...profiling is a frequently-used method in criminal psychology, but there are also some people who worry about the abusing of offender profiling by the police or crews(eg. Arrest someone only because he and the general criminal has one thing in common, or even just base on the color of the skin). This essay will focus on a series of queries and common questions about offender profiling. More information on this article will be presented in the introduction. Offender profiling(CP) has also been called criminal profiling, psychological profiling or crime scene...
Words: 1854 - Pages: 8
...Racial profiling is not the same thing as criminal profiling. Racial profiling is any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national orgin rather than the behavior of an individual or information that leads the police to a particular individual who has been identified as being. or having been, engaged in criminal activity. Criminal profiling is any police- initiated action that used the compilation of the background, physical, behavioral, and motivational characteristics for a type of perpretrator that lead the police. Racial profiling does not only violate constitutional rights, but is also ineffective if used in policing. The major reason to oppose racial profiling (aside from constitutional and moral grounds) is that it simply doesn’t work. Empirical studies show that when police use race or ethnic appearance as a factor in law enforcement, their effectiveness in apprehending criminals decreases. Even worse, it has often led to “accidental” deaths, such as the fatal shootings of African American and Latino men. On the other hand, criminal profiling is effective when applied to policing. Profiling units examine criminal behaviour to discover the characteristics of the offender and the causes of their crimes. Profilers look at three areas of the criminal’s behaviour: verbal, physical, and sexual interaction with victims. To create a criminal profile, profilers consider statistics, basic psychological principles, crime scene behaviour, victimology...
Words: 498 - Pages: 2
...I believe that criminal profiling is a combination of art and science. According to (Fulero & Wrightsman, 2009), criminal profiling has been described as an educated attempt to provide specific information about a certain type of suspect (Geberth, 1981). I feel that criminal profiling at times is based on science. My reasoning for this is that the profiler has to take in account for previous behavior of an offender based on continual actions by the perpetrator. Once a profiler has a psychological composite of the offender, then the profiler can start on the external composite which I feel is where the “art” of criminal profiling comes into play. The external details that I am referring to would be his or her race, where this person may reside or other meaningful details other than the offender’s mental state. MO is usually the methods an offender uses while committing his or her crimes. An example of an offender’s MO would be a car jacker silencing the alarm of a car before stealing it. Of course the point of this would be so that the alarm would not go off and not bringing attention to the car thief. According to our textbook, MO is refined to lower the risk of apprehension (Fulero & Wrightsman, 2009). In contrast, the signature reflects unique, personal aspects of the criminal act, often the reflection of a need to express violent fantasies (Fulero & Wrigtsman, 2009). For example, a rapist may consistently engage in the same specific order of sexual activities...
Words: 564 - Pages: 3
...a number of key roles in a criminal investigation. Immediately following a crime a forensic psychologist may be asked to act as a criminal profiler. It has over the years become the love child of numerous television programs, movies, and crime novels. Criminal profiling involves the psychologist using his understanding of human behavior, motivation, and pathology so that he/she can create a psychological profile of the offender. The profiles can be surprisingly accurate. From observations of the crime scene one can infer the behavioral characteristics of the individual who created it. To a profiler everyone is a slave to his or her psychological makeup. In turn, profilers use their knowledge of which the typical offender is that bears these characteristics and then predicts not only how the investigators can expect the offender to behave in the future, but also what their physical appearance will likely be. While profiling may seem very exciting, few psychologists are ever involved in this field. Psychological knowledge has been applied to many more areas of investigative police work, from the police interrogation to the police line-up. Both of these areas have prospered greatly from psychological research. Outside of the "front-end" operations of police work there is numerous opportunities for the application of forensic psychology. In the court system, Forensic Psychologists are frequently used for both criminal and civil cases. In the criminal realm, the forensic psychologist...
Words: 598 - Pages: 3
...profiling criminal suspects assessing in truthfulness of suspects and evaluating the validity of their confessions. Psychological theory and techniques can be used to improve police officers evaluations of criminal suspects. * Profiling is usually performed at the beginning of criminal investigation when the police need help focusing on certain types of people who might be the suspect * Once a suspect has been identified law enforcement officials use other procedures to determine whether any of them should be charged. * Police look for visual and verbal cues to determine whether they are giving truthful responses Suspects are sometimes given a lie detector test to encourage them to confess. * The tests provide more information about their guilt or innocence. * They conflict with some psychological findings about their accuracy. * Sometimes they are submitted into evidence. * Many psychologists question the validity of the test. The police interrogate suspects and encourage them to confess because the confessions make it more likely that suspects will successfully prosecute and eventually convicted the suspects. Psychological finding often conflict with the courts evaluations of a voluntary confession. There is some evidence psychological characteristics are linked to behavioral patterns and they can be detected by a psychological analysis of crime scenes. * Criminal profiling is used to narrow criminal investigations to suspects who possess...
