evidence

Question 3

offender ‘profile’

Answer 3

The organised: well-planned action, criminal sophistication, trace manipulation. The disorganised offender: action not carefully thought through, low intelligence/criminal sophistication, one-time offender/spontaneity.

Question 4

advantages

Answer 4

It provides useful investigative information. When CCTV footage is lacking, criminal profiling may be utilised to uncover evidence about offenders and crimes. This technique can generate leads when other forensic evidence is minimal. It requires no physical description to begin investigations

Question 5

disadvantages

Answer 5

It profiles based only on educated assumptions. One risk with criminal profiling is that investigators can mistakenly pursue an inaccurate offender profile. If a perpetrator’s characteristics fall outside the predicted profile, authorities using that profile may fail.A flawed set of profile assumptions can steer law enforcement resources towards focusing on the wrong suspect pool entirely.