Criminal Personality Profiling

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Chapter 31

• Criminal Personality Profiling

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Criminal Personality Profiling

• Purpose of offender profiling is to help
  investigators to narrow the field of suspects
  based on the characteristics of the crime scene
  and initial investigative information

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Criminal Personality Profiling

• FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit has developed an
  accepted investigative tool for officers tasked
  with solving violent crimes by understanding
  certain aspects of violent criminal behavior

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Criminal Personality Profiling

• Policing today is performed by professionals
  possessing better education and training
• These individuals use advancements in forensic
  science and investigations to their advantage to
  assist in solving crime

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Criminal Personality Profiling

• Profiling process provides an approach to conduct
  a thorough and competent behaviorally based
  examination of crime scenes and investigations of
  violent crimes that display characteristics
  amenable to profiling process
• Behavioral evidence at crime scenes may give
  insight into characteristics of offender

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Expert Test

• Experts should meet following criteria
• Has expert had opportunity to review
  criminological research at FBI BSU, academicians
  or other law enforcement researchers

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Expert Test

• Has expert been trained extensively in
  theoretical and behavioral aspects of criminal
  behavior, crime scene reconstruction,
  criminalistics and other forensic fields

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Expert Test

• Does expert have extensive investigative
  experience involving violent crimes, hands on
  processing of crime scenes, examining effects of
  wounding and injuries, observing autopsies, and
  applying criminal analysis to wide range of
  violent crimes

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Expert Test

• Does the expert approach the investigation of
  an unsolved violent crime from a law enforcement
  perspective rather than a clinical psychology one?

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History of Profiling and Criminal Investigative
Analysis

• Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chan brought common
  place crime solving skills into play
• Experienced investigators of violent crime
  develop a cumulative sense of offender traits

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History of Profiling and Criminal Investigative
Analysis

• During the 1950s and 1960s, a select cadre of
  sworn law enforcement officers was selected to
  attend FBI Academy
• As new techniques were developed, ideas were
  shared which would promulgate cooperative crime
  solving methods

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History of Profiling and Criminal Investigative
Analysis

• FBI developed Behavioral Science Unit
• Development of quantitative and qualitative
  research was done
• Face to face interviews with convicted offenders
  were done to better understand criminal behavior
  and conduct

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Criminal Investigative Analysis

• Processes of criminal investigative analysis are
• Crime from a behavioral perspective
• Criminal personality profiling
• Crime scene analysis and reconstruction
• Search warrant applications

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Criminal Investigative Analysis

• Investigative strategies
• Interview and interrogation strategies
• Prosecution strategies
• Case linkage of serial offenses
• Equivocal death analyses
• Threat analyses

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General Concepts

• National Center for the Analysis of Behavioral
  Crime is operational successor of FBIs
  Behavioral Science Unit
• CIA collection and processes have been very
  successful in assisting in the apprehension of
  criminals

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Profiling

• Profiling is defined as the identification of
  certain characteristics of an unknown,
  unidentified offender based on the way he
  committed a violent act, and his interactions
  with the victim

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Descriptive Traits of Offender

• Some traits are learned from witnesses, but most
  valuable are from combination of
• Crime scene examination
• Investigative experience
• continued

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Descriptive Traits of Offender

• Understanding of offender and victim behaviors
• Knowledge of wound patterns
• Knowledge of forensic evidence
• Results of research conducted by FBI/BSU

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Categories of Profiling Descriptors

• Categories include
• Sex
• Race
• Age
• Criminal History

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Categories of Profiling Descriptors

• Employment History
• Social Adjustment
• Sexual adjustment or abnormalities
• Alcohol or drug usage
• Educational level
• Interpersonal skills

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Victimology

• Victimology victims history that impacts the
  analysis of a crime and the behavioral study of
  a victim of a violent crime

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Victimology

• Victimology examines areas including victims
  reputation, lifestyle, habits, associates, and
  pastimes to form an opinion about individuals
  risk of becoming a crime victim

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Victimology

• Goal of victimology in investigation is to answer
  critical questions
• Why was that person attacked instead of another
  person?
• Was the victims lifestyle a contributing factor
  toward victimization?

