Offender Profiling

Question 1

What are the goals of offender profiling?

Answer 1

Provide Justice system with psychological assessment of offender and evaluation of evidence found on them. Provide interview suggestions and strategies (Reid- 9step).

Question 2

What is the significance of the crime scene in profiling?

Answer 2

Belief that what happened during crime gives evidence to perpetrator. Clues about impulsivity (one of the biggest crime predictors) levels of sadism, aggression.

Question 3

What is the theoretical basis of offender profiling?

Answer 3

Based on two underlying assumptions. 1. consistency - offender will behave in similar way in every offence (crime linkage- no mater what offence)
2. Homology- people who commit crime in similar style will have similar characteristics (matching: offender to offence)

Question 4

What are the characteristics of the FBI model of profiling?

Answer 4

1st systematic approach. Subjective, deductive, clinical experience needed. Infer characteristics of offender from analysis of the crime scene. Brought into spotlight by Dr Brussels.

Question 5

Explain 2 famous cases that involved FBI model profiling.

Answer 5

The Mad Bomber NY- 1957 diagnosed to be mad after reading letters left with undetonated bombs and detailed profile was made. Wasn’t Brussel’s who helped, was good clerical work. ?
Boston Strangler 60’s- psychics brought in then Brussels. Good police work caught him.

Question 6

What are Howitt’s 4 stages of constructing a profile?

Answer 6

1. Data assimilation- infer emotional state, level of sophistication and control from case materials, forensic info
2. Crime scene classification- identify motivation. organised/disorganised
3. Crime scene reconstruction- identify MO
4. Profile generation

Question 7

What are the characteristics of investigative psychology model of profiling?

Answer 7

Developed by David Canter whole believes crime is a type of interpersonal transaction. It is actuarial, statistical and inductive.

Question 8

What are the 5 approached of investigative psychology?

Answer 8

1. Interpersonal coherence role offender assigns victim
2. Time and place
3. Criminal characteristics
4. criminal career
5. forensic awareness

Question 9

What are the complications for investigative psychology?

Answer 9

That the offender will change and develop. in responsiveness, maturation, development, learning and career-> combat by 3 identifiers of same victim- planning, wounding, offender/victim interaction