Offender profiling

• what is the aim of offender profiling?

  to narrow down the search for the perpetrator
• offender profiling provides a description of the offender based on an analysis of the crime scene, the victim and any other evidence
• what are the 2 features of a crime?

  • corpus delecti
  • modus operandi
• what is corpus delecti as a feature of crime?


  the evidence from the crime scene
• what is modus operandi as a feature of crime?

  the method of crime
• what is the signature behaviour as part of the modus operandi?

  actions by the criminal in relation to crime
• what 3 major profiling goals did Holmes & Holmes 1996 identify?

  1. social and psychological assessment
  2. psychological evaluation of belongings
  3. interviewing suggestions and strategies
• what is social psychological assessment according to H&H - profiling goals?

  contains basic info about offenders personality, age, race, type of employment, religion, marital status, level of education
• what is psychological evaluation of belongings according to H&H - profiling goals?


  one suspect's been identified, the profile should provide suggestions to any possessions the offender may have which would associate him with crime scene
• what is interviewing suggestions and strategies according to H&H - profiling goals?

  providing the police with good strategies that may be effective for a particular offender - people do not respond to questioning in the same way because they're motives are different .
• what are the 2 main techniques of which profiling is conducted?

  1. top down approach aka typology - used by FBI in USA
  2. the bottom up approach (includes investigative psychology and geographical profiling) - used in UK