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Investigators employ different types of profiling to assist them in solving crimes. Geographic profiling and investigative psychology are two very different but useful types of profiling. Geographic profiling and investigative psychology each advance investigations in a tremendous way.
Investigators commonly employ geographic profiling and investigative psychology when attempting to solve a crime. Geographic profiling means investigators can “tell you where the offender is likely to be based” (UQx Crime101x The Psychology of Criminal Justice 2014). Geographic profiling not only tells investigators where an offender possibly lives, but can also tell investigators where the offender possibly works or frequents. Investigative psychology profiles
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the offender which “tells the investigating officers something about the characteristics of an offender from their actions while committing the crime” (UQx Crime101x The Psychology of Criminal Justice 2014). Investigative psychologists infer characteristics of an offender from the known actions of the offender during the crime. In short, geographic profiling focuses on the location in which the offender frequents; essentially the where. Yet, investigative psychology focuses on the behavior of the offender. When investigators employ geographic profiling and/or investigative psychology into their investigation, it helps them solve the case quicker and more efficiently. Investigators employ geographic profiling to create a map which helps advance their investigation.
The map (English 2016) consists of a street map overlayed by a heat map and markers. The street map represents the general area where the crimes took place and where the offender might frequent most. The heat map operates as a probability map where the warm colors like red and orange represent an area of high probability for the offenders location, and where the cooler colors like green and blue represent an area of low probability. The green markers on the map represent the location of a crime scene and the red markers represent the possible location of the offender. Geographic profiling helps officers narrow down their search area for the suspect. In Pasco County, FL deputies “narrowed down their search area to about 70, 80 houses of where the suspect lived” (Beisel 2013). Deputies caught the suspect because geographic profiling helped detectives figure out the suspects hunting pattern which then helped them figure out where to place detectives in the area. In cases like this, geographic profiling worked quickly and efficiently by helping detectives prioritize their search area. Detectives waste less time and resources when they can prioritize their search area. Geographic profiling works on the principle that most crimes are not random and there is reason or logic behind the location in which the crime …show more content…
occured. Criminals do not just leave behind physical evidence at a crime scene, but they also leave behind behavioral and personality clues.
Investigators employ investigative psychology when profiling the offenders behavior and personality. Figuring out the offenders modus operandi should interest investigators because the modus operandi describes a particular way or method the offender carried out the crime. The offenders modus operandi “reveals aspects of the suspect's behavior, which in turn reflects upon the suspect's personality” (Lerner Criminal Profiling). Investigators classify offenders under three main types: the organized offender, disorganized offender, or mixed offender. In the “Vampire of Sacramento” case in 1978, investigators employed investigative psychology and concluded that “as a disorganized type, he'd be unemployed and live alone” (Lerner Psychological Profile). Investigators classified the offender, Richard Trenton Chase, as disorganized because of the brutality of the crime scene. Once found, Chase fit the profile perfectly. Investigative psychology helps investigators quickly and efficiently create a profile for the offender which helps narrow down their suspect list. Investigators do not waste time looking for the wrong type of offender when they get the profile
correct. Though useful, investigative psychologies flaws stem from the fact that the profile “comes down to the individual analyst’s judgements rather than any objective scale or test” (Vronsky 2004). The investigator does not have a formula or algorithm to help them create a more accurate and reliable profile. This means that the profile is subjective to the investigator. The flaw of subjectiveness can lead investigators into a cold case because of a wrong profile. But, investigators often employ investigative psychology in a last resort situation. If the investigators got the profile wrong at least they attempted something because without it the case would have likely ended up cold. Investigative psychology might have flaws, but it gives investigators hope when investigating a dead end case. Geographic profiling and investigative psychology differ but they both help investigators solve cases quicker and more efficiently. If profilers did not employ geographic profiling and/or investigative psychology it would lead to many more cold cases. This in turn would lead to many offenders staying on the street repeating crimes. When the system does not convict offenders the friends and family of the victim do not get the justice they deserve.
