Deductive criminal profiling entails an investigative scenario where a profiler draws general conclusions about a crime committed based on assumptions, work experience, and self-evidence in a bid to ascertain the facts of the case. In deductive profiling, an officer visits a crime scene and come up with valid hypotheses based on observation. In this context, it is quite imperative to note that deductive criminal profiling is dependent on general information collected in the crime scene to help guide in building profiles for the offenders. Besides, a profiler would consider using his/their intelligence based on the history of related crimes and work experience in a bid to come up with a contingent truth about the context of the crime committed (Dean & Yule, 2017). Deductive criminal profiling dwells on the fact that if hypotheses are valid, then the conclusions drawn from the data collected from the crime scene would be true. A practical example that demystifies the concept of deductive criminal profiling is the case where a profiler pursues a murder case. In this context, if the evidence collected from the crime scene is preferential about the selection of a particular victim, then a profiler would deduce the fact that chances of targeting specific victims of the kind are valid. Conversely, inductive criminal profiling dwells on a conclusive empirical analysis from the interviews and data collected from the crime scene. In this context, the determination of the validity of the evidence or the case is not based on abstract opinions, observation or work experience but a conclusive interpretation from the scientific analysis from the data collected from the crime scene. Inductive criminal profiling does not rely on generalization to build profiles for criminal offenders and the victims of crime but focuses on conducting hypothesis testing and draw valid and specific conclusions from the interviews and data collected from the crime scene (Dean & Yule, 2017). A practical example that outlines the concept of inductive criminal profiling involves scenarios where profilers would gather information from the serial murders and conduct an empirical analysis and testing the responses under the guidelines of both solved and unsolved similar cases. The understanding of Locard's role as an exchange principle in criminal profiling entails the consideration of all aspects of both forensic disciplines and forensic sciences in a bid to determine the validity and the facts of the evidence collected from a crime scene. In this context, Locard's role enlightens the necessity of applying empirical analysis and critical thinking in a bid to initiate the crime reconstruction process (Mistek, Fikiet, Khandasammy & Lednev, 2018). Furthermore, Locard’s role in criminal profiling focuses on the ability of the profilers to identify and mitigate all chances of bias in the process of ascertaining the fact of the material evidence as a leeway crime reconstruction. In this case, the willingness to disregard disapproved theories that are applied in criminal investigation and profiling is accorded the requisite attention. As observed by Mistek et al. (2018), Locard's principles is important for the investigation of serial crimes such as homicide, sadistic sex crime, and arson based on the fact that it embraces the concept of applying forensic science in determining the facts of the evidence collected from the crime scene that often focuses on an analysis of genetics. Consequently, the application of Locard’s role as an exchange principle in criminal profiling, especially in cases of homicide, affirms the fact that it is the sole responsibility of a profiler to perform the crime reconstruction process with utmost diligence and draw reflection based on an accurate interpretation of forensic data. The differences that exist between mass murders and serial killers are dependent on the number of victims and timings of committing a crime. For instance, in the case of serial killers, it is evident that they are psychologically motivated to kill three or more people over a period of time and in separate events. The fact that serial killers are conceptualized as psychopaths means that they have the capacity to stalk their victims over a period of time before making a determination to kill them (Abe, 2017). In numerous circumstances, serial killers consider adopting unidentifiable tendencies for reasons of hiding their true identity and prove very friendly to their victims just to have a leeway to commit a crime successfully. Serial killers are driven by psychological thrill to commit murder under the mask of sanity. In this regard, the acts of committing murder could not be driven by dissatisfaction or the concern of social misfit by the serial killers but rather the sense of fascination they achieve upon killing their most favorite victims. On the other hand, mass murderers entail randomly killing people at one go and in the same location. Mass murders are conceptualized as people with poor social skills and tend to suffer from adverse effects of separation anxiety disorders. Consequently, mass murderers tend to have few friends and miss the connection from the social world either based on the frightening experiences of uncontrollable events or loss or just based on paranoia (Abe, 2017). In most case scenarios and analysis, mass murders are not considered as psychopaths but rather dissatisfied people who show psychopathic characteristics and behaviors either as a result of losing a loved one or a horrific divorce. On the same note, the need to commit mass murder is always triggered by uncontrollable scenarios, and the perpetrator may become very cruel, manipulative, and does not show empathy. The social disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and the repulsive effects of separation anxiety disorders come out as valid reasoning towards the understanding of why certain groups of people become mass murderers. Approaching the profile of a serial killer entails conclusive research on both the medical history and empirical analysis of the social connections of a criminal offender prior to arrest. In this context, inductive criminal profiling fits the case of a serial killer since they prove quite intelligent by adopting the technique of mask sanity and proves quite friendly to their victims (Mustafa, 2018). The techniques make it quite cumbersome to conduct empirical research about their criminal history and determine the facts of their most current and active crime. A practical example regarding the approach of profiling a serial killer entails a forensic examination of the evidence from the crime scene, especially in homicide cases, for reasons of connecting and ascertaining the similarities of his/her targets or victims. Furthermore, the fact that serial killers lack guilt and are often driven by psychological thrill to commit murder means that the most effective approach of profiling is through an inductive criminal profiling process. Ultimately, the most effective approach of profiling a mass murder is based on observation and self-evidence about a crime that entails the use of intelligence and the work experience of a profiler. For example, the general information or data collected from the crime scene is a contingent truth to help build the profile of a mass murderer (Mustafa, 2018). Ideally, a deductive criminal profiling best suits the case of mass murders since the criminal act is often random and is committed in the same location at a go. The fact that mass murders are not clinically psychotic and their criminal offenses are triggered by loneliness, and social isolation denotes means that the most suitable approach of profiling understands the capacity of the level of their social misfits prior to committing mass murder.
References
Abe, K. (2017). What is a Serial Killer? What is a Mass Murderer? How do they Differ? European Journal of Academic Essays , 4 (4), 187-198.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Dean, G., & Yule, S. (2017). Criminal Profiling. In the Palgrave Handbook of Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice (pp. 847-862). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Mistek, E., Fikiet, M. A., Khandasammy, S. R., & Lednev, I. K. (2018). Toward Locard’s Exchange Principle: Recent Developments in Forensic Trace Evidence Analysis. Analytical chemistry , 91 (1), 637-654.
Mustafa, M. B. (2018). Serial Killers Profiling and Target Victims: Is There a Connection?
