Criminal Personality Profiling

When criminologists build criminal profiles, they think about how the killer gained access to the victim, what the killer did to the victim, if the killer tried to cover his or her tracks and how, what about the victim attracted the killer to target them, and what motive or fantasy drove the killer to hurt the victim how and where they did.

In criminology, is very important to study why people commit crime when deciding how crime should be handled and prevented. This type of study is known as criminal profiling. Many theories have developed over the years, and they continue to be researched, alone and in combination, as criminologists seek the best solutions in reducing specific types and levels of crime. While all crime theories are designed to try to explain and understand criminal activity and the people that commit them, it is an ongoing science. No one theory can define all crime. However, it can be used usefully to help us understand crime a little better and help criminologists find new ways to deal with and eliminate criminal behavior. I am going to discuss one

Throughout the years, profiling has been successful at seeking out justice by detaining many wanted criminals, and has set the bar for many years of criminal apprehensions in many communities. Criminal characteristics are significant in all criminal investigations as much indication can reveal that the most important part for analysis is to further examine how patterns of criminal involvement emerges and transforms; this would also include examining the modus operandi (method of operation) of criminals that are relevant not only for the criminal structures, but for the general public as well (Ford, 2013).

Disorganized criminals lead to ones who may be young, under the influence, or mentally ill. According to retired FBI agent Gregg McCrary, “The basic premise is that behavior reflects personality.” By using criminal profiling agents can use the behavior of certain criminals to learn more about

Criminal profiling is also defined as an educated attempt to provide investigative agencies with specific information about a certain type of suspect. A profiler should be able to develop typologies, understand the link between the characteristics of offenders and the crime scene, suggest proactive, investigative and trial strategies and therefore develop information that is useful in violent crime investigations, such as prevention. Therefore, whether criminal profiling is scientifically useful and effective, the validities and abilities of criminal profiling to investigations will be

Criminal profiling is another subject of criminal and forensic psychology, which is probably one of the oldest studies of forensic science. Criminal profiling has been called many things, such as behavioral profiling, crime scene profiling, criminal personality profiling, psychological profiling, and more recently even criminal investigation analysis. Criminal profiling’s history has come from a history of criminal behavior, the study of mental illnesses, and forensic examinations.

154). Although criminal profiling is common in fictional crime dramas such as Law and Order, evidence suggests that profiling is advantageous in a limited number of circumstances and should not be used in place of a thorough investigation (Greene & Heilbrun, 2014, p. 142). One 1990 study found that while profilers had the most detailed and accurate predictions for sex offense cases, they showed no statistical advantage in predicting homicides (Greene & Heilbrun, 2014, p. 153). Moreover, research by Homant and Kennedy cautioned reliance on criminal profiles due to the fact that inaccurate profiles are common, limited to a fairly small number of offenders, and use methods that have not been systematically verified (Greene & Heilbrun, 2014, p. 153). As demonstrated by the FBI’s attempt to profile terrorists after the 9/11 attacks, scrutinizing a population on the basis of particular risk factors can produce a large number “false positives” by which those who are predicted to present a threat actually do not (Greene & Heilbrun, 2014, p. 149). In the case of Bloodsworth, reliance on the criminal profiling by detectives heightened the chances of a wrongful conviction (Junkin, 2005, p.75). Using criminal profiling as a framework for reviewing suspects, detectives Capel and Ramsey singled an innocent Bloodsworth out of over 500 suspects (Junkin, 2005,

The purpose of this study is to identify the accuracy of FBI criminal profiles, to evaluate the effectiveness of the released profiles, and to analyze the most useful aspects of the criminal profile. The data collection and analysis that will form the foundation of my research will be a qualitative procedure that will answer the following questions: How accurate are FBI criminal profiles? How effective are the FBI criminal profiles? What aspect of the FBI criminal profile has most contributed to the apprehending of the criminal?

