Offender Profiling

Offender Profiling

1. FBI

   • America
   • 'Organised'
     • Sexually & physically competent
     • Plans the offence
     • Hides the evidence
     • Relatively smart - higher than average IQ
   • Disorganised
     • Leaves the evidence at crime scene
     • Sexually and emotionally inadequate
     • Does not plan
   • Does not take into account all types of crime (limitation)
   • Offenders have to be distinguished as either 'organised' or 'disorganised'. It does not explain offenders with a mixture of characteristics. Therefore it is a reductionist. (Limitation)
   • Has been adopted worldwide such as the NCID offender programme in the Netherlands; it is also used in Canada. Its a universal technique. (Strength)
   • Allows investigators to have a clear idea of whom they may be seeking. It also speeds up the process. They can also make possible links between other crimes (strength)

2. Offender profiling is the collection of empirical data in order to build up a picture of the characteristics of those involved in certain types of crime. There are 3 types: FBI, investigative and geographical

3. Geographical Approach

   • Suggests that the location and crime scene analysis should be focused on
   • Britain
   • A number of procedures have to be done
     • - Looking at the case file - Analysing the crime scene - Meeting with the police and personnel - Analysing the location and street map
   • Canter distinguished between two types of offenders, marauders who commit crime in their own neighbourhood and commuters who travel to commit crime
   • Using the location is a good starting point for the investigator. It would explore where the offender may live.
   • To support the theory, Canter used this approach for the Railway Rapist Case. Canter pin pointed 23 cases on a map and was able to speculate where the rapist may live. He found John Duffy as the offender. Canter was credited for the accuracy from the usage of approach (strength)
   • However, just because it worked for one case does not mean it can be applied to all cases. It may not work for all types of crimes (limitation)
   • It is more useful as it considers other types of crimes that the FBI approach does not such as burglary and car theft (strength)