2. What is the purpose of offender
profiling?
Narrows down the suspects that police should investigate.
Police psychologist believe that the way a crime has been commited gives additional clues about the
criminal.
They will leave clues at the crime scene such as:
◦ The type of victim
◦ The type of crime
◦ The location
◦ The time of day or night
◦ Specific features of the crime
◦ What is taken and what is left behind.
These can all tell us about the type of person who committed a crime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlk_sRU49TI (Criminal Profiling)
3. The underlying ideas behind profiling
◦ There often similarities between crimes committed by the same person that can be picked out. Even if
the crimes develop and change over time, there are still elements that can be linked back to the same
person.
◦ The way the offender commits a crime is a reflection of their self. We all have habits and likes or dislikes
and act in a certain way. A criminal is the same and will not change their normal behaviour when they
commit a crime. This is called criminal consistency.
◦ Criminals can be tracked over time as they leave behind a trace of him or herself.
4. The aims of offender profiling
As well as narrowing down the suspects, they can help the police predict the type of future
victims and offences.
◦ The Profile can give clues about the kind of evidence that might be found on the criminal, such as
souvenirs taken from the crime scene.
◦ Can suggest useful techniques to help the police with interviews.
◦ E.g. a clever criminal will not talk if they are interviewed in a severe way. The police may be advised to use a softer strategy and let
the criminal take control of the interview until they slip up and give too much.
5. Creating a profile
1. Analysis of the crime – the police make detailed records of the victim, place, photographs,
DNA evidence and time of day.
2. Building a profile – a criminal profiler uses this information to construct a list of probable
features of a criminal.
A typical profile has a number of key bits of information.
◦ Sex of offender
◦ Race
◦ Age
◦ Marital status
◦ Occupation
◦ Intellectual ability
◦ Possible criminal behaviour
◦ Area where criminal lives.
6. Does offender profiling work
There are a handful of profiles that have worked.
◦ David Canters
But others have lead to victimisation and entrapment of innocent people.
Colin Stagg was arrested for the murder of Rachel Nickell (1992) based on the profile of an
experienced profiler Paul Brittan.
They could not get physical evidence to arrest Stagg so used an undercover policewoman to date
him. They wanted him to give away his crimes to her, which he never did.
However he was arrested because the police felt that they had the right man.
The case was eventually thrown out of court.
However the media and the police hounded him and made him an outcast all because of the
profile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okTW9-MqsqM
Colin Stagg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcF5SSkIKh8
Napper
7. Guesswork?
People say that it is nothing better than experienced guesswork. That it is about as accurate as
horoscopes.
This is unfair as successful profiles have been quite specific.
There is a problem with measuring the success of a profile as it is a small link in a much larger
chain in the investigation. From Witnesses, evidence and police analysis, to the profile and
follow up enquiries. There are many factors in a successful arrest of a criminal.
◦ However a profile does guide the police
◦ If the profile is wrong the criminal can slip through the net (Robert Napper)
Most police believe that profiles are useful, but they do not always help solve the crime.
It seems traditional policing is still the most effective way of catching a criminal.
