Criminal Profiling Essay

This essay is going to discuss the causes of crime and evaluate the theories of criminalisation using one theory for each of the following themes. The themes are labelling and deviant identity of criminalisation, theory of delinquency and criminalisation, theory of political economy and criminalisation, and finally radical theory of criminalisation. This essay will also show some of the weaknesses of each of the theories used for these themes.

In the article, “Dangerous Minds” Malcolm Gladwell first grasps his reader’s attention via crime stories, then goes on elaborating the criminal profiling processes. He defines the types of criminal profiling, whodunit and hedunit. In whodunit, “the traditional detective story…centers on the detective search for the culprit” while in hedunit, “the nest is narrowed. The crime doesn’t initiate our search for the killer. It defines the killer for us.” He emphasizes on the profiling type with the best advantage and explains its significance. Using the FBI agent John Douglas’ investigation stories and profiling techniques to support his claims, he explains the structure of criminal profiling and how it is applied to cases. However, is this type of profiling effective? The author raises this question to evaluate the FBI criminal profiling. He asks a rhetorical question, “but how useful is that profile, really?” to make the readers think and follows up this question by a counter argument which set the author’s state of neutrality in the article. With analogies, crime stories and group research analyses as supportive evidence; the author informs and explains the flaws of FBI profiling, its problems and its ineffectiveness. As a result, the author uses the counter argument to refute his previous claims

People were shocked to hear everything the elderly lady, Dorothea Puente, was capable of. Investigators weren’t suspicious of her even after corpses were found on her property because she didn’t fit the typical serial killer profile. The average serial killer is a white male in his mid to late 20’s. More than 90% of serial killers are men according to research done by criminologists James A. Fox and Jack Levin, and among these 73% were white. Only 4% had graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Victims were 67% female, with children, prostitutes, and the elderly and other common victims while 20% were males who had been raped by their attackers.

According to Rachel Boba, “Crime analysis is a law enforcement function that involves systematic analysis for identifying and analyzing patterns and trends in crime and disorder” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime analysis).The information on these patterns can assist law enforcement agencies in the deployment of resources in a more effective manner; it can also help detectives to identify and catch suspects. Crime analysis also plays a role in improvising solutions to crime problems, and developing crime prevention strategies. There are various types of technology that is used in crime analysis. Crime analysis relies heavily on computer technology, and over the past fifteen years there has been a significant improvement in computer hardware and

Racial Profiling is a big problem is society. Over time you become biased of certain groups which is good and bad. Criminal profiling helps keep the bad guys off the streets. This maybe be also linked with being racist according to the people stopped by police. As a police officer you never win because no one wants to go to jail. It is very hard to

14 year old Steven Truscott gave his classmate Lynne Harper a ride on his bicycle on June 9, 1959. Truscott had dropped her off before they parted ways. Lynne was reported missing later that night, and two days later, her body was found on a nearby farm. She was sexually assaulted and strangled to death. The community was horrified by what happened to this young girl and everyone was determined to find the killer. Immediately, investigators became fixated on Truscott as the prime suspect since he was the last person to see Lynne. They didn’t consider any other suspects, even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the murder. He was arrested 24 hours later, and stood trial as an adult. (Steven Truscott |

Criminal profiling has become a very popular and controversial topic. Profiling is used in many different ways to identify a suspect or offender in a criminal investigation. “Criminal profiling is the process of using behavioral and scientific evidence left at a crime scene to make inferences about the offender, including inferences about personality characteristics and psychopathology” (Torres, Boccaccini, & Miller, 2006, p. 51). “The science of profiling rests on two foundation blocks, basic forensic science and empirical behavioral research. Forensic science includes blood spatter analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and autopsy evidence. Empirical behavioral research identifies offender typologies, relates crime behaviors to suspect

