Offender Profiling

Offender Profiling

1. The preparation of a biographical 'sketch' gathered from information taken at the crime scene, from the personal history and habits of a victim, and integrating this with known psychological theory

2. Crime scenes

   • Traditional evidence: -Saliva -Bloodstains -Semen
   • Offender profiling: -The location -Choice of victim -Nature of the assault -The time -What is and not said to the victim

3. Someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short interval : serial killer

4. A person who is responsible for the deaths of many victims in a single incident : mass murderer

5. Building an offender profile

   • VICTIMOLOGY
     • Why the victim was chosen. Was the victim known.
     • Things need to be known about the victim to provide clues about the offender
   • INTERACTIONIST STYLE
     • How long the offender spends interacting with the victim
   • TROPHIES AND SOUVENIRS
     • Offenders take things from the victims to keep
   • OFFENDING SITE
     • Small radius of home or very far from home
   • SIGNATURE
     • An indicator that an offender uses that doesn't change
   • SEX
     • Significance of sexual activity
   • CAPTURE STYLE
     • The way offenders caught their victims.
   • PREVIOUS HISTORY
     • Forensic awareness.
     • History of the crime
     • An escalation of violence during crime period
   • BODY DEPOSITION SITE
     • Where bodies are disposed of
   • NATURE OF CRIME
     • Tortured victim. Complex crime means smart offender
   • TIMING OF OFFENCE
     • Time period between offences correspond with events to do with the offender e.g absence of offences while the offender is in prison for another offence
   • PATTERN OF INJURIES
     • Significant injuries/wounds

6. The Typology approach

   • Early work by the FBI indicated a broad distinction between organised offenders and disorganised offenders
   • Distinction was based on interviews and case details of 36 serial sex offenders who volunteered to be interviewed about their crimes.
   • According to the Crime Classification Manual, the organised/disorganised typology can be applied to all sexually motivated murders and some cases of arson
   • Douglas suggested that a third category: 'mixed' offender, be added to the system to accommodate those who cannot easily be categorised as either organised or disorganised.
   • ORGANISED OFFENDER. Crime Scene Characteristics: -Evidence of planning -Victim is a stranger -Controlled conversation -Use of restraints -Removes weapons from scene -Body hidden
     • Like Personality and Behaviour: -Average to high intelligence -Socially competent -Skilled employment -Sexually competent -Living with partner
   • DISORGANISED OFFENDER: Crime Scene Characteristics: -Little evidence of planning -Victim is known -Little conversation -Leaves evidence -Little use of restraint -Body in open view
     • Likely Personality and Behaviour: -Below average intelligence -Socially inadequate -Unskilled employment -Sexually incompetent -Lives alone and close to scene
   • EVALUATION
     • Although the organised/disorganised distinction is widely cited, its validity has not been established.
     • Interviews conducted to establish the two types were with a limited sample
     • Distinction is an oversimplification and the addition of a third category brings into question the original notion of only two types
     • Canter et al. (2004) questioned the distinction, arguing that whilst there is some evidence for a subset of 'organised' features being typical of most serial killers, there is no evidence of a disorganised type

7. The Geographical approach