MODULE-3 Criminal Profiling Teaching Hours: 10 Hours
History of Profiling, Behavioral Evidence Analysis, Criminal
motivation, Crime scene investigation, Victim profiling,
Psychological Autopsy, Sexual Offences, Geographical Profiling,
Criminal behavior on the internet, Case studies.
CRIMINAL PROFILING
Criminal profiling is the process of anticipating the nature of the offender by
analyzing his traits at the crime scene. It is used by law enforcement agencies to
identify probable offenders and suspects. These are primarily used to link the
cases that are committed by the same offender.
Criminal profiling is also known as offender profiling, crime scene profiling,
psychological profiling, and personality profiling. Now the technique of
criminal profiling is known to everyone and many countries, like the UK, US,
etc., have started using this technique to determine the psyche of a serial killer
or even a terrorist.
KEY TERMS FOR CRIMINAL PROFILING
The following are the keywords used in criminal profiling:
1. Homicidal triad
This was introduced by a famous psychiatrist, Mr. J. M. Macdonald. This
is popularly known as the 'Macdonald Triad' or 'sociopathy’. This is a
common childhood trait found in criminals. This triad is a set of three
factors, such as bedwetting, cruelty to animals and the urge to start a
fire. The presence of any two is considered to be predictive. Usually,
these are violent tendencies.
2. Linkage analysis
A procedure of linking the evidence and the information gathered from
the crime scene that is likely to have been committed by a particular
individual in order to make him a suspect because of the behavioral
similarity evident across the crimes.
3. Modus operandi
It refers to a particular way of working. In the context of this article,
modus operandi means a specific manner in which the criminal commits
the crime.
4. Offender homology
A theory that believes that offenders of a specific type of crime have
certain characteristics in common. This theory suggests that there will be
similarity between different offenders who commit similar crimes.
5. Signature Behavior
Signature behaviors refer to acts that are not necessarily required for the
commission of offence. This is a trait that gives us foresight into an
individual's underlying values. In this context, it is a requirement for the
emotional fulfilment of the offender but not for the commission of a
crime. For example, anger issues, any special pattern on crime scenes,
etc.
6. Victimology
It is the scientific study of the connection between the victim and the
offender. It can be any common connection between all the victims.
WHAT IS CRIMINAL PROFILING?
Criminal profiling is a branch of forensics and the art of hypothesizing an
offender's traits from circumstantial pieces of evidence available and clues
ascertained from the investigation.
According to Douglas and Olshaker (1995), "Criminal profiling is the
development of an investigation by means of obtainable information regarding
an offence and crime scene to compile a psychosomatic representation of the
known architect of the crime." (Douglas and Olshaker, 1995, quoted in Muller,
2000:235).
Criminal profiling is based on two basic assumptions: behavioral consistency
and homology. Behavioral consistency refers to the linking of the crime with a
suspect based on past incidents, and homology means a belief that similar
crimes are committed by similar criminals. The primary purpose of criminal
profiling is to identify the perpetrators of a crime. For example, the principles of
psychology can be applied to the information gathered from the crime scene and
the victim to ascertain the background of the offender, such as their social life,
nature of the job, gender, etc., and then to identify the suspects.
Linkage analysis is a way to link the evidence obtained from the crime scene to
an individual by way of principles of psychology; if the links get connected,
then the individual is made a suspect. This pattern of links suggests the modus
operandi and signature. Modus operandi is subject to change but the signature is
believed to be an unchanging trait of an individual.
For example, the "homicidal triad" of bedwetting, cruelty to animals and the
urge to start a fire are some common childhood traits found in criminals, to be
specific, murderers.
Criminal profiling is a new concept, also called psychological profiling,
criminal personality profiling, offender profiling, or investigative psychology.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) calls it "criminal investigative
analysis." A homicidal triad is believed to be a desire to show dominance over
others by inflicting pain on them.
SIGNIFICANT FEATURES OF CRIMINAL PROFILING
Criminal profiling is a process used by investigators for a crucial purpose. Let's
understand the significant features of criminal profiling:
Analysis of the crime scene
The investigators analyse the crime scene and gather all the relevant
information regarding the characteristics of the crime, victim, and offender.
This is done to analyse the modus operandi of the suspect, its signature traits
and to predict his future crime.
Analysis of behaviour
The investigators analyse the behaviour of the offender to ascertain the
intention, motive and mental state at the time of the commission of the crime.
This helps to understand the thought process of a criminal and why he has
committed the crime. This indeed helps us to determine the type of behaviour or
pattern of crime that the offender is using.
Analysis of the victim
A thorough analysis of the victim is done to understand the preferences of the
criminal. This analysis includes factors like age, gender, caste, relationship with
the offender, etc. This gives an insight into the motive of the criminal.
Geographical profiling
This refers to the analysis of the location of the crime scene, where the victim
resides. This gives a clue as to where the offender might reside. This produces a
probable map of the offender's home base. This map can help in identifying the
threats involved in catching the offender. After getting the location and
foresight of the home base of the offender, investigating agencies can search for
databases, criminal records, addresses of suspects, selection of intensive patrol
areas, etc.
Analysis of time
This is done to identify the pattern or trend of the crime and the criminal. Such
as specific days of the week or occasions, etc. As per the author's analysis, it is
generally observed that criminals, especially serial killers, commit crimes after
some abnormal event in their lives. An analysis of that time period may help the
investigators predict the future target of the killer.
Analysis of signature behaviour
The investigators try to analyse the modus operandi and signature behaviour to
get insights into the offender's personality. For example, mutilation of the body
after killing, leaving any object or message on the crime scene, traces of
necrophilia, etc.
Psychological profiling
This is part of criminal profiling, which is done to identify the psyche of the
offender and to understand the personality of the offender better. Psychologists
are called during the police investigation to understand and analyse the psyche
of the offender at the crime scene. There is a consistency between the way
offenders act and who they are. Generally, three areas are focused on generating
the profile of the offender, which are individual differentiation, behavioral
consistency, and inferences about offender characteristics.
Criminal investigative experience
The investigators use their experience and knowledge together to link the
available information with the individual and then identify a suspect. For
example, investigators study previous case studies made by senior investigators
using their experience to link the traits of the criminal with those of another
similar criminal.
Dynamic analysis
Criminal profiling is a dynamic process, i.e., the analysis and the result change
when the investigators get new information or a new clue about the crime scene,
offender and victim. For
example, if the investigator finds a new clue or leads about the offender or at the
crime scene, then the inferences drawn from the new profile may differ from the
previous one.
Integrating with law enforcement agencies
The profilers integrate with law enforcement agencies to help them in
investigations. The analysis of this information helps to approach the
investigation more effectively. Integration with law enforcement agencies
makes the process of investigation easier. It gives direction to law enforcement
agencies to better investigate the offender.