Words: 4374 - Pages: 18
...or defendant differently than a traditional clinical psychologist. Seeing a situation from a client’s point of view or empathizing with a patient is not something a forensic psychologist will do. Traditional psychological tests and interview procedures are usually not applicable when dealing with a forensic situation. In forensic evaluations it is important to assess the consistency of factual information. Forensic psychology is the application of psychology to the criminal justice system. This is however, different from forensic science. While a forensic psychology deals with legal issues, such as public policies, new laws, competency, and whether a person is sane at the time of a crime, they focus on the psychological perspectives involved in the legal system. Some examples of when forensic psychology is used in the criminal justice system are treating mentally ill offenders, consulting with attorneys, jury selection, serving as an expert witness, analyzing a criminal’s mind and intent, and criminal profiling. There are some forensic psychologists that choose to focus on research, which could range from the examination of eyewitness testimony, to improving interrogation methods. There are also forensic psychologists that focus on public policy, such as designing correctional facilities and prisons. In 1901 a man named William Stern studied memory by asking students to study a picture for forty-five seconds, and then recall what happened in the picture. This is...
Words: 1892 - Pages: 8
...Human Resources Management (HRM) can simply be defined as managing (planning, organizing, directing and controlling) the functions of employing, developing of human relations with a view to contribute proportionately to the organizational, individual and social goals. While another major function of HRM is to consistently look for talented individuals and make them a part of the organization who can contribute to the growth. The process of selection is a very painstaking process that requires rigorous research and hunting, only then the right individuals is selected. The importance of quality employees is essential for the success of an organization. The real worth of Human Capital has only been truly recognized over the past decade or so, since then all the well-to-do firms have started investing heavily in it. The process of selecting new recruits is a vital function in its own, where a wrong decision can turn out to be a disaster for the organization. The ultimate goal of selection is to obtain the most suitable candidate for the position in question. As mentioned earlier, the importance of human capital has been truly realized just recently, therefore in this new era of technology HRM has also come of age. There are countless solutions and softwares being developed on continuous basis to facilitate recruiters in selecting the best possible candidates for any desired positions. Almost all the professionally sound firms conduct thorough analysis and recruitment tests for...
Words: 2934 - Pages: 12
...investigative tool used by investigators to try and determine the characteristics of an offender by examining all available information of a particular offense (Ainsworth, 2001). The aim is not to identify the offender committing the serious crime; the primary purpose is to establish the type of person likely to have committed the offense. John Douglas argues that you need to “think exactly as the criminal does” in order to understand potentially who could be behind these crimes (Douglas and Olshaker, 1995 p, 151). It can be an effective way in order to capture the perpetrator primarily before they strike again and to gain justice and reassurance for victims. It helps to eliminate a huge swath of the population narrowing down police searches of potential perpetrators. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the strengths and weaknesses in relation to both the UK and US approach to criminal profiling and how effective their methods are in practise. Both approaches are not that different with the techniques used but they differ in terms of the rigorous empirical techniques used by profilers in the UK. I will make reference to infamous case studies to help demonstrate the benefits and drawbacks of using...
Words: 1167 - Pages: 5
...Criminal Justice The literature on criminal profiling has risen to a considerable volume. It includes not only a high number of true criminals but also many scholars’ articles and texts. In light of this, the paper will be on the history of profiling, with specific analysis of inductive and deductive profiling. History of Profiling Offender profiling also referred to as criminal profiling, offender analysis psychological profiling or simply profiling is an investigative exercise that was initially established to provide behavioral counsel to the police investigations. Likewise, people have projected many definitions of what essentially institutes a profile, and what the objectives of this advice should be. Petherick (2009) says it is an educated endeavor to provide investigation organizations with particular information on who is alleged to have executed a criminal offense. Nevertheless, whereas many variation exists about content and...
Words: 651 - Pages: 3
...Deductive and Inductive Criminal Profiling In when interpreting the personal and behavioral characteristic to identify a suspect of a crime, two primary forms of logic can be using in conducting an investigation: inductive and deductive. Inductions consists of generalizations or assumptions that are formed based on what has been observed. Inductions, like predictions, may not always be accurate. Profilers who develop their logic base off of experience or observation without any provable or verifiable science based theories, ultimately allow bias conclusions to form. On the contrary, deductive profiling is an evidence-based, process-oriented method of investigative reasoning based off of the behavioral patterns of a particular offender...
