Miscellaneous Points

1
Miscellaneous Points

• Labeling and forensic psychology
• Career choice and discomfort with labeling
• Must be careful that labels are appropriate
• NOT labeling could result in harm to innocent
  third parties
• NOT appropriately labeling a psychopath or other
  violent offender is NOT ETHICAL
• Will these labels stick with the person through
  life?
• Yes, but
• if appropriate they could benefit many others who
  will avoid contact if an offender is violent or a
  sex offender
• the individual is responsible for his/her own
  label
• denial of the label will only foster the
  individuals own denial or sense of
  invulnerability

2
Testing

• Testing is an important tool in forensic
  psychology
• Only a few tests are truly useful however
• Face valid tests such as BDI are useless
• MMPI-2
• can demonstrate underlying patterns which do not
  come out in interview
• ex. 7-8
• have fairly good validity scales
• Psychopathy Checklist
• Combines interview, archival and legal data
• Avoids reliance on self-serving offender data
• looks for traits as well as content
• Professional opinions given without adequate
  testing are of questionable validity

3
Criminal Profiling

• Cautionary note Profiling does not exist as
  organized profession
• Part science, part art-form
• Based upon learning and experience, not innate
  ability
• Inductive profiling---based on correlational
  research What or Who
• ex. 24 year old woman is raped and murdered
• Deductive profiling---involves critical thinking,
  Why questions
• ex. Same woman positioned with legs spread open
• Potential Aspects of a Profile
• Threshold Assessment Provides initial direction
• Equivocal Forensic Analysis analysis of crime
  scene evidence
• Crime Reconstruction

4
Evidence Analyzed

• Wound Pattern Analysis
• Ante vs. Post mortem wounds
• weapon, restraint, environment, offender to
  victim wounds
• Precautionary force designed to mislead or
  hamper investigators
• Experimental force often post-mortem designed to
  shock investigator
• Corrective and Controlling force designed to
  alter victim behavior
• Punishment oriented force Designed to release
  anger
• Sexually-Oriented force
• Psychological autopsy
• lifestyle and history
• state of mind

5
Crime Scene Information

• Location type Indoor, Outdoor, etc.
• Point of Contact Primary Scene, Secondary Scene
• Method of Approach Con vs. Blitz
• Victim Resistance
• Nature and Sequence of sexual acts
• Removal of items from scene
• condition of body
• was body moved post-mortem
• if positioned, what is positioning meant to
  signify
• Verbal information, if available
• complements
• apologies
• intentional deceptions
• reassurance
• self-deprecation
• threats
• inquiries of pleasure
• confidence

6
Planned vs. Opportunistic

• Evidence of surveillance
• calls to victims house
• knowledge of victims personal schedule
• weapons brought to crime scene
• Opportunistic
• offense occurs in context of another offense
• weapons used from on scene
• crime is quick, hasty, poorly planned
• Insider information
• intimate knowledge of security protocols
• use of trade-specific weapons
• use of ligatures, restraints, etc.
• use of pharmacological agents

7
Signature Aspects

• Signature is often a reflection of underlying
  personality
• profit, sexual sadism, anger, narcissism,
  reassurance/nurturance, control,
• Parts of a signature may include
• types of ligatures used
• sexual acts
• repeated verbalizations/scripting
• use of torture/mutilation
• positioning of body

8
Offender Characteristics

• Relation to geographic area
• most offenders start in comfortable area and work
  out
• use of precautionary tactics
• original victims may be known to offender
• Sex
• May be difficult to establish when direct
  physical evidence is absence
• Closer crime is to a place of nurturancehospita
  l, day-care, nursing home, or if parent is
  suspected, odds of female perp become greater
• Blitz attacks, assaults on domicile, kidnappings
  most often male
• Race
• Tends to be same as race of victim
• less true now than previously

9
Offender Characteristics 2

• Age
• also difficulty to say with certainty
• trend is to be similar to victim except at the
  poles
• older victimyounger perp
• younger victim (child)somewhat older perp
• Skill level
• ascertained by ability of perp to attain entry,
  gain control, remove evidence, avoid witnesses
• general indication of intelligence
• Vehicle ownership
• neat, controlled crime scenes related to
  well-kept cars, probably not flashy
• disorganized scenelate model, poorly kept car or
  no car
• moving of body may indicate larger vehicle, van,
  truck, large car
• indication of anger in crime may indicate
  flashier car

10
Use of violence

• Blitz attack
• indicates poor self-confidence in social
  situations
• may have disfigurement, speech impediment
• few consensual relationships
• may have had controlling mother
• may have legal history
• Seductive/Con attack
• indicates greater self-confidence
• more likely to be attractive, intelligence,
  socially competent
• has consensual sexual relationships, may be
  married
• higher use of compartmentalization, less legal
  history

11
Empathy/Hatred

• Empathy with victim can be expressed many ways
• apologies to victim
• efforts to make victim comfortable, pre or post
  mortem
• efforts to beautify victim post-mortem
• Anger and Hatred demonstrated by opposite
• lewd positioning of body
• decapitation
• mutilation of face, nipples, genetalia
• Empathic criminals may have relationships with
  parental figures marked by dependency, slightly
  greater likelihood live with parental figure
• Hatred oriented criminals more likely to have
  transitory living arrangements

12
Physical/Medical Status

• DNA typing and other forensic medical testing
• Left/Right handedness
• Height
• Strength (may help determine if perp is child or
  female)
• Impotence
• post-mortem attempts at penetration fail
• use of surrogate instruments
• may be tied with poor-self-esteem
• Refusal to allow victim to see offender may
  reflect possible physical deformity
• covering of victim face mixed with mutilation,
  other signs that do NOT indicate remorse

13
Relationships

• Treatment of victim may be displacement
• Excessive mutilation of victim may be sign of
  stress
• anger rapists
• placing objects in vagina or anus
• desire to humiliate relationship partner by proxy
• May choose victim characteristics which are
  similar to displaced object of anger
• Some crimes may reflect disgust with own sex
  drive
• may target prostitutes exclusively
• appear quiet and shy
• not likely to engage in sex activity with victim
• embarrassment at own nudity

14
Other details

• Taunting of police/media
• may have had police/security/military job
• difficulties with employment history
• Single incidence organized crime
• perp may have moved subsequent to crime
• may appear under greater degree of stress
• may confess to trusted colleague