Discussion On Geographical Profiling And Crime Theory

Using criminological terms and concepts, focus on a jurisdiction, neighborhood, or geographic locale with which you are familiar. Regarding a human behavior which you select to focus on in that geographical space, write two concise yet comprehensive paragraphs on how social disorganization theory can inform your understanding of behavior and place, and one weakness which would find your understanding somehow lacking, and why. Then write two equally compelling paragraphs on how routine activities theory would foster your understanding, and one weakness which might leave your understanding lacking, and why.

The routine activities theory is based on the concept of the crime triangle. This triangle consists of a “motivated offender a suitable target and the lack of guardianship” (Cohen & Felson, 1979). When Hot spot policing is employed its focus is directed at two of the three elements of the triangle. Those elements are the suitable target and the lack of a capable guardian (Hoover, 2014). Some of the major tenants of this perspective are geographic targeting, focused patrol, saturation patrol, and interactive programs. There are other tenants such as simple visibility and foot patrol but I will focus on the three mentioned above. Geographic targeting uses techniques which address crime based on the “hot spot” theory. Hot spots are another

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

Demographics provide the specifics necessary to obtain knowledge pertaining to a city’s inhabitants. Attaining this type of detailed information is vital to the creation of a flourishing municipality. Demographic data can offer crucial material in relation to the particulars, such as the districts residents reside, the districts most preferred, the areas more highly safeguarded, high crime areas, the elementary schools most preferred and what type of developments residents want to see within the area. Verification is made by evaluating the demographic attributes of the populace, areas of

Accurate and timely intelligence and statistical crime information based on geographical settings and or areas.

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

Environmental criminology examines how geographical location and features in that location affect crime. It argues that some environments are more prone to crime that others.

The first method is through geographical profiling. Geographic profiling is where investigators use the past crime patterns of an offender to determine his/her current location. Investigators usually need a minimum of five crimes in order to come up with an accurate geographic pattern. Investigators use the different locations of the crime to narrow down a particular place where the offender could likely to be located. Offenders are usually located in their places of work, entertainment joints, and popular routes or even in his home. The other method of criminal profiling is investigative psychology. It uses peer-reviewed research to acquire facts about an offender. Another method of criminal profiling is criminal investigative analysis. In such an analysis, investigators identify the behaviors of the criminal and create a group based on such behaviors. The other method is behavioral evidence analysis. It involves examining evidence of when and how a particular event took place. It includes objects in the crime scene such as blood stains or footprints. These objects are used to establish the traits and patterns of the

Displacement is the response of offenders to the crime prevention strategies, especially the ones that block criminal opportunities (Barr and Pease, 1990; Eck, 1993). Besides the most intelligible displacement, the change in the location of crimes (spatial displacement), researchers proposed five other types of displacements, which are: temporal displacement, target (victim) displacement, method displacement, crime type displacement, and perpetrator (offender) displacement (Reppetto, 1976; Garbor, 1990; Barr and Pease, 1990; Eck, 1993). Table 1 shows these six forms of displacements and their distinctions, as well as examples.

According to Paternoster and Bachman (2001), “the rational choice perspective was explicitly developed to assist policy thinking,” aside from, “every act of crime involves some choice by the offender and that he or she can be held responsible for that choice and can legitimately be punished (Paternoster & Bachman, 2001, p. 34).” A successful example of the rational choice theory illustrates as Paternoster and Bachman (2001) points out, “that studies of the victims of serial killers and rapists through Rossmo’s (1995) geographic profiling, which is bases on findings from environmental criminology (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1991) in that most crime is committed within activity spaces of offenders

and so forth, to identify crime patterns, clusters, suspects, and hot spots. Strategies are then

There are many theories that attempt to explain the cause of criminal events. One such theory is routine activity theory developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson in 1979. This theory was meant to fill the gaps in existing models that failed to adequately address rising crime rates during the 1960 's (Browning et al., 2000). Cohen and Felson suggested that crime should be thought of as an event that occurs at a specific location and time and involves specific people and/or objects (Felson,

Both Goldstein & McEwen, (2009) and Button, Sharples & Harper (2007) studies agree that crime mapping is effective in uncovering and monitoring crime

The hypothesis claims that “changes in routine activity patterns can influence crime rates by affecting the convergence in space and time of the three minimal elements of direct-contact predatory violations” and that “the absence of any one of these elements [motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of suitable guardians against a violation] is sufficient to prevent the successful completion of a direct-contact predatory crime.” (1) The authors claim that controls for routine activities, therefore, are essential to maintaining order and keeping the crime rate down. They also note that and understanding of temporal and spatial relationships are key to understanding the changing crime rates. Illegal acts are events that occur in space and time and involve specific persons and/or objects. The spatio-temporal organization of everyday activities is what allows criminals to turn their criminal ideas into reality. Dispersion of activities away from the household has led to a change in the spatio-temporal relationship that increases the opportunity for crime, which in turn increases the crime rate itself.

Proximity hypothesis says that victims who live near crime are putting themselves at risk of becoming a victim. Someone who makes a little more than their neighbor can easily be a target of some sort of theft.