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The Profiling Method(s)
A useful approach relies on the priciple that behavior reflects personality. J. Douglas (Journey into Darkness, p. 13) divides the profiling process into seven steps:
1. Evaluation of the criminal act itself (i.e. modus operandi: what the offender does to effect the crime; signature: why he does it, the thing that "fulfills" him emotionally).
2. Comprehensive evaluation of the specifics of the crime scene or scenes.
3. Comprehensive analysis of the victim or victims (victimology).
4. Evaluation of preliminary police reports.
5. Evaluation of the medical examiner's autopsy protocol.
6. Development of a profile with critical offender characteristics.
7. Investigative suggestions predicated on construction of the profile.
The next level is to consult with local investigators and suggest proactive strategies to get the unidentified subject (UNSUB) to "make a move". This may involve meeting with the family of a murder victim, coaching family members how to handle taunting phone calls from the killer, working together with the media and so on.
A scientific approach: Profiling of Criminal Suspects
The profiling strategy
The best weapon the police have against an elusive serial murderer's spree is their behavior profile. Douglas, Ressler, Burgess and Hartman divide the FBI's profiling strategy into five stages, with a final sixth stage being the arrest of the correct suspect:
1. Profiling inputs
The first stage involves collecting all information available about the crime, including physical evidence, photographs of the crime scene, autopsy reports and pictures, witness testimony, extensive background information on the victim and police reports. The profiler does not want to be told about possible suspects at this stage because such data might prejudice or prematurely direct his or her profile.
2. Decision process models
In this stage, the profiler organizes the input into meaningful questions and patterns along several dimensions of criminal activity. What type of homicide has been committed (classifications, in short: mass murderers, spree killers and serial murderers, see above)? What is the primary motive for the crime: sexual, financial, personal or emotional disturbance? What level of risk did the victim experience, and what level of risk did the murderer take in killing the victim? What was the sequence of acts before and after the killing, and how long did these acts take to commit? Where was the crime committed? Was the body moved, or was it found where the murder had taken place?
3. Crime assessment
Based on the findings during the previous stages, the profiler now attempts to reconstruct the behavior of the offender and his victim. Was the murder organized (suggesting a killer who carefully selects victims against whom he usually acts out a given fantasy) or disorganized (indicating an impulsive, possible psychotic killer)? Was the crime staged to mislead the police? What motivations were revealed by such details as cause of death, location of wounds, and position of the body? For example, as general profiling rules: (1) brutal facial injuries point to killers who know their victims, (2) murders committed with whatever weapon happens to be available reflect greater impulsivity than murders committed with a gun and may reveal a killer who lives fairly near the victim and (3) murders committed early in the morning seldom involve alcohol or drugs.
4. Criminal profile
Here, profilers formulate an initial description of the most likely suspects. The typical profile includes the perpetrator's race, sex, age (which is one of the toughest points to nail down in a profile because emotional or experiential age does not always match chronological years), marital status, living arrangements and employment history; psychological characteristics, beliefs and values; probable reactions to the police and past criminal record, including the possiblity of similar offenses in the past. This stage also contains a feedback loop whereby profilers check their predictions against stage two-information to make sure that the profile fits the original data.
5. Investigation
A written report is given to the investigators, who concentrate on suspects matching the profile - often, the police have already talked to a likely suspect but did not have reason enough to seriously doubt the suspect's testimony. If new evidence is discovered at this stage, a second feedback process is initiated and the profile will be revised.
6. Apprehension
The arrest of the right suspect is the intended result of the above procedures. The key element then is interview technique - ideally, the subject confesses or at least is willing to talk about his crimes to some extent. A thorough interview of the suspect could furthermore help to assess the influences of background and psychological variables.
See also Wrightsman/Nietzel/Fortune, Psychology and the Law, 4th Ed., Brooks/Cole, 1997, pp. 193 - 198.
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