Overview

Overview


Module 5  - Criminal Profiling

Criminal profiling helps law enforcement officers in their pursuit of unknown suspects. This investigative tool is also known as

  • offender profiling
  • psychological profiling
  • criminal personality profiling
  • behavioural profiling
  • criminal investigative analysis

In criminal profiling, a criminal suspect is analyzed based on the nature of the offence and the manner in which it was committed. Various aspects of the criminal's personality may be determined from his or her choices before, during, and after the crime. In addition, a comparison with the characteristics of known personality types, mental abnormalities, and criminal profiles further helps to identify traits the culprit may possess. This information in combination with the physical evidence helps to develop a practical working profile of the offender.

Geographic profiling is a sub-type of criminal profiling. This criminal investigative technique analyzes the locations of a connected series of crimes to determine the most probable area where the suspect may be found. Geographic profiling is used in serious criminal cases of serial homicide, rape, serial arson, bombing, and serial robbery.

Organization of the Module

  • Lesson 1 discusses the historical use of criminal profiling, the steps involved in the creation of a criminal profile, and some of the main behavioural and personality characteristics often found in criminal profiles.
  • Lesson 2 explores the use of criminal profiling in homicide investigations. The various types of multiple murderers are described, as are organized offenders and disorganized offenders.
  • Lesson 3 describes geographic profiling, how it is used in criminal investigations, and how this technique was formally developed in Canada.
  • Lesson 4 examines two historical crime cases that involved criminal profiling: the Railway Killer case and the BTK Strangler case.

Module Learner Objectives:

By the end of Module 5, you should be able to…

  • appreciate the value of criminal profiling in criminal investigations
  • outline the types of crimes for which a criminal profile is necessary
  • understand the five main steps involved in generating a criminal profile
  • compare the traits of an organized offender with those of an disorganized offender
  • identify a given criminal suspect(s) as an organized, disorganized, or combination offender
  • outline the contents of a criminal profile report and explain the characteristics included in the report
  • analyze or create a criminal profile of a criminal suspect using mock crime scene data
  • explain the use and purpose of a subset of criminal profiling: geographic profiling
  • analyze or create a geographic profile of a criminal suspect using mock crime scene data
  • discuss a historical crime case(s) that involved the use of criminal profiling and/or geographic profiling (such as Washington Sniper shootings, Oklahoma federal building bombing, Unabomber, Anthrax letters, Mad Bomber, or Son of Sam).

“Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions.”

- Agatha Christie (English detective, novelist, and playwright, 1890-1976)