In the summer of 1994 an Illinois woman’s buzzer rang at her apartment complex in Waukegan. She went downstairs to check after nobody went upstairs to her apartment. As soon as she reached the door downstairs, two men forced her into a dark colored sedan, kidnapped her, and raped her. Distraught after her attack, the victim wandered until she ultimately found a Seven Eleven close by and the police were called. When the police arrived, the victim said she was attacked by two Hispanic men that looked to be in their mid-twenties and a bit taller than her height of five feet and seven inches. The car that she was forced into was described as dark colored, older, having four doors and tinted windows. The victim’s boyfriend saw Angel Gonzalez’s car in the apartment complex parking lot and it matched the characteristics that the woman used to describe the assailant’s car. Police later stopped Gonzalez’s car and the victim acknowledged that the car was the one she described. She was then asked if Gonzalez was one of her attackers, and she was certain that he was, despite her being in the backseat of the police car while he was in front of it. Not only was he not close enough for her to get a clear view, but he also had facial hair and a birthmark, both characteristics that she did not use to describe her attackers. This led to Gonzalez being in police custody for interrogation where they did not allow him to sleep. When he was interrogated, he

Police did not seem to care about the case at all according to Pickton’s informant code name Wood (Woodward, 2012). She claims that 13 women could have been saved if police were to listen to the Eastside women. When a police heard from a sex worker the they have seen Pickton’s face with a missing woman, the police went to RCMP for investigation; however, RCMP thought it was not true (as cited in Keller, 2012). RCMP were interest in the case at the first time; however, their interest floated away (Kines, 2010). It made Pickton to kill 49 women because whenever women’s got missing RCMP ignored all the evidence. One of the women’s DNA was found in Pickton’s farm; however, RCMP ignored the evidence (Kines,

The process of inferring the personality characteristics of individuals responsible for committing criminal acts has commonly been referred to as criminal profiling. (Turvey) Criminal profiling can also be referred to as, behavioral profiling because when a profiler creates a profile they refer to the behavior of the offender. The general term criminal profiling can also be referred to as crime scene profiling, criminal personality profiling, offender profiling, psychological profiling and criminal investigative analysis. All the terms listed above are used inconsistently and interchangeably. Modern criminal profiling is owing to a diverse history grounded in the study of criminal behavior (criminology), the study of mental illness

This paper will describe my understanding of the text and of the lectures provided in the class. Unlike most classes, where I understood only my view of the text, this class was geared so each student would understand each other’s view. 3 An organization is a collective that has some boundary and internal structure that engages in activities related to some complex set of goals. Members of organizations attempt to meet their psychological, ego and emotional needs within the organization. Criminal justice organizations are particularly unique compared to other public or private sector organizations because of the governmental granted authority. Management within these organizations can be defined as the process by

Public criminology takes information, research and education to the next level, as discovered through this essay. It doesn’t just include lab work, research and discoveries, it involves community based teaching in a way that the public can be informed and educated through upfront communication. Throughout this essay, the broad definition of public criminology will be discussed as well as its relevance to society. As with anything, there are challenges and promises that accompany public criminology and those will be stated in this essay. Examples will be given to help you learn the different concepts of public criminology and how it relates to our modern society. Given as a starting point, according to

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.

In law, law enforcement relies on a variety of approaches to solving crimes. One method of doing so, is criminal profiling. Police use criminal profiling as an aid to identify the typology of individuals most likely to fit the suspect profile. In this approach, evidence of a crime is used to identify the characteristics of the criminal in relation to their personality and psychological state of mind. As well as demographic variables, such as age, race or geographic location, Investigators might use profiling to narrow down a field of suspects or figure out how to interrogate a suspect already in custody (Criminal profiling: the reality behind the myth (Winerman, L.2004). As the use of criminal profiling increases, empirical questions concerning its validity, reliability, and legal questions regarding its acceptability arise (Pinizzato, A.& Finkel, N.1990). In a survey conducted, several psychologist and psychiatrist were asked about their views towards the validity of criminal profiling. The results of this survey found that only ten percent of psychologist and psychiatrist surveyed reported having any profiling experience and twenty five percent, considered themselves knowledgeable about profiling (Greene, E., & Heilbrun, K. 2014, p.148). Fewer than twenty-five percent of the individuals surveyed, believe that criminal profiling was scientifically reliable or valid (Greene, E., &

Historically, crime and criminals have always caught the attention of law-abiding citizens. Whenever there is mention of serial killers or unsolved murders or abductions, psychological profiling, floats to the top of the list of concerns (Egger, 1999). Psychological profiling is an attempt to provide investigators with more information about an offender who has not yet been identified (Egger, 1999). Its purpose is to develop a behavioral composite that combines both sociological and psychological assessment of the would-be offender. The type of person who could have committed the crime can often be identified on the premise that accurate analysis and interpretation of the crime scene can point to a