WK2 DISCUSSION QUESTION

Overview of the Criminal-Profile-Generating Process

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) developed a criminal-profile-generating process to create the profile of a murderer. This process consists of six main stages. The six stages are:

1. Profiling Inputs 2. Decision Process Models 3. Crime Assessment 4. Criminal Profile 5. Investigation 6. Apprehension

Source: Douglas, J. E., Ressler, R. K., Burgess, A. W., & Hartman, C. R. (1986). Criminal profiling from crime scene analysis. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 4(4), 401–421.

Stage 1: Profiling Inputs The profiler gathers as much information from the crime scene as possible. For example, he or she identifies the method used to murder the victim, the characteristics of the victim, and the appearance of the crime scene. The only piece of information that the profiler does not include at this stage is a list of possible subjects—the profiler needs to make sure the profile is as objective as possible and not tailored to ―match‖ a particular person. The profiling inputs generally are gathered in the following categories:

The crime scene: Physical evidence, body position, and weapons found near the crime scene

Victimology: The victim’s family background, age, and occupation and the date and time the victim was last seen alive

Forensic information: Reports (for example - autopsy, postmortem, and lab), the cause of death, and wounds

The initial police report: Police observations, the time of the crime, the person who reported the crime, and the neighborhood in which the crime occurred

Photographs: The crime scene and the victim

Stage 2: Decision Process Models The profiler begins to organize the inputs gathered in stage 1 to try and make sense of the patterns of evidence such as the time of the crime, the cause of death, and the victim’s characteristics. It is during this stage that the profiler determines the type or style of the homicide and whether it appears to be the work of the murderer responsible for some other murders.

Stage 3: Crime Assessment The profiler tries to recreate the crime exactly as it occurred. This entails trying to identify the actions of the victim, the actions of the murderer, and how the murder transpired. By recreating and assessing the crime, the profiler begins to classify the type of murderer (for example, organized or disorganized).

Stage 4: Criminal Profile The profiler creates a detailed profile of the murderer, including his or her possible age, gender, race, and physical appearance. The profiler also tries to identify details about the murderer’s emotional and psychological states, employment, and marital status.

Stage 5: Investigation The profiler provides a written report to the law enforcement agency investigating the murder. The investigators use the profile to help create a list of possible subjects. As new evidence becomes available, the profile may be refined.

Stage 6: Apprehension Law enforcement agents apprehend the suspect. The profiler then compares his or her profile of the suspect with the ―real‖ characteristics of the subject. In this way, the profiler can identify any inaccuracies in the profile. Source: Douglas,J.E., Ressler, R.K., Burgess, A.W., & Hartman,C.R. (1986). Criminal profiling from crime scene analysis. Behavioral Sciences & the Law 4(4), 401-421.

Case Study Law enforcement agents are investigating a string of three murders that occurred in the past 12 months. They need your help in their investigation of the murders. Based on what you know about profiling, examine the crime scenes from each of the three murders and use the evidence to complete the Application assignment in Week 2. As you review each of the three crime scenes, use the Profiling Inputs Chart to gather and organize evidence. Pay particular attention to similarities among the crimes scenes. Also, be sure not to overlook any detail (no matter how inconsequential you might think it is) because it may help later in the profiling process.