Title: Forensic Victimology 2nd Edition
1Forensic Victimology 2nd Edition
- Chapter Four Constructing a Victim Profile
2Constructing a Victim Profile
- Forensic victimology is concerned with the
investigation and examination of particular
victims alleged to have suffered specific crimes,
which is an idiographic form of knowledge
building. - Idiographic refers to the study of the concrete
examining individuals and their actual qualities.
- An idiographic victim profile is a list of the
characteristics possessed by a specific victim. - This includes physical, biological, mental,
social, educational, occupational, and
personality descriptors.
3Constructing a Victim Profile
- Nomothetic refers to the study of the abstract
examining groups and universal laws. - The primary goal of nomothetic victim studies is
to accumulate general, typical, common, or
averaged characteristics of victim groups. - Nomothetic victim profiles, therefore, do not
represent an actual victim that exists in the
real world.
4The Purpose of Victim Profiles
- Forensic victimologists serve investigations and
court proceedings in the following ways - Assist in understanding elements of the crime
- Assist in developing a timeline
- Define the suspect pool
- Provide investigative suggestions
- Assist with crime reconstruction
- Assist with contextualizing allegations of
victimization - Assist with the development of offender modus
operandi
5The Purpose of Victim Profiles
- Continued
- Assist with the development of offender motive
- Assist with case linkage
- Assist with public safety response
- Educate the court
- Forensic victimology is intended to serve both
investigative and forensic goals, which are very
different in scope and reliability with respect
to findings.
6Standards of Pratice
- Practice standards are the fundamental rules that
set the limits of evidentiary interpretation. - The following practice standards are designed to
help reduce bias, encourage the employment of
analytical logic and the scientific method, and
require the formation of hypotheses and
conclusions only in accordance with the known
evidence. - Forensic examiners must strive diligently to
avoid bias. - Forensic examiners are responsible for requesting
all relevant evidence and information in order to
render an adequate victim profile and form
related opinions.
7Standards of Pratice
- Forensic examiners are responsible for
determining whether the evidence they are
examining is of sufficient quality to provide the
basis for an adequate examination. - Forensic examiners must, whenever possible, visit
the crime scene. - Forensic conclusions, and their basis, must be
provided in a written format. - Forensic examiners must demonstrate an
understanding of behavioral science, forensic
science, and the scientific method. - All conclusions must be based on established
facts. Facts may not be assumed for the purpose
of analysis. - .
8Standards of Pratice
- Conclusions must be valid inferences based on
logical arguments and analytical reasoning. - Conclusions must be reached with the assistance
of the scientific method. - Conclusions must demonstrate an understanding of,
and clearly distinguish between, individuating
findings and all others. - Forensic examiners must demonstrate an
understanding of the conditions of transfer
(Locards Exchange Principle and Evidence
Dynamics). - Any evidence, data, or findings on which
conclusions are based must be made available
through presentation or citation. - .
9Victimology General Guidelines
- The following objective packages must be gathered
and assessed by the criminal investigator and
forensic victimologist alike, as with any
intelligence. - Personal Package
- Digital Package
- Residence Package
- Relationship Package
- Employment Package
- Financial Package
- Medical Package
- Court Package
- .
10Victimology General Guidelines
- Personal Package
- Sex
- Race
- Height
- Weight
- Hair color/length/dyed
- Eyes color/glasses/contacts
- Clothing/jewelry
- Personal items
- Grooming/manner of dress
- Smoker or non-smoker
- Hobbies/skills
- Routine daily activities and commitments
- Recently scheduled events
- Upcoming scheduled events
11Victimology General Guidelines
- Digital Package
- Call phone calls, chats, address book, GPS,
photos, video - Laptop/desktop email, calls, chats, documents,
address books, browser history, photos, video - Personal Web sites recent browser history,
social network and social media activity, blogs,
dating Web site, and other personal subscription
Web sites - Financial Web sites/payment history stocks,
mutual funds/401K, credit cards, and online
banking - Personal GPS device recent trips, destinations,
bookmarked points of interest - .
12Victimology General Guidelines
- Residence Package
- Physical home address
- Location/condition of bedroom
- Evidence of music/literature/personal interests
- Personal correspondence
- Personal sexual items/explicit material
- Missing items
- Signs of violence
- Location/condition of personal vehicle
- Hard line phone calls
- 911 calls and criminal history of residence
13Victimology General Guidelines
- Relationship Package
- Current and previous intimate or marital
partner(s) - Current and previous family members
- Current and previous household members
- Current and previous friends
- Current and previous co-workers/classmates
- History of relationship counseling
- .
14Victimology General Guidelines
- Employment Package
- Educational background and history
- Current occupations/job titles
- Place of employment/work schedule/supervisor/cowor
kers - Employment history
- Work phone calls, chats, address book, GPS,
video - Laptop/desktop email, calls, chats, documents,
address books, browser history, photos, video - Business GPS device recent trips, destinations,
bookmarked points of interest - Business vehicle logs, travel (times/destinations
), GPS device - Business insurance policies
15Victimology General Guidelines
- Financial Package
- Wallet/Purse contents, cards, personal items
- Credit cards/history
- Bank accounts/history
- Property ownership
- Stocks/mutual funds/410K/retirement benefits
- Insurance policies
16Victimology General Guidelines
- Medical Package
- Current state of intoxication (drug and alcohol
levels) - Current medical conditions (physical and mental)
- History of serious medical conditions
- Current medications
- Current treatment regimes
- Current treatment professionals
- Recent medical appointments
- Addictions (drugs, alcohol, or obsessive
behavior)
17Victimology General Guidelines
- Court Package
- Criminal history
- Civil court history
- Witness history
- In-state and out-of-state records
- Evidence of victim criminal activity during the
crime - Evidence of ongoing victim criminal activity
unrelated to the crime - .
18Victimology General Guidelines
- These packages should be used to complete the
following tasks - Compile a list of the victims daily routines,
habits, and activities - Compile a complete list of victim family members
with contact information - Compile a complete list of victim friends with
contact information - Compile a complete list of victim
coworkers/schoolmates with contact information - Create a timeline of events using witness
statements, digital evidence, and physical
evidence. - .
19Creating a Timeline The Last 24 Hours
- The purpose of creating a timeline is to
familiarize the forensic victimologist with the
last known activities of the victim. - A good approach to creating this timeline of
locations and events includes at least the
following steps - Compile all witness data
- Compile all available forensic evidence and
findings - Compile all of the police/media crime scene
photographs and video - Compile all security stills and video covering
the crime scene and any paths taken by the victim
or offender to or from it - .
20Creating a Timeline The Last 24 Hours
- Continued
- Create a linear timeline of events and locations
- Create a map of the victims route for the 24
hours before the attack, as detailed as possible - Physically walk through the victims last 24
hours using the map and forensic evidence as a
guide - Document expected background elements of the
route. - .
21Creating a Timeline The Last 24 Hours
- Then, attempt to determine the following
- The point at which the offender acquired the
victim - The place where the offender attacked the victim
- How well the attack location can be seen from any
surrounding locations - Whether the offender would need to be familiar
with the area to know of this specific location
or get to it - Whether knowledge of the route would require or
indicate prior surveillance - Whether this route placed the victim at higher or
lower exposure to an attack - Whether the acquisition of the victim on that
route placed the offender at higher or lower
exposure to identification or apprehension - .