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Victimology

• By learning the personality, attitudes,
  lifestyle habits and perspectives of a victim,
  the crime scene and offense can be better
  analyzed and evaluated for a better behavioral
  understanding of what transpired and why crime
  occurred.

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Trophy or Souvenir- What is Taken from Victim?

• Difference in offenders is demonstrated by items
  taken from victim and categorization of those
  items
• Evidentiary
• Valuables
• Psychological

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Trophy or Souvenir- What is Taken from Victim?

• Depending on the perspective of the criminal,
  items taken from victims may represent trophies
  or souvenirs

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Trophy

• Is the item significant to the offender as an
  accomplishment or a victory and is a trophy of
  his action

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Souvenir

• Is the item taken a fondly remembered
  occurrence and retained as a souvenir for
  conclusion in masturbatory fantasies

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Three Axioms for Offender Profiling

• 1. Behavior reflects personality
• How a person acts helps to determine their
  personality.

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Three Axioms for Offender Profiling

• 2. Behavior left at a crime scene can be
• discerned
• Evidence left at crime, such as DNA, prints,
  hair, blood, threads from clothing, leaves behind
  traces of behavior

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Three Axioms for Offender Profiling

• 3. Cumulative research into human behavior by the
  FBI and many others has allowed behavioralists to
  classify offenders into typologies

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Analysis of the Three Axioms

• To offer and analysis, investigators must
• Base analysis on concrete data
• Not venture forth and offer an opinion before a
  conclusive observation of all evidence is
  reviewed
• Not use flawed or inaccurate data in
  determination of final analysis

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Results Type of Analysis

• Crime Analysis- Investigator gathers all
  available data about commission of criminal act,
  the victim and offender
• Each act or behavior at a crime scene is examined
  by asking why and how event occurred

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Results Crime Analysis

• What type f person would have acted in that
  manner?
• Crime analysis generally allows investigator to
  reconstruct interaction between offender ad the
  victim, and permits explanation of individual
  pieces of crime scene puzzle

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Results Crime Analysis

• Process of crime scene analysis allows for a
  better understanding of offenders motivation,
  criminal sophistication, and possible prior
  relationship with victim

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Results Crime Analysis

• As new evidence arrives during crime analysis,
  investigator may rethink his analysis, and adjust
  his interview and investigative strategies
• Logical thinking and specific parameters should
  be used by investigators

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Results Crime Analysis

• Examples of bodies of knowledge necessary for
  successful investigator
• Knowledge and limitations of scientific
  techniques
• Understanding of criminal thinking practically
  and academically
• Special expertise of criminal investigators

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Crime Scene Reconstruction

• Crime scene reconstruction allows crime scene
  investigator to understand how victim was
  approached and controlled, and interactions
  between victim and offender

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Crime Scene Reconstruction

• Critical part of crime analysis is to be able
  to reconstruct and sequence criminal acts as they
  occurred in interaction between victim and
  offender

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Crime Scene Reconstruction

• Assists investigator in getting a better feel for
  the crime how and why crime occurred
• Level of spontaneity or planning of crime by
  offender may be ascertained
• Allows investigator to have a broader foundation
  of knowledge to conduct investigation

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Investigative and Prosecutorial Strategies

• Strategizing over investigation of crime is part
  of investigators approach
• Avenues for exploration and psychological
  strengths or weaknesses of individuals may be
  part of investigative strategy

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Investigative and Prosecutorial Strategies

• Preparation of inclusive or partial media
  statements can assist in framing vulnerabilities
  of suspect and allow for insider information to
  be withheld

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Investigative and Prosecutorial Strategies

• Prosecutors may use knowledge of offender
  behavior and motivation to
• Arrange proof offered in a specific manner
• Structure questions specifically
• Order questions specifically

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Investigative and Prosecutorial Strategies

• Prosecutor strategy continued
• Include trigger terminology of special
  significance to defendant
• Use inside information to tie together themes in
  prosecution strategy and include information in
  arguments