The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of psychological profiling as an investigative tool for the future. The paper will try to focus on what happens if profiles are developed that have not accurately portrayed the apprehended. Additionally this paper will be reviewing the Baton Rouge Serial Killer and The Unabomer cases in order to answer additional questions such as; what were the main criticisms documented in these specific cases, how can a profiler achieve the desired end results using the resources available, and what future challenges do you see this approach facing as more

Psychological profiling is defined as a process of linking an offender’s actions at the crime scene to their most likely characteristics to help police investigators narrow down and prioritize a pool of most likely suspects (Psychological Profiling, n.d.). The psychological profiling of offenders has three goals; to provide the criminal justice system with a social and psychological assessment of the offender, to provide the criminal justice system with a psychological evaluation of belongings found in the possession of the offender, and to provide interviewing suggestions and strategies (Holmes & Holmes, 2009). Profiling of suspects can be tracked as far back to the 1880’s. However, it wasn’t until the twentieth century that forensic psychology

Generally, there is often an absence of strong empirical evidence to support criminal profiling. In a study by Eastwood et al. (2006), existing research on the validity of criminal profiling was analyzed, to determine whether this technique can be counted on to aid in criminal investigations. One of the studies that was noted in the review was by Pinizzotto and Finkel (1990), and involved asking different groups of people, including actual profilers, university students, police detectives and clinical psychologists, to create a profile based on details about a particular crime. The results showed that the trained criminal profilers did not do any better than the other groups in creating an accurate profile which could predict who the culprit was. Similar results were acquired in another study, which evaluated police officers, psychologists, students, psychics and profilers on their ability to create a "predictive profile." Again, results also proved that profilers were not significantly better at creating a profile than any of the other groups (Kocsis et al., 2000). From these results, Eastwood et

The first step is to go to the crime scene and evaluate the evidence the criminal left behind, the second step is to identify the type of criminal the criminal may be by using the information from the crime scene. The third step is to determine if the criminal and victims had any relation and if the crime was a random act, the fourth step is to see if the case is new or if it is a case already opened. The fifth step is to get a psychological picture of the criminal the investigator is looking for; the sixth step is to present the information that the psychological profilers fount to the investigator. The seventh step is to watch the interrogation of the suspects and determine if they are lying or telling the truth, the last and final step is to explain how the evidence is connected to

Over the years, profiling has become an interest to many people in the world today. According to Richard Kocsis, a psychologist in Sydney, Australia; “criminal profiling has over the past four decades, steadily grown both in its use by law enforcement agencies and in terms of research endeavors invested its development” (79). Although profiling serial killers has become a big fascination, it is uncertain if it is successful or not. Many questions that arose about profiling were: how do investigators identify serial killers, what methods do investigators use in profiling, how technology and social media affect profiling and how accurate is profiling. In addition, the profiling of serial killers has started to develop over the past years, making

Secondly, the physical aspects of the victim are important as well; is the victim is heavy, and was dragged for a long distance, it can be surmised that the criminal is strong and may have a muscular appearance. (Patterson) Victimology is first and foremost an investigative tool, providing context, connections, and investigative direction. (Turvey) Some people may ask, “Why profile the victim?” but profiling the victim is a very important element that helps profilers better understand the criminal. Profilers look at the general lifestyle and activities of the victim in order to know who had access to them and when. Knowing the victim and properly profiling them may establish a relational link between the victim and criminal. When profiling a victim it is important to look at them as a real person as well as a victim. Some investigators and detectives have a tendency to deify or vilify the victim in a case. Deification involves idealizing victims. For example,

Criminal profiling is one of few first things to think of when it comes to forensic psychology. Criminal profiling is featured in popular television shows such as in Law and Order and CSI. Often in those shows, the police officers were able to catch the criminals based on the criminal profile that forensic psychologists came up with. In a theory, the polices rely on criminal profiling to catch criminals, educate the public about a possible criminal, and confirm the witnesses’ accounts. Criminal profiling involves using various methods to guess a criminal’s background, behavior, and even preferences for the victims.