Evidence Based Offender Profiling

Offender profiling is an investigative tool used to narrow down the range of potential suspects for a crime by predicting the personality, behavioral, and demographic characteristics that an offender is likely to possess, based upon information collected at the crime scene. While offender profiling has been popularized by TV shows and movies such as Criminal Minds, Silence of the Lambs, and Mindhunter, the real-world impact of offender profiling is largely unknown. This book discusses the history of offender profiling, summarizes research on offender profiling methods, and reviews offender profiling evaluations of accuracy and applied impact. This book also describes a promising new offender profiling methodology called evidence-based offender profiling. This new method relies upon empirical data and scientific methods to develop, evaluate, and replicate offender profiles, thereby increasing offender profiling’s accuracy and utility for active police investigations. It uses prior information about statistical regularities between types of offenders and types of offenses to predict the characteristics of offenders in unsolved cases. A discussion of the future of offender profiling research and implications for law enforcement is also included. This book also explains how practitioners can benefit from the use of empirically tested and validated profiles in their unsolved investigations and how the use, continued research, and evaluation of evidence-based offender profiling can advance the quality, prestige, and utility of the field of offender profiling.

Focused on Behavioral Evidence Analysis (BEA), a method of criminal profiling developed and refined by the author over the past 15 years, the fourth edition of Criminal Profiling maintains the same core foundation that made previous editions best sellers in the professional and academic community worldwide. Written from practicing behavioral analysts and aspiring students alike, this work emphasizes an honest understanding of crime and criminals. Newly updated, mechanisms for the examination and classification of both victim and offender behavior have been improved. In addition to refined approaches towards victimology, crime scene analysis, motivation and case linkage, a chapter on sexual deviance has been added as well. With prior edition in wide use as a primary text in criminal justice, law, criminology, and behavioral science programs around the world, Criminal Profiling, Fourth Edition remains essential for students and professionals alike. Outlines the scientific principles and practice standards of BEA-oriented criminal profiling, with an emphasis on applying theory to real cases Contributing authors from law enforcement, academic, mental health and forensic science communities provide a balance perspective Complete glossary of key termsCompanion Web site includes all appendices from previous volumes and figure collection at http://www.elsevierdirect.com/companions/9780123852434 Manual Web site provides an instructor’s manual for each chapter, powerpoint slideshows, and case reports from Brent Turvey’s work

This ground-breaking text is the first to provide a detailed overview of Investigative Psychology, from the earliest work through to recent studies, including descriptions of previously unpublished internal reports. Crucially it provides a framework for students to explore this exciting terrain, combining Narrative Theory and an Action Systems framework. It includes empirically tested models for Offender Profiling and guidance for investigations, as well as an agenda for research in Investigative Psychology. Investigative Psychology features: The full range of crimes from fraud to terrorism, including burglary, serial killing, arson, rape, and organised crime Important methodologies including multi-dimensional scaling and the Radex approach as well as Social Network Analysis Geographical Offender Profiling, supported by detailed analysis of the underlying psychological processes that make this such a valuable investigative decision support tool The full range of investigative activities, including effective information collection, detecting deception and the development of decision support systems. In effect, this text introduces an exciting new paradigm for a wide range of psychological contributions to all forms of investigation within and outside of law enforcement. Each chapter has actual cases and quotations from offenders and ends with questions for discussion and research, making this a valuable text for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Applied and Forensic Psychology, Criminology, Socio-Legal Studies and related disciplines.