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Interview and Interrogation Strategies

• Case resolution often rests with results of
  investigators interview and interrogation skills

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Interview and Interrogation Strategies

• Two prongs of offender specific interview and
  interrogation strategies
• Behavioral evidence from crime scene
• Specific background and behavioral traits of
  suspect

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Interview and Interrogation Strategies

• Prong one involves behavioral evidence
  retrieved from crime scene
• Evidence reveals information about offenders
  criminal makeup- motivation, skill, victim
  selection process, interpersonal skills, anger
  control, criminal sophistication, and personal
  elements

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Interview and Interrogation Strategies

• Prong two involves the specific background and
  behavioral traits of a suspect
• Valuable source of information about suspect can
  be retrieved from police officers who had prior
  contact with suspect

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Interview and Interrogation Strategies

• Prong two continued
• Suspects have favorite mechanisms they use
  without conscious thought to protect their self
  concept
• These are developed and honed over years
• Deeply ingrained within their personality and
  have become second nature

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Interview and Interrogation Strategies

• Prong two continued
• Criminals rely on three ego-defense mechanisms
  called RPMs
• R- Rationalization
• P- Projection
• M- Minimization

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Interview and Interrogation Strategies

• Through a combination of these RPM mechanisms,
  a suspect changes objective reality to a
  personalized view, and saves face and feels
  better about his action(s)

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Interview and Interrogation Strategies

• One of the principle goals of the investigator is
  to tap into suspects protective mental process
• Investigator gives impression he understands
  suspects criminal behavior
• Allows criminal to believe his actions are
  understandable

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Case Linkages for Serial Offenses

• MO has three general purposes for the criminal
• Enable completion of criminal act
• Prevent offenders identification
• Ease escape of criminal
• MO may be all information investigator has
  available to use for investigation

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Case Linkages for Serial Offenses

• More reliable method for case linkage is
  recognition of aspects within a crime that go
  beyond elements of MO. These may include
• Psychological drives of criminals and
  particularly psychosexual drives of sex offenders
• Repeated behavior of suspect at scenes
• Unique behavior of suspect at scene

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Equivocal Death Analyses

• Equivocal death involves knowing cause of death
  but not accurate manner of death
• Data is placed into one of eight columns which
  address factors consistent or inconsistent with
  types of death

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Equivocal Death Analyses

• Crime scene indicators coupled with victimology
  and other data from initial investigations are
  used to provide clear and compelling evidence for
  determining the proper manner of death

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Equivocal Death Analyses

• Eight investigative findings to be evaluated
• Factors consistent with homicide
• Factors inconsistent with homicide
• Factors consistent with suicide
• Factors inconsistent with suicide

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Equivocal Death Analyses

• Eight investigative findings to be evaluated,
  continued
• Factors consistent with accidental death
• Factors inconsistent with accidental death
• Factors consistent with natural causes
• Factors inconsistent with natural causes

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Equivocal Death Analyses

• Goal is to arrive at a preponderance of the
  factors listed under one heading
• A systematic and thorough review of all evidence
  should lead to an investigative conclusion as to
  the manner of death

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Search Warrant Application

• CIA may be used in search warrant applications
• Description of what occurred during commission of
  crime and what behavior reveals about suspect can
  be correlated to suspect
• Additional information such as criminal acts, or
  past criminal activities can be tied to current
  activities of suspect

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Concepts and Applications in Sexual Assault
Investigations

• Victim risk includes subjectively classifying
  victims according to their vulnerability to
  violent crime based on their everyday lifestyles

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Concepts and Applications in Sexual Assault
Investigations

• Victim risk classifications are
• High risk
• Moderate risk
• Low risk

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Offender Risk Assessment

• Factors to consider for offender risk assessment
  are
• Risk assessment of victim
• Concern or lack of concern of offender being
  caught due to factors such as time of day,
  witness potential, identity concealment, presence
  of alarms or security cameras

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Victim Selection

• Psychological process of selecting victims range
  from simple to complex
• Victim selection may be based on
• Associational level with offender
• Idealized typing of victim by offender
• Availability of victim
• Established rules for victims by suspect
• Ability of suspect to control victim

