Geographic Profiling

1
Geographic Profiling

• Developed by Kim Rossmo as his Ph.D dissertation
  at Simon Fraser based up the work of the
  Brantinghams
• Based on the assumption that crime locations are
  not random

2
Geographic Profiling

• Definition an investigative technique used to
  determine the most likely location of a
  criminals residence based upon the geographic
  location of crime sites
• Suitable crimes
• Serial offences (murder, rape, arson, bombings)
• Predatory crimes (child abduction, sexual
  homicide)
• Multiple location crimes (credit card usage,
  property crimes)

3
Geographic Profiling

• Based upon principles of
• least effort
• Routine activity
• Distance decay

4
Requirements for Geographic Profiling

• Complete familiarity with the case file
• Examination of the crime scenes (minimum of 5
  crimes)
• Interviews with investigators and witnesses
• Study of area maps
• Analysis of neighborhood demographics for both
  the abduction site and body dump site
• Computerized analysis

5
Geographic Profiling

• Profiling software then produces a probability
  map to show the most likely residence locations
  for the suspect. Red indicates the most likely
  area to search.

6
Geographic Profiling

• Once the area has been located, traditional
  investigative techniques are used
• Address-based searches of police records
• Increased patrols
• Door-to-door searches/questioning
• Tip prioritization
• DNA screening prioritization