With the society that most individuals are offered today, the world of crime has been constantly transforming. This can influence the typical individual to question if there are too many laws that one should follow, including the penalties that are to be expected. The word crime can insinuate many thoughts of apprehension, segregation, and security when applying the law in accordance to criminal acts being prosecuted. In order for penalties to apply to a particular individual, law enforcement must first be able to track and identify suspects of various crimes. Numerous approaches can be offered for this process, but profiling is a common tactic that has aided law enforcement in seeking justice for both suspects and victims. Although viewed negatively at times, law enforcement profiling is an effective tool for police officers that should not be abandoned due to infrequent and negligible invasions into an innocent person’s personal privacy. Suspect profiling has diverse backgrounds, intentions, and classifications that are demonstrated in various forms and allows law enforcement to evaluate and distinguish any probable evidence. With the following paragraphs I will provide detailed information on what ‘profiling suspects’ means in a law enforcement setting, the pros and cons of profiling, and the reasons why profiling should be used in law enforcement.
police then look for a suspect who might possibly have committed it. Profiling means that a suspect is discovered and the police then look for a crime for the person to have possibly committed” (Tator & Henry, 2003, p3).
For decades, researchers have tried to determine why crime rates are stronger and why different crimes occur more often in different locations. Certain crimes are more prevalent in urban areas for several reasons (Steven D. Levitt, 1998, 61). Population, ethnicity, and inequality all contribute to the more popular urban. Determining why certain crimes occur more often than others is important in Criminal Justice so researchers can find a trend and the police can find a solution (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). The Uniform Crime Reports are a method in which the government collects data, and monitors criminal activity in the United States (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). They have both positive and negative attributes that have influenced
Hot spot policing is based on the idea that some criminal activities occur in particular areas of a city. According to researchers crime is not spread around the city instead is concentrated in small places where half of the criminal activities occur (Braga chapter 12). Also, many studies has demonstrated that hot spots do show significant positive results suggesting that when police officers put their attention on small high crime geographic areas they can reduce criminal activities ( Braga, papachristo & hureau I press). According to researchers 50% of calls that 911 center received are usually concentrated in less than 5% of places in a city (Sherman, Gartin, & Buerger, 1989; Weisburd, Bushway, Lum, &Yang, 2004). That is the action of crime is often at the street and not neighborhood level. Thus police can target sizable proportion of citywide crime by focusing in on small number of high crime places (see Weisburd & Telep, 2010). In a meta-analysis of experimental studies, authors found significant benefits of the hot spots approach in treatment compared to control areas. They concluded that fairly strong evidence shows hot spots policing is an effective crime prevention strategy (Braga (007) .Importantly, there was little evidence to suggest that spatial displacement was a major concern in hot spots interventions. Crime did not simply shift from hot spots to nearby areas (see also Weisburd et al., 2006).
Predictive policing is using computer models, supported by prior crime and environmental data, to anticipate risks of crime. The software uses profiling to identify potential criminals, which then allows police enforcement to strategize how to interfere with the potential criminal. Can police automatically assume that these potential criminals, identified through the predictive policing software, are guilty? This paper will discuss that if all data points to a person about to commit a crime they are still not found guilty until said crime has been committed.
The process of using behavioral evidence left at a crime scene to make inferences about the offender, including inferences about personality characteristics and psychopathology is called criminal profiling. Around the country, several agencies rely on the minds of criminal psychologists to lead them in the right direction to finding the correct offender. Criminal profiling provides investigators with knowledge of the appearance and behavior of a potential criminal.
The Uniform Crime Report also allows us to geographically see crimes spread over the United States. Where certain crimes are committed, who is committing them, and when they are most likely committed. These trends allow for federal and local law enforcement to predict where patrolling may need to be more prevalent or allow criminal profilers to be able to speculate what type of person is a possible suspect for a certa...
