Offender Profiling by Maria Kravchenko https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling The purpose of this post is to introduce students to offender profiling (without going in too much details). It will try to make the information easy to understand for people with little or no prior knowledge of the topic. However, it will still be useful to people that have studied (or are in the process) the subject as it will include relevant and useful web links and academic journal articles. en-us 2016-10-10 09:36:56 UTC 2025-11-18 09:36:11 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/File.png 8) BACKGROUND - theories of crime mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/146764292 In my opinion in order to gain a better understanding of offender profiling it is essential to go back to basics and ask yourself an almost rhetorical question as to why people commit crime in the first place ? to do this we need to look at theories of crime (I will only mention a few theories and will not go into a lot of details)  ]]> 2017-01-12 13:21:34 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/146764292 1) What is it? mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/146764511 Offender profiling also refered to as criminal profiling.
There is no set definition of the term 'offender profiling' . However I would say that the main its main idea of offender profiling is that the identity of a perpetrator is a manifestation of his or her behaviour, i.e. each criminal will behave and act differently when committing a crime meaning that a crime scene will look different from person to person (for more information read about Canter's criminal consistency hypothesis). There are some things that we do or repeat every day, we get used to doing them that in time we do not even notice this behaviour, now it is being done subconsciously without even thinking about it. It is these types of behaviour that a criminal profiler will look for at a crime scene.  This explanation of offender profiling applies more to psychological and typological approaches.]]> 2017-01-12 13:22:36 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/146764511 2) Why is it done? mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/146764540 When a profile is done by a professional it can help narrow down the list of suspects, as it can exclude people that do not match the provided description, and it provides investigators with specific psychological characteristics of a possible suspect.  
As such, it can be used as an additional help in conventional police work to help link crimes, focus investigation and narrow down the suspect list.]]> 2017-01-12 13:22:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/146764540 4) Approaches continued... mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/146764577  Process and procedures are different in each country and depend on the approach used. Boom and Davis (1992) proposed that profiling can be divided in to two main approaches:
  •   The Top Down Approach - also known as FBI and typological, this approach attempts to classify offenders into types. 
  •   The Bottom Up Approach - statistical approach/ investigative psychology, one of the main theories of this approach is Canter's Criminal Consistency Theory that suggests that perpetrators act in a consistent manner meaning that offence behaviour to some extent mirrors everyday behaviour.  Box 7 contains more information about this approach. 
             
                                                                                     The Top Down Approach:
  1. Gathering of information - Information gathering usually begins by visiting and analysing a crime scene. When visiting a crime scene is not possible profilers are presented with photographs from a crime scene. Particular attention is paid to small details, because they serve as psychological markers of offender. Profilers also collect the information and create psychological profile of victim/s
  2. Classification of the crime scene - there are two classifications, each classification refers to a clearly organized group with already established characteristics
  3. Preparing psychological portrait of a possible offender based on available information. 
  4. The fourth stage is the prediction of the possibility of reoffending.
  5. Advising on interviewing techniques 
]]> 2017-01-12 13:22:58 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/146764577 reference mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/149917267 2017-01-27 16:03:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/149917267 3) Different approaches of profiling mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/150832756 Although this post is focusing on psychological and behavioural aspects of offender profiling it is useful to know that there are different types of profiling.
  Ainsworth (2001) proposed that there are 4 approaches:
  •   Geographical approach looks at patterns in the location and chronology of offences, then based on this information makes links between crimes and gives possible suggestions about where offender might live and work. 
  • Investigative psychology or statistical approach, in some psychology books it is called bottom up approach, is more of a synthesised approach as it looks at geographical profiling and uses established psychological theories and methods of analysis.
  • The typological approach, also known as FBI, this involves looking at the characteristics of crime scenes and based on this assigning offenders to different categories / typologies
  • The clinical approach uses information from "psychiatry and clinical psychology to aid investigation where an offender is thought to be suffering from a mental illness of other psychological abnormality". 
For more in-depth explanation you can reed Ainsworth' work or visit http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/newResources/criminological/A2_AQB_crim_whatIsProfiling.pdf
]]> 2017-02-01 14:17:54 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/150832756 useful website mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/151005893 2017-02-01 22:24:23 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/151005893 5) Approaches continued.... mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/152620163  Below is Howitt' s explanation of stages involved in FBI profiling. The main difference in his explanation is that:

  •  it involves 4 stages
  • profilers do not attend a crime scene but instead are given all the available information
  • profilers help establishing sequence of events.   
 
(Howitt, 2015).
]]> 2017-02-08 20:50:01 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/152620163 6) Approaches continued... mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/152632371 2017-02-08 21:47:42 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/152632371 7) Approaches continued... mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/152650012 brief information about statistical approach or bottom up approach.

]]> 2017-02-09 00:14:07 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/152650012 Conclusion mariakravchenko28 https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/153009927 Even though this blog only looked at a few theories of crime, it becomes obvious that the study of criminal behaviour is complex and multidetermined. It also should not be forgotten that “human behaviour is complex and […] there will be exceptions to any generalizations made about it” (Myers et al, 2006: 906). This make a job of offender profiler or investigative psychologist (as Canter calls it) even more difficult. 
 Statistical approach, like any synthesized theory, which considers different points of view and combines the positive aspects of the numerous approaches, is the most complete approach that exist today.  ]]> 2017-02-10 10:22:16 UTC https://padlet.com/mariakravchenko28/offender_profiling/wish/153009927