Profiling In Criminal Minds : Profiling In Crime And Crime

The website Forensic Psychology defines criminal profiling as, “the process of identifying behavioral tendencies, personality traits, geographic location, and demographic or biographic descriptors of an offender based on the characteristics of a particular crime” (Bartol and Bartol 1). With this approach, detectives try to narrow down the field of possible suspects that might have committed the crime. It is way easier to investigate one-hundred people that match those predictions than to investigate thousands of other people. In addition to that, they also state that profiling can rarely point to the particular person who committed the crime (Bartol 1). Even though it is not very accurate, in today’s world, it is still being utilized. Malcolm Gladwell well, a very well-known author and the author of What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, states in the article of Dangerous minds that “In the

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).

Criminal profiling has been a major theme over the course of the semester, the term criminal profiling was first used by members of the FBI behavioral science unit. Criminal profiling was the process of drawing inferences about a suspect’s characteristics from details of his or her actions in a crime. The FBI made it a scientific understanding that they could figure out details of the offender’s lifestyle just by figuring out who when and where the crime took place calling this behavioral science. “This definition remained central to subsequent profiling efforts, despite the diversity of approaches that followed.” (Rainbow, 2009)For over the past two decades the definition of criminal profiling remains the same it is just the way it is utilized that makes it such a big controversy. According to the ACPO, the term offender profiler has been changed to BIA because the term criminal profiler was too limited and misunderstood. Criminal profiling is a tool that investigators use to classify a specific individual so that when trying to find the suspect it could be easy. On the clinical forensic psychology website, it was said that "The goal of criminal profiling is to arrive at a profile of the type of individual who may be responsible for committing the crime of interest." (What is Criminal Profiling? 2011) A criminal profiler’s job is to figure who, how, and why someone would commit the crime that they are investigating. Essentially painting a picture of an individual due to

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

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 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

The use of profiling gives a clearer description of possible culprits, including age, sex, race, employment, marital status, criminal history, routines, and other details assisting within the police investigation to limit their list of individuals to one offender.

The use of criminal profiling can be used to capture a criminal. Dr. James A. Brussel was a psychologist and criminologist. Simply by looking at the evidence, Dr. Brussel developed

The criminal investigative approach is what is used law enforcement and more specifically by the Behavioral Analysis Unit with the FBI. The BAU assists law enforcement agencies by their review and assessment of a criminal act, by interpreting the offender's behavior during the crime and the interactions between the offender and the victim during the commission of the crime and as expressed in the crime scene. The clinical practitioner approach focuses on looking at each case as unique, making the approach very individualistic. One practitioner, Turco, believed that all violent crimes were a result of the mother-child struggle where female victims represent the offender's mother. This is also recognized as the psychodynamic approach. Also outlined are some principles for profiling which include being custom made, interactive and reflexive. By following these principles, the profile should include advice that is unique and not from a stereotype, should be easy to understand for all levels of intelligence, and all elements in the profile should influence one another. The Scientific approach relies heavily on the multivariate analysis of behaviors and any other information from the crime scene that could lead to the offender's characteristics or psychological processes. According to this approach, elements of the profile are developed by comparing the results of the analysis to those of previously caught

Crimes scenes contains more information than what meets the eye. This information is gathered based off of evidence left behind by a criminal offender. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) has be around since the 1970’s. BSU experts develop criminal profiles based on the thorough examination of evidence and information gathered in reference to a specific crime. The FBI’s Crime Scene Analysis process involves six steps. These steps are Profiling Inputs, Decision Process Models, Crime Assessment, The Criminal Profile, The Investigation, and The Apprehension. These six steps play a vital role in the process of creating a criminal profile.

For years criminal profilers within the FBI have assisted law enforcement agencies with solving cases. Criminal profilers identify criminal characteristics based on an examination of the crime scene, evidence, the nature of the crime, and the victim. According to Brent Turvey, in his book, Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis, the criminal profile is a report that includes probable psychological, geographical, physical, relational, or social characteristics of the offender. These offender characteristics are to be used as a tool for narrowing down a suspect list. One system that criminal profilers use while working on criminal profiles is the FBI’s organized/disorganized dichotomy. In order to understand the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit’s involvement in the creation of the organized/disorganized offender dichotomy, the history must be analyzed, the dichotomy must be described, and their application must be accurately depicted.

In the scholarly journal Criminal Personality Profiling: An Outcome and Process Study written by Anthony J. Pinizzotto and Norman J. Finkel; a study is conducted among different groups of profilers, detectives, psychologists, and students. The study is conducted by expert teachers and profilers. Using two different closed police cases, the groups try to determine two questions. Are profilers more accurate than non profilers when creating profiles and features of the suspect? And is the process the profilers use different than the non profilers?( Pinizzotto 215). The two closed police cases in this study consist of one homicide case, and one sexual offense case.

Criminal profiling is a process by which, evidence found at a specific crime scene, is analyzed in order to determine plausible offender character traits. Furthermore, the main objective of this practice is to identify significant personality and demographic characteristics that help draw a comprehensive picture of what type of person is capable of committing the crime in question. Criminal profiling has been used to aid in investigative proceedings, however, admissibility in the courtroom has been called into question since very little research has been done to assess the validity of the generated profiles. In the past, profiling was more of an unplanned habit in which police officers turned to psychologist and psychiatrists to give insight on complex criminal inquiries, yet in recent times, the call for a more widespread acceptance of this methodology has amplified. This can be attributed in part to the portrayal of criminal profiling in media outlets. Television shows like Criminal Minds serve to sway public opinion and by promoting the efficacy of profiling in general. Therefore, an analysis into whether or not televised depictions of criminal profiling are realistic is warranted since such representations have an impact on public opinion and transitively, the legal system as a whole.

Offender profiling developed from both a practical, clinical approach and a statistical aspect in the 1980’s, which, in the beginning was poorly developed and based on weak evidence. However since then it has become the mainstream in Forensic Psychology because of its graduation towards methods that are scientifically justified and elimination of ineffective procedures. Offender profiling procedure involves ‘observation, reflection and construction using available data to predict the likely characteristics of an offender’(Crighton & Towl, 2015). The two assumptions central to offender profiling is that the behaviour is consistent across crimes committed and that the crime scene behaviour is similar to the offender characteristics.

The three foundational assumptions of criminal profiling are homology assumption, behavioral consistency, and behavioral differentiation. These theories are connected to each other and work together. The homology assumption is the assumption that criminal behavior that is similar means offenders will have similar characteristics as well. Behavioral consistency means that an offender’s behavior when committing crimes will be consistent. Behavioral differentiation means that the behavior between offenders is distinguishable from other offenders. The homology assumption is the primary theory, and the others work with this theory. Although there is very little research that has been done to support the homology assumption, the little research done