WK1 Assignment: Criminal Profiling Practices and Criminal Profilers

Criminal Profiling

Kimberlee Levett

Instructor: Brent Paterline

Walden University

July 16, 2021

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Criminal Profiling

Profiling, also known as criminal investigation assessment, is a method of providing

investigative agencies with specific information about the type of individual who committed a

certain crime (Holmes and Holmes, 2009). Profilers aid investigators in developing an offender

description by allowing them to review evidence from crime scenes, victim, and witness

testimony. Psychosocial factors such as personality traits, psychopathologies, and patterns of

behavior, as well as demographic factors, race, and geographic location, can all be included in

the description.

Historical Influences in Profiling

The history of criminal profiling dates back to late 1800 in Europe to help law

enforcement to profile Jack the Ripper. Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special

Agents John Edward Douglas and Robert Ressler were among the first to develop and implement

a criminal profiling system. Douglas studied hundreds of crime scenes and interviewed dozens of

serial killers throughout his career to create criminal profiles of the criminals. Douglass and

Ressler developed the organized/disorganized dichotomy. According to the classification method,

organized criminals are antisocial but know right from wrong, are not psychotic, and have no

remorse. On the other hand, disorganized crimes are not premeditated, and offenders leave

fingerprints and blood as proof (Winerman, 2004). The Crime Classification Manual (CCM) is

one profiling tool that is still in use today. The manual is a collection of offender profiling

software and crime scene characteristics for a wide range of violent crimes. Computer crimes,

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religious-extremist murder, and elder female sexual homicide are all included in the second

edition of the (CCM) (2006). The second edition includes updated information on stalking and

child abductions (Criminal Profiling. pdf). Practices like the organized/disorganized dichotomy

and (CCM) can help investigators develop strategies to use when searching for or questioning a

suspect. Their early contributions can assist today's profilers in determining a psychological

profile, crime patterns, and the characteristics of the individual who might commit the crime.

Roles and Responsibilities of Profilers

In a criminal investigation, a profiler's role involves visiting and analyzing crime scenes,

gathering evidence, studying human behaviors and characteristics, and developing the

psychological profiles of suspects. Profilers' objective is to generate a suspect's psychological

profile based on information and evidence they have available. The circumstances of individual

crimes and the evidence left behind can assist experienced profilers in determining that the

perpetrator is likely to have certain personality traits or features. Another responsibility of a

profiler is to find the Modus Operandi (MO). An offender’s M.O. represents how an offender

commits a crime. M.O. is often used to link cases because offenders generally used similar

methods during the commission of their crimes (Criminal Profiling. Pdf). In the interviewing

and interrogation process, a profiler can be of assistants by developing a profile packet. The

profile packet should include information on various personalities and effective methods for

gathering information from a diverse group of offenders. Not everyone responds to questioning

in the same way (Holmes and Holmes, 2009).

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Criminal Profilers Roles, Goals, and Responsibilities to Aid or Impedein and Investigation

Criminal profiling aims not to tell police who committed a particular crime; instead,

profiling is about making predictions as to the most probable characteristics that an offender is

likely to possess (Criminal Profiling. pdf). Criminal profilers assist investigators by determining

whether the assailant left behind physical and behavioral, and psychological evidence, which can

cause criminalists to prove that this evidence may be crucial in locating the perpetrator. For

example, in the case of George Metesky, psychiatrist Dr. Brussel successfully created a profile

that matched Metesky's characteristics. The bomber was middle-aged, probably around 50 years

old, according to the profile. The bomber was well-dressed, lived in Connecticut rather than New

York, was foreign, and most likely Roman Catholic (Holmes and Holmes, 2009). Dr. Brussel's

accurate profiling lead to the capture of George Metesky. The profile itself was instrumental in

the total investigation effort by law enforcement agencies and was successful against a real-

world series of criminal activities (Holmes and Holmes, 2009).

As stated before, the goal and responsibility of a criminal profiler are to assist the

investigator in predicting the type of person who committed the crime. This neither solves the

case nor provides the investigator with a prime suspect. A criminal profile merely provides a

general idea of the individual who could have committed the crime. It does not refer to a specific

person who fits the description. As a result, the profiler cannot conclude whether it is more likely

than not that one particular offender committed the crime. By using Deductive Profiling, a

profiler can also obstruct an investigation. The profile created from this vantage point is

agonizingly slow (Holmes and Holmes, 2009). The profiler creates a mental image of the

perpetrator and gathers all known evidence using this profiling method. The perpetrator could

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leave the area or change their appearance when this profiling method is completed and impede

the investigation.

In conclusion, profiling aids investigators in constructing a profile of an unknown and

sought-after criminal based on evidence at the scene and the characteristics of the crime, such as

the style and MO of the crime. Psychological research has proven in some cases that an

offender's personality and other mental developments can influence their decision-making when

committing an offense. These habits are combined with evidence and other elements by highly

skilled specialists and psychologists to generate profiles.

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References

Criminal Profiling. https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6175863-dt-announcement-rid-

240333230_1/courses/USW1.17952.202170/Criminal%20Profiling.pdf. (n.d.).

Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2009). Profiling violent crimes: an investigative tool. Sage

Publications.

Winerman, L. (2004). Psychological sleuths--Criminal profiling: the reality behind the myth.

Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/criminal.html.

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