What Is Profiling? • Profiling: The Basics • Profiling Variables • FBI Typology • MO vs Signature
This article is going
to be a work in progress because I plan on adding to it as I learn and hope
that others will share their views and experience to it as well. I
will state up front that I am not a profiler, but I have taken extensive
training throughout the last several years on criminal investigative
analysis. There will be some, if not many, that disagree with the
article to be written, because of the inductive/deductive methods of
profiling and the debate of whether one is more valid or productive than the
other. However, in the training that I have taken, this is the method
to profiling that I have learned and the steps taken to produce a profile.
There are three or
four critical questions to ask and answer when creating a profile and
therefore there are several steps to be taken, which need to be completed in
a methodical manner to arrive at the end point. The end point in this
case being the creation of a profile of an unknown offender based upon then
forensic and behavioral evidence. The reason for three or four
questions is that I have learned from several instructors and although they
have stated similar methods, there are some that prefer three questions, and
those that prefer four. I will present all four here.
What?
What happened at the
scene of a violent crime? The answer to this question will come by
reconstructing the crime
and is done so with a thorough observation of all the evidence and the
creation of a timeline of events leading up to the crime, if available
during the crime, and after the crime.
One of the first steps to be taken
during this aspect of developing a profile is studying the
victimology
of the victim of the violent crime.
Next, if one takes a look at the
forensics section of this
site, one can gain a fairly good idea of all the information that is needed
to provide a complete picture of events for the individual creating a
profile. If a body has been moved, a description of all crime scenes
should be made available, which may include any space where both physical
and behavioral evidence may be collected. Crimes may have several
crime scenes such as where a murder has taken place, a car where the victim
was transported, a disposal site and any other areas in between where the
victim may have been held captive. Along with the physical evidence, the profiler will be noting
all the behavioral evidence that is recognized at the crime scene. For
more information see the
M.O. vs Signature page on
this site.
Why?
Answering this
question will help determine the motivation for the crime being committed.
I will develop a list of possible motivations and add it to this article,
however for now we will concentrate on sexualized crimes and state that
a sexual urge may be the main motivation for the crime, but anger, power or a combination of the two
will be strong secondary motivations for these
crimes.
In preparing documents
that will be relating the motivation for the crime, it is helpful to answer
the following questions:
Why did the particular
crime happen? Why to this particular victim? Why at this time?
Why at this location? Why in this manner?
How?
How the crime occurred
refers to reconstructing the events and making a mental picture (although
there are some computer generated programs that create a visual
representation) of the crime that was committed. For some of the
trainers I have learned the process from, this is incorporated into the
first step as stated previously. Reconstructing how the crime was
committed is very important and can provide valuable information about the
offender by recognizing the level of offender sophistication, level of risk
taken by the offender, and actions that took place that were not necessary
to complete the intended outcome of the crime, which will demonstrate a
ritualistic element that may signify a signature.
Who?
We finally arrive to
the, "Who committed the crime?" question. The answer to this will not
be "Bob from 123 Main Street" but rather will present an opinion based upon
all the evidence on the type of offender and the related
characteristics of such an individual. The
profiling variables will be
developed and will describe the offender as his or her family or friends
would describe him or her.
Again, I will be
developing this page over time as I take more courses and gain more
experience and I invite others to add to this article with their experience
and insights.
