Offender Profiling

Question 1

what is offender profiling ?

Answer 1

BELIEF THAT CHARACTERISTICS OF AN OFFENDER CAN BE DEDUCED BY A CAREFUL AND CONSIDERED EXAMINATION OF HE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OFFENCE.

it cannot identify who committed the crime, but t can suggest probable characteristics an offender may possess

Question 2

the interactive offence

Answer 2

this is a complex social interaction.

there are many factors that influence/ have an impact on the offender….two main factors and time and space —–
the offender has some control over how to react and their actions remain constant.

Question 3

STEP 1- data collection

Answer 3

statements, briefing, crime scene visit

Question 4

problems with data

Answer 4

access to data is difficult

cognitive bias-limited quality and quantity

not collected for purpose of behavioural interpretation

Question 5

STEP 2- analysis to inference three elements of crime

Answer 5

location: type, selection-familiar, escape
victim: routine, risk, personality
offender: aggression, weapon, injuries, items missing

Question 6

STEP 3 - assimilation and action

Answer 6

what does this tell us about the offender?– extreme violence=extremely violent?

to provide evidence based, written report—fully backed rationale

Question 7

underlying principles

Answer 7

CONSISTENCY—
— is there consistency between offences and in crime and everyday behaviour?

HOMOLOGY—
— do offenders committing similar offences have similar backgrounds?

DO WE PREDICT SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS RATHER THAN TRAITS?

Question 8

positive finding using offender profiling

Answer 8

FBI-64 murder scenes to 6 profiles

profilers wrote richer and more accurate sexual profiles compared to detectives

77% success in focusing investigation

Question 9

improvements

Answer 9

not yet 100% acceptable because it is too vague

the conclusions are too over-rated

not discriminatory

Question 10

accuracy

Answer 10

accurate info doesn’t mean it is helpful

a major flaw of current profiling methods
is that most all profiles emphasizes the
various psychological functions that
murder has for the offender not what varieties
of action the murder actually consists
of.

Consequently, these profiles
make little distinction between the overt
crime scene behaviours as they occur in
murders and the psycho-dynamic processes
that are taken to account for or
produce that behaviour. 

Hence, there is
little attempt by profilers to differentiate
between aspects of the offender’s motivations
and life-style from aspects of his
offending behaviour.

Question 11

summary

Answer 11

offender profiling is now within the BIA and a range of services re offered

media depictions are often inaccurate

there are many controversies and issues

BIA make a small yet significant contribution