Criminal profiling is the stratification of evidence and reducing the list of prime suspects to the most likely. Profiling is done by analyzing evidence found in crime scenes. The evidence is the key to revealing the behavioral patterns of criminals, thus establishing their intentions, routines, and, in some cases predicting the likelihood of them committing another crime (Turvey, 2015). If the evidence found in more than one scene shows sequential patterns, possible assertions can be made that the offenders are the same person, or are related in behavioral aspects. An excellent criminal profiler must utilize the techniques of profiling. The first action is the creation of a dedicated file (profile), which helps to catalog the trends. These similar patterns can be used in analyzing and understanding the criminals’ psyche and motivation. Secondly, they must possess analytical skills. Analysis requires professional intervention from investigators and mental health professionals (Shannon et al. 2013). However, it has been revealed that investigators are sometimes prone to bias that stems from personal or professional experiences. It is, therefore, important that officers assisting an investigation should be led by an individual with mental health studies background. This is because profiling involves the study of behaviors through the crimes that have been committed. For this reason, mental health professionals make good criminal profilers. Profiling, through analysis of their behavior patterns, has proven to be useful in tracking down criminals and bringing them to justice. The case of Ted Bundy is one example that showed how effective criminal profiling is. From the profile of Bundy, he was a charismatic man, but deep inside, he used his good looks to lure young women, disable them, rape and murder them and sometimes keep some of their body parts as souvenirs. Bundy's psychological profile stated that he was attracted to younger women, mostly college students, during his early killing days. The disappearance of college students was reported at least every month, which led to an establishment of trends that later became predictable (Dekle, 2011). From Bundy’s profile, it is stated that he would fake injuries to lure his victim, feign being an authoritative figure, and used a Volkswagen most often during his crimes. He was also stated to be meticulous in planning, knowledgeable about police methodologies in profiling, and a great pretender. Using his extensive knowledge of the law, Bundy was able to continue his killing spree for over four years. He was also able to sustain marriages despite his atrocious activities. Finally, he was apprehended in Florida. Despite numerous escapes and relocations, his style of assault was identified in Florida, having escaped from Washington (Ibid) ( Pascale, 2014) . The evidence made the police aware of his relocation, and he was finally arrested for carjacking and assaulting a police officer in 1975. In summary, the drawbacks to criminal profiling include biases that may inhibit the process of investigation by the biased investigators trying to bend the narrative of every crime scene to suit a particular profile. Profiling also dwells on text-book assumptions, which in most field cases, are not valid. The backbone of profiling is consistency, which might change due to changes in environmental or psychological situations of the criminal. For instance, installing lighting and security cameras on the streets will force a criminal used to darkness to device other methods of committing crimes, thus upsetting the consistency of their profiles (Pascale, 2014). On the other hand, profiling provides information that leads to investigative efforts and protects the victims. Raising alerts based on an established trend inform the public who may assist in investigations too. The signals may provide the police with intricate details that bring the specifics of the criminal, like physical attributes, to sketching.
References
Pascale. C. (2014). Questioning the Validity of Criminal Profiling: An Evidence-Based Approach. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 48 (2), 238-255. DOI:10.1177/0004865814530732
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Dekle, G. (2011). The Last Murder . Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Turvey, B. (2015). Criminal profiling . Amsterdam: Academic Press.
Shannon. V, Woodhams Jessica, Beach Anthony. (2013). Offender Profiling: A Review and Critique and the Approaches and Major Assumptions. Journal of Current Issues in Crime, Law and Law Enforcement, 6 (4), 353-387.
