offender profiling

• Offender profiling


  An investigation tool employed by the police when solving crimes. The aim is to create an idea of the offender's characteristics. This helps police focus resources on more likely suspects, and create new leads within an investigation.
• Top-down approach


  • Also known as the typology approach. Originated in the United States, as a result of work carried out by the FBI in the 1970s. They interviewed 36 convicted serial killers and sexually motivated murderers to gain an insight into their thinking and behaviour.
• Top-down approach


  1. Data assimilation: Description of crime scene; victim information; crime details.

  2. Crime scene classification: Classified organised or disorganised based on data assimilated.

  3. Crime reconstruction: Physical recreation of the crime to develop predictions about the behaviour of the offender/victim.

  4. Profile generation: Includes criminal typology, background, personality, habits and appearance. Compared to knowledge from prior cases to predict future behaviour and form a strategy to apprehend.
• Typologies of offenders


  • Organised
  • Disorganised
• Organised offender


  • Planned crime
  • Targeted victims
  • High control during the crime
  • Little evidence left
  • High IQ
  • Socially/sexually competent
  • Lives with a partner/family
  • Car in good working order
  • Follow their crimes in the media
  • Skilled/Employed
• Disorganised offender


  • Spontaneous crime
  • Random victims
  • Little control, often impulsive
  • Evidence usually left
  • Lower than average IQ
  • Dysfunctional relationships
  • Lives alone
  • Uses public transport/walks
  • Uninterested in their crimes
  • Unskilled/unemployed
• Data assimilation: Female victim, bite marks, sexual abuse, long-duration, careful placing of earrings, little evidence, pubic hair of black male
• Crime scene classification: Organised
• • Profile generation: Long-duration killing → Killer knows the victim
  • Forensic awareness → Had been institutionalised
  • Sexual abuse of white female → White male
  • Organised offender?
  • Planned murder
  • Targetted victim
  • High control
  • Leaves little evidence
  • Disorganised offender?
  • Improvised murder weapon (purse strap)
• Characteristics of a serial killer

  • Patterned behaviour
  • Intelligence
  • Specific victims
  • Killer stalks victims?
  • Killer is a drug user/dealer?
• Characteristics of an organised offender

  • Intelligent
  • Socially adept
  • Specific victim
  • Pattern
• Accurate knowledge
• Link to stem needed
• Good links to stem
• Add examples
• Add top-down details
• Evidence of usefulness (Canter)


  • Top-down profiles used by the FBI have helped direct police resources and eliminate potential offenders in a number of cases.
• Lack of usefulness


  • Crime scenes of common offences e.g. burglary reveal very little about offender.
• Reductionism (typologies)


  • Offenders could show characteristics of both typologies so prediction of characteristics is difficult.
• Method (sample)


  • The 36 of dangerous and sexually motivated murderers interviewed to identify key characteristics may be quite different to more 'typical' offenders.
• Unscientific (Barnum Effect)


  • Ambiguous descriptors can be made to fit any situation and can mislead investigations.
• Based on a restricted sample of 36 serial sex offenders (therefore cannot be generalised to a wide population)
• Based on the self-reports from this sample (which cannot therefore be relied on for validity)
• Distinction is an oversimplification (difficult to categorise some offenders as one type or another so is of questionable validity/usefulness)
• Research (Canter 2004) shows evidence for the organised type only (suggesting that organisation is a characteristic typical of most serial killers)
• Bottom-up approach


  Originated in Britain. Profile is data driven. Profile emerges as the investigator engages in more rigorous scrutiny of the details of the offence. Grounded in psychological theory.
• Investigative Psychology


  • Interpersonal coherence: Assumes behaviour is consistent across situations. Everyday behaviour can predict criminal behaviour.
  • Time and place significance: Clues about where offender lives and works reveals their spatial mindset.
  • Forensic awareness: Offenders who show awareness (e.g. clean crime scene) will probably have committed a crime before and be in the criminal justice system. Are they known to the police already? Are they already in the system?
• Geographical Profiling


  • Study spatial aspects, e.g. location of crime; clues about where offenders live, work and socialise.
  • Data includes crime scene, local crime statistics, local transport, geographical spread of similar crimes, etc.
  • Jeopardy surface: Data of crimes committed enables predictions about the next offence.
  • Circle Theory: Circle is drawn encompassing linked crimes. Offender is based within circle:
  • The marauder – Operates in close proximity to home.
  • The commuter – Travels away from their home.
• Residence, Work, Recreation
• Allows us to feel secure in out Activity Space.
• Offenders usually commit crime in their Activity Space. This indicates where they may live, work or spend their recreational time so they can be caught.
• Jeopardy surface


  Data of crimes committed enables predictions about the next offence
• Circle Theory


  Circle is drawn encompassing linked crimes. Offender is based within circle
• Marauder


  Operates in close proximity to home
• Commuter


  Travels away from their home
• Bottom-up approach


  Geographic Profiling
• Geographic Profiling


  1. Spatial analysis of a linked series of crimes to determine a criminal's hunting pattern

  2. Create a heat map to show similar criminal activities

  3. Predict where would be targeted next
• Geographic Profiling


  • Objective method of profiling driven by empirical data from actual crimes
  • Different criminals may be committing similar crimes in one area
• Geographical profiling focuses on the location of crime as clues to where offenders live, work and socialise
• Relevant data include the crime scene, local crime statistics, local transport, geographical spread of similar crimes etc.