Now in its third edition, Criminal Profiling is established as an industry standard text. It moves evidence-based criminal profiling into a full embrace of the scientific method with respect to examining and interpreting behavioral evidence. If focuses on criminal profiling as an investigative and forensic process, helping to solve crime through an honest understanding of the nature and behavior of the most violent criminals. Throughout the text, the author outlines specific principles and practice standards for Behavioral Evidence Analysis, focusing on the application of theory and method to real cases. Criminal Profiling, Third Edition, is an ideal companion for students and professionals alike, including investigators, forensic scientists, criminologists, mental health professionals, and attorneys. With contributing authors representing law enforcement, academic, mental health, and forensic science communities, it offers a balanced perspective not found in other books on this subject. Readers will use it as a comprehensive reference text, a handbook for evaluating physical evidence, a tool to bring new perspectives to cold cases, and as an aid in preparing for criminal trials. * Best-selling author Brent Turvey defines the deductive profiling method, which focuses on examining the nature and behavior of criminals in order to solve crimes * Contributing authors represent law enforcement, academic, mental health, and forensic science communities for a balanced perspective * Completely revised with 35% new material including updates on the latest advances in evidence-based profiling New to this edition * New cases in every chapter * New chapters in logic and reasoning * New chapter reviewing non-evidence based profiling methods * New chapter on mass homicide * New chapter on terrorist profiling and interviewing

In this book, renowned profiler Dr. Richard Kocsis presents a distinct approach to profiling called Crime Action Profiling or CAP. The volume explains the scope and methodology employed in the studies that the author has undertaken over the past decade and a half. CAP adopts the view that profiling essentially represents a psychological technique that has its foundations in the disciplinary knowledge of forensic psychology.

Most incidents of violent crime occur between people who know each other, but in other cases (fortunately much less frequent) there are no obvious ties between the victim and the criminal, and these cases cause a great deal of social fear and uncertainty. They also result in large-scale, costly investigations and, increasingly, police are collaborating with other professionals in a process of offender profiling which might help their investigation. This book is a substantial, unique and critical account of the scope and practice of offender profiling, and its limitations. Professionals worldwide, from psychiatry, psychology, criminology and policing, have contributed accounts of their experience and knowledge across a range of approaches to offender profiling. Some use a clinical approach, based on the application of established theories of personality and psychopathy. Others argue for the effectiveness of the objective analysis of offence records to predict future offending. Some of the police contributions provide a frank description of their methods, others address the difficult issues relating to the use of offender profiling. This is a controversial subject, full of potent myth, and the object of this book is to provide a cool overview of the related scientific knowledge, now spread over many journals and reports, as well as accounts of the process and difficulties of offender profiling. It will be useful and interesting to most scientists and professionals in the field of criminal justice. This book is in the Wiley Series in the Psychology of Crime, Policing and Law.

George B. Palermo is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin; Adjunct Professor of Criminology and Law Studies, Department of Cultural and Social Sciences, Marquette University; Director, Center for Forensic Psychiatry and Risk Assessment, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Offender profiling is mainly used by the police to narrow down suspects in cases where no physical evidence was left at a crime scene. Recently, however, this technique has been introduced into the courtroom as evidence, raising questions of its reliability, validity, and admissibility at trial. Because offender profiling was not originally intended to be used in the courtroom, its entrance there has caused both confusion and controversy. Offender Profiling in the Courtroom discusses the use of profiling evidence in criminal trials. Ebisike also covers the history, development, approaches to, and the legal aspects of this crime investigation technique. Several serial crime cases where investigators used offender profiling during the criminal proceedings are discussed, including the case of the New York Mad Bomber, George Metesky, who caused thirty-two bomb explosions in New York City between 1940 and 1956, and the case of Albert DeSalvo, known as the Boston Strangler, who carried out several sexually motivated murders in Boston, Massachusetts between 1962 and 1964. Ebisike demystifies offender profiling and raises awareness about the successes and the pitfalls of the process and its use at trial. Offender profiling is a crime investigation technique where information gathered from the crime scene, witnesses, victims (if alive), autopsy reports, and information about an offender's behavior is used to draw up a profile of the sort of person likely to commit such crime. Offender profiling does not point to a specific offender. It is based, instead, on the probability that someone with certain characteristics is likely to have committed a certain type of crime. In spite of the ever-increasing media interest in the use of offender profiling in criminal trials, this technique is still not well understood by many people, including judges, lawyers, and jurors, who weigh such evidence at trial. Some people see offender profiling as a tried and true method of identifying suspects, and others simply see it as a fiction. Here, the author helps readers understand the true nature of offender profiling and the danger of its admission into criminal cases as evidence.