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Offender Typologies

• Roy Hazelwood was one of premier designers of CIA
  process
• Designed typologies for six categories of rapists
• Categories included manipulation of power,
  expression of anger, with subdivisions within
  each category

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Offender Typologies

• Additional categories included rapists who raped
  incidental to another crime, and lonely heart
  rapists looking for sexual arousal
• Hazelwood also offered typologies in
  relationships between victim and offender,
  offenders residency in relationship to victim,
  prior criminal offending, offenders age and
  race, etc

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False Allegations

• False allegation is defined as an unfounded
  claim of having been sexually assaulted , or
  having received threatening or obscene notes or
  telephone calls

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False Allegations

• Impact of false allegation is twofold
• Investigative resources are spread thin by
  investigation of false allegations
• Legitimate victims may receive less resources due
  to investment of time and money in false
  allegations

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Applications in Homicide Investigations

• Two distinct patterns in homicidal offenders
• Organized Offender
• Disorganized Offender

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Patterns of Homicidal Offenders

• Organized offender may have
• Planned and rehearsed crime in detail
• Allowed for variances
• Conceived crime and locations

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Patterns of Homicidal Offenders

• Organized offender may have
• Determined what tools are needed to efficiently
  deal with victims
• Determined what is necessary to prevent
  identification and apprehension
• Left little to chance and selected victim who can
  not be linked to him

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Patterns of Homicidal Offenders

• Disorganized Offender is characterized
• By impulsiveness and thoughtlessness of crime
• By crime scenes which are messy and chaotic
• By relying on tools at scene to commit crime

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Patterns of Homicidal Offenders

• Disorganized Offender is characterized by
• Lack of planning leaves abundant clues at scene
• Offenders ability to approach, obtain, and
  maintain control of the victim throughout crime
  being present

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Sexual Homicide Characteristics

• Sexual homicides can be characterized by criminal
  acts performed on the body
• Exposure of sexual anatomy, insertion of foreign
  objects, redressing of victims may be present
• Staging may be used to misdirect investigation

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Sexual Homicide Characteristics

• Meticulous examination of victims lifestyle and
  examination of offenders past behavior or
  comments concerning the victim may lead to clues
  of the identity of the offender

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Lust Murder

• Lust murder is defined as criminal acts involving
  an assault of sexual parts of a body
• Mutilation of victims body parts occurs
• Mutilation must have been intentionally inflicted
  postmortem

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Body Disposal Choices

• Body location and methodology are clues to
  revealing a prior victim-offender relationship,
  offender sophistication level, degree of planning
  by offender, victim representation of a class of
  people, and offender knowledge of disposal site

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Body Disposal Choices

• Abandoning or dumping a body where it fell may be
  a sign of lack of planning or forethought
• May exhibit a pattern of disorder
• Offender who conceals body and evidence suggests
  he has thought about commission of crime, and may
  reflect an organized offender

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Body Disposal Choices

• Posing of a body by offender may suggest
• Is leaving body in way that offends discovering
  party or society, overall
• Offender may be expressing his inner thoughts or
  anger and hatred toward victim or other
  represented by victim- prostitutes, drug dealers,
  etc

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Body Disposal Choices

• Each time an offender moves a body, new crime
  scenes are established, and the possibility of
  evidence linking offender to victim increases

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Body Disposal Choices

• Moving may infer another step in offender
  process, concealing of body, or movement to a
  specific area noted for an activity lovers
  lane, waste dump, etc.

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Crime Scene Staging

• Crime scene staging involves acts that are
  committed to send the investigation off course
  and away from the offender
• Spouses may stage a robbery or burglary to hide
  murder
• Innocent people may move body due to being
  personally disturbed by scene

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Crime Scene Staging

• Investigator who thoroughly examines crime scene
  may find details which are inconsistent with
  logical progression or evidence presented by
  crime scene
• Emotional or unemotional displays or
  inconsistencies in stories of witnesses should
  alert investigator to staging

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The end.