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Theory of criminal profiling
Criminal profiling as an investigative tool
Theory of criminal profiling
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Offender profiling is often promoted as being a proven method in assisting criminal investigations and catching criminals, but there remains an abundance of inconsistencies and issues surrounding this method within the criminology and criminal justice field, and on its eligibility to be used as a solid method of apprehending offenders. Evidence gained within approximately the last decade strongly supports the argument that offender profiles are not useful for police to use in investigations. This essay will outline the reasons why offender profiles are not useful in police investigations, and will address how offender profiles can negatively influence an investigation and its outcome, reflect upon the reality that offender profilers are not regulated, and discuss why offender profiling is not an accurate science.
The use of offender profiles can negatively influence an investigation and its outcome. In a
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107), and qualifications equated to a higher level of accuracy and therefore in cases, officers allowed for profilers to lead investigations entirely (Gekoski & Gray, 2011). Officers made further comment that during their investigations, profilers controlled leads, handled suspects, and led interviews (Gekoski & Gray, 2011). Alarmingly, officers admitted in certain circumstances, their own conducted investigations heavily breached Police and Criminal Evidence Act, or PACE, as a direct result of the influence and intervention from a profiler (Gekoski & Gray, 2011). If a profiler were to consciously or subconsciously interfere, influence, or alter an investigation or the opinions of those involved in any way, such actions can hold negative ramifications “in terms of both the police investigation and any subsequent prosecution” (Gekoski & Gray, 2011, p.
Forensic Psychology: Criminal Profiling - Peter Dupas Research Research Questions: - What is criminal profiling and what is its purpose? - What are the description and summary of Peter Dupas' crimes, including any signature behaviors? - What is the offender's history (criminal/personal), characteristics, employment status, socioeconomic status, marital status, and prediction of future behaviors? - If a stalker, what type of stalker is Peter Dupas, and what are the reasons for stalking? Notes in Point Form only: - Criminal profiling is a technique used to assist in identifying and apprehending likely criminal offenders for a crime.
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.
I am applying to the Master of Arts program in Criminal Justice at Lewis University, because I want to further my education in this field of study. The Criminal Justice field is changing day by day. I must admit that it is somewhat by accident that I find myself driven towards the field of Criminal Justice. I have always enjoyed watching and reading news article on what is going on with my city. When I was young, I thought I was going to major in Computer Science in Undergrad, but quickly that was changed. My advisor at College of DuPage told me to take a class in Criminal Justice, which I did, that could have been the best decision for me. I became quickly became fascinated with a growing interest in Criminal justice. When I transfer to Lewis University my Knowledge of the field grew, and so did my curiosity about how much I can do with this degree.
Understanding Crime: Theory and Practice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishers. Woodham, J., & Toye, K. (2007). Empirical Tests of Assumption of Case Linkages & Offender’s profiling with Commercial Robbery.
Over the last few decades classification systems for offenders have been used for a variety of organizational purposes. Over time these classification systems have evolved, not only as a whole in the criminal justice system, but also varying between different organizations. Classification systems that create models based on the risks and needs of offenders are most popular. Throughout the years these models and the purposes for their use have been in a state of change, as well as the way their effectiveness is gaged.
Travis Siska Professor Fos Alvin Community College Racial Profiling in Criminal Justice Racial Profiling in Criminal Justice This paper will define the topic of racial profiling, as well as the history, present day issues, how it may be dealt with in the future, and my opinion on the topic. Racial Profiling is the practice of targeting people of color or a certain ethnicity for investigation or arrest. History starts with the New Jersey State Police Department investigating activities instituted the term racial profiling that we know today in order to raise awareness of the issue. Some of the current issues today with racial profiling have caused many problems for the criminal justice system, hindering police efforts in communities and losing the reliability of the people.
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 in finding the correct offender. Criminal profiling provides investigators with knowledge of the appearance and behavior of a potential criminal. Criminal profilers are primarily employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, most commonly known as the FBI. (Walker)
..., Larry J. (2006). Criminology: Theories, Patterns, & Typologies, 9th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-495-00572-X. Print. 25 Feb 2014.
Police Powers Under PACE Certain police powers under the police and criminal evidence Act 1984 (PACE) were implemented on 1 January 1986. For provisions set out in section 5, 50 and 55 of the act, there is statutory requirement for chief officers of police to collect and publish statistics monitoring their use. These provisions cover stop ad searches of persons or vehicles, road checks and intimate searches of persons. Information giving the ethnic appearance of persons stopped and searched was published in January 2001 a publication under section 95 of the criminal justice act 1991.
Historically, crime and criminals have always caught the attention of law-abiding citizens. Whenever there is mention of serial killers or unsolved murders or abductions, psychological profiling, now a household term, floats to the top of the list of concerns (Egger, 1999). Psychological profiling is an attempt to provide investigators with more information about an offender who has not yet been identified (Egger, 1999). Its purpose is to develop a behavioral composite that combines both sociological and psychological assessment of the would-be offender. It is generally based on the premise that an accurate analysis and interpretation of the crime scene and other locations related to the crime can indicate the type of person who could have committed the crime (Egger, 1999).
65) suggests that the recording of crime by police may itself be a factor contributing the limitations of crime statistics, as not all crimes that have taken place are recorded. She goes on to state that, “Police discretion determines whether a crime is considered to have actually been committed and whether it warrants recording” (Bishop 2004, p. 65). These statements suggest that the police themselves have a lot of influence into the recording of crime and their interpretation play a large role in what is recorded. These interpretations are suggested by Bishop (2004, p. 66) to include the categorisation of a crime that has taken place. She highlights that individual officers may interpret crimes differently, therefore effecting the recording and categorisation of crimes (Bishop 2004, p. 65). Because of an individual interpretation two similar actions or behaviours could be recorded as two completely different crimes, with different severities and consequences, noting a serious issue into the inaccuracies of police statistic
A large misconception of criminal investigative analysis is that there is a difference between profiling and criminal investigative analysis. Criminal Investigative Analysis is the same tool as criminal profiling and there is no true difference. A survey was done by Torres and the survey consisted of a couple of questions about profiling and about criminal investigative analysis asked to mental health professionals with profiling knowledge. The following table contains the results from the
Although narratives of criminality can be beneficial in determining the characteristics of an offender, empirical research is conducted on law-abiding citizens or people who are already imprisoned. Therefore, it is unclear whether the narrative of criminality framework would be valuable against an unknown