Words: 482 - Pages: 2
...Evil, it is inside all of us; it is sitting in wait. Therefore, ‘evil’ does not exist, it is simply a word used to express an act considered profoundly unforgiving or wrong within a society. It is a word that describes the thing we fear most in ourselves. So we categorize it as heinous and wrong. We categorize those who commit those actions as evil. We fear we can commit these acts on our own will. A person who acts on their own will to the monster that brews within is an abnormality within society; a tumour that needs to be removed. As Former FBI Profiler and “Deadly Women” host, Candice Delong puts it; money, revenge, and jealousy are the most common reasons why women and men commit murder. ‘Evil’ comes out in certain situations that push...
Words: 487 - Pages: 2
...and attempts to determine “What Happened? And how did it happen?” The reason why I have selected this topic is because I find it intriguing how physical evidence is broken down, evaluated, and reconstructed to actual tell how a crime occurred and what happened in the process. There are many television shows I watch daily that portray the crime scene investigation process in a certain light this is another reason why I chose this topic. I’d like to find out firsthand what actually goes on in the reconstruction process versus fictional exploitations of it on television. Crime Scene Reconstruction looks at the physical evidence and attempts to determine “What Happened? And how did it happen?” A similar method that is used is Criminal Profiling. Criminal Profiling is the application of psychological theory to the analysis and reconstruction of the forensic evidence that relates to an offender’s crime scenes, victims and behaviours. Crime Scene Reconstruction is the use of scientific methods, physical evidence, deductive reasoning and their interrelationships to gain explicit knowledge of the series of events that surround the commission of a crime. The goals of crime scene reconstruction is to encourage the exchange of information and procedures useful in the reconstruction of crime scenes, stimulate research and develop new and or improved methods of crime scene reconstruction, to promote the improvement of professional expertise, provide the...
Words: 1748 - Pages: 7
...Amanda Diaz PSYCH 635 April 25, 2016 Paul Knoll Week Five team assignment Robert Ressler, FBI profiler shared his personal memories on the 2001 Criminal Profiling Research video. Ressler spoke about how he knew the criminals better than they knew themselves. He read each file and studied all there is to know of each person so that when he interviewed him or her, he knew the right questions to ask. Ressler knew each person’s back ground (childhood upbringing, relationships with family and people in his and her lives, employment history, social behaviors, motives for killings (Films Media Group, 2001). Robert Ressler interviewed a 6ft 9in 300 pound man in prison who killed 11 people including his grandparents, mother, and college female students by psychologically torturing each person then decapitating them (Films Media Group, 2001). The motivation for the killings were clearly unknown other than the fact that he clearly enjoyed torturing and ripping heads off his victims. Mr. Robert Ressler’s profiling skills was put to the test when conducting an interview with the serial killer. The time of the interview proved not to be at Ressler's favor because it happened to be at a time when the guards were serving other prisoners food, and were not available at his time of need. The serial killer realized that the guard was not there to let Ressler out after the interview and decides to psychologically torture him by telling him “how easy it would be for him to rip his head off...
Words: 499 - Pages: 2
...Racial Profiling, the words said together can bring silence across an entire room. Why is that? What is so wrong with ones race and profile? We are taught about race and the successes of our ancestors at a very young age. Our families celebrate and rejoice about the success and good that our families accomplished while occupying the earth. We profile every single day of our lives, it is engrained in us, and it is part of the fight or flight syndrome that we are born with. Profiling is how the human being was able to survive and continue to procreate. So why is it when law enforcement attempts to dismantle a criminal element or disrupt criminal activity, people are quick to say the police were racially profiling? Is law enforcement racial...
Words: 881 - Pages: 4
...Applying Career Development Theory I met with “Allison”, a 22-year-old student who is planning to graduate in December with a B.S. in Psychology with minors in Criminal Justice and Sociology. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss her future plans with regard to her education and career. Her ultimate career goal is to work toward a career as a criminal profiler for a law enforcement agency. Our goals for the session were: 1. Research the Criminal Profiling career field to determine the education and experience requirements 2. Research further educational options (i.e. graduate schools and degrees) 3. Determine the various application deadlines and requirements for the different graduate schools/programs 4. Create an action plan for the next two weeks The theory I found most applicable when working with Allison was actually not one that we had discussed in our readings, but one that I knew of outside of the course and find to be very useful in these kinds of situations. I chose to use the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) by Robert Lent, Steven Brown and Gail Hackett. This theory is principally derived from Bandura’s social cognitive theory but blends in components of Krumboltz and many other prominent career development theories. It focuses on three components: self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and personal goals. Allison expressed an interest in a law enforcement career very early in her life. When most little girls were saying they wanted to be teachers...
Words: 704 - Pages: 3