The usefulness of profiling has been called into question many times. There are those who fall on both ends of the spectrum. Some feel that profiling is as infallible as a fingerprint, and others think it’s as reliable as a sideshow gypsy. Studies have been done that support both positions. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the middle: Profiling may be a useful tool when applied appropriately, but it should not be used to the exclusion of good suspects or information. It is an addendum to the investigator’s...
Criminologists Ronald Holmes, Stephan Holmes, and James DeBurger have created a classification system for serial killers based off motive as opposed to the FBI’s classification system that is based off method (Vronsky 147). This classification system is broken into four categories: visionaries, mission-oriented, hedonistic, and power/control
Geographic profiling uses information that relied on a management system that primarily demonstrate the methodology that evaluates where the crimes occurred in the area, to find the exact location of the criminal hotspot. It has many strengths and weakness that can be used to target a wanted criminal, however it needs precise accurate information to be valid in capturing the offender. It can be greatly helpful in many crimes such as rape, homicide, arson, terrorist activity, robbery, and kidnapping. It is a theoretical crime model that focuses on the individual profile that matches him with who the offender associates with, his profession, and where residence is located. Every individual has precise movements and this model directly attacks their patterns or activities.
It states that, “With this information, people can look for individual crimes or see broader patterns and trends in crime over time.” Something so simple can help reduce crime rates and help many people. Maps are also used as presentations like the one Sarah Williams did in the Verge Review article. They are used to show illustrations and explain valuable information. HUGHES 3
Research in criminal justice is very important when studying an issue. In this chapter’s assignment scenario, the Chief of Police has started a task force to identify the highest crime areas in the city. However, he needs assistance in determining the best way to identify the crime areas through research. Today, I will outline the best way to assist the Chief of Police by: identifying the four purposes of research and an example of each; explaining the relationship among the four purposes of research; and indicating which of the four purposes would be best for the Chief of Police to use.
Majority of all cities as well as counties are divided into sectors within each patrol region. In todays community oriented policing many of the sectors will have number of neighborhood watch groups located in their respected area. By using a pattern of both statistical data and crime mapping, but if you look at the data, you can usually discover the areas that the crimes are most prevalent in there. Law enforcement leaders learned that putting officers in locations and times that matched those crime configurations resulted in either deterring criminals or catching them (Paynich, n.d.).
The book known as Place Matters written by several criminologists such as Weisburd has mentioned “opportunity perspectives” when establishing the basis of crime and place. Weisburd et al (2016) mentions how offenders would choose a specific target based on the time, place, and method. It mentions how “opportunity theorists contend that people operate within a rational choice framework” (Weisburd et al, 2016, pp. 44). It also states how offenders select targets within a large geographical area, in this research, the city of Fairfax would count as a large geographical area. Weisburd et al (2016) states that when it comes to crime pattern theory, offenders would follow “basic routines” that must do with coming to and from destinations, labeled as nodes, and paths. What is trying to be said is that “offender knowledge and routines structure their hunting” (Weisburd et al, 2016, pp. 45). Weisburd et al (2016) also give solutions when it comes preventing crime such as situational crime prevention which requires more hard work. This would also include another literature that explains spatial risk assessment by Caplan, Kennedy, Barnum, and
Crime mapping is a fairly simple concept. The push-pin maps that can be seen in any police show are entering the digital era. Digital crime mapping software improves the police’s ability to respond to situations and analyze crime in leaps and bounds. What before might have taken different sets of eyes can now be done by entering in multiple sets of GPS co-ordinates. Crime mapping can be used to identify patterns in crime, as well as allow officers in the field to simultaneous view the same map, even as it is updated with new information. Imagine that each squad car has this map software installed and there is a search for a bank robber. There is a tip line open, and every single time a tip is confirmed this new location shows up on the map in the squad cars allowing the car closest to the siting to take off immediately. It also gives the rest of the on duty officers a glimpse at the robber’s supposed progress and any one of them might see a pattern emerging allowing them to lay in wait for the robber at his next stop.