Criminal Profiling and Forensic Psychology
Criminal Profiling and Forensic Psychology
There are some crimes that capture the public imagination. We read in the newspapers of particularly horrific murders, rapes and abductions and gasp "Who could possibly do this?" Our sensibilities are further outraged when the victim is a child. Public revulsion and fears are easily whipped to fever pitch when we are confronted with atrocities that can only have been committed by monstrous criminal deviants.
Since the emergence of the sociological disciplines, including psychology and psychiatry, there have been many attempts to classify the criminal type through explanations of genetics, social influences and other arenas of behaviorism versus determinism. One of the more credible developments in this quest to discover and predict criminality is the emergence of criminal profiling. Yefsky (1993 p63) describes it as the application of forensics and psychology to the investigation of violent criminal behaviour.
Popularly, it is often regarded as a new fangled way of catching master criminals, such as depicted in the film Silence of the Lambs. In reality profiling is merely another tool in the detective's repertoire. It is an inexact science and cannot establish guilt or innocence. It does, however, provide an opportunity for explaining criminal conduct, and possibly narrowing the field of enquiry in crimes where the offender is as yet unknown.
Emergence of profiling in criminal investigations
Profiling came to prominence in the 'Mad Bomber of New York' case. Commencing in 1939 a series of bombings occurred in New York City. After ceasing for the duration of the Second World War, the bombings resumed and lasted until the mid 1950's. Detectives enlisted a psychiatrist named James Brussell who examined the evidence collected, which included letters sent by the bomber to authorities. Brussell suggested the offender:
* Was male;
* Had graduated from high school;
* Was aged between 40 and 50 years of age;
* Lived in either Connecticut or Westchester;
* Resided with a maiden aunt or sister;
* Was Slavic and Catholic; and
* Wore buttoned up double-breasted suits.
Police eventually arrested George Metsky. Remarkably, the profile matched Metsky, excepting he lived with two maiden aunts. When dressing to go to the police station, Metsky donned his usual attire of a buttoned up double-breasted suit (Boon and Davies, 1993 at pp. 220-24).
Brussell based his profile on knowledge of criminal psychopathology. He hypothesized:
* Bombing is an offence committed by a paranoid personality type, and this type develops at about 40 years of age;
* The use of bombs as a protest method was commonly used by persons of a middle eastern origin, and this combined with certain spelling errors pointed to Slavic ethnicity;
* Most middle Europeans were of the Catholic religion, and most of these lived in Connecticut and Westchester;
* Middle eastern people had strong family ties; and
* The formation of the bomb was so meticulous, the offender was likely to carry this over into his personal attire.
Today, the limitations of Brussell's predictions are quite apparent. Suffice to say, profiling has developed and advanced in style and success. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established the National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) at Quantico, Virginia. Its primary function was to address behavioral science research into bizarre and repetitive violent crime (Yefsky, 1993 at p.62).
The Criminal Investigative Analysis unit of NCAVC is responsible for investigative profiling.
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* The formation of the bomb was so meticulous, the offender was likely to carry this over into his personal attire.
Today, the limitations of Brussell's predictions are quite apparent. Suffice to say, profiling has developed and advanced in style and success. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established the National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) at Quantico, Virginia. Its primary function was to address behavioral science research into bizarre and repetitive violent crime (Yefsky, 1993 at p.62).
The Criminal Investigative Analysis unit of NCAVC is responsible for investigative profiling.
Profiling in the modern investigation
Although the United States is generally regarded as taking the lead in criminal profiling, Professor David Canter from Britain launched the world's first master's degree course in investigative psychology at Surrey University. Canter's course studied investigative decision making, information retrieval and reviewing techniques, criminal behaviour and research methodology and data analysis (Casey, 1982 at p.46).
To access the FBI's data base and utilize the expertise available at NCAVC, a request from a law enforcement body must provide all the details of the investigation, plus submit detailed information known about the victim and offender. The service is only available for investigation of offences where kidnapping, murder or sexually motivated crimes occur.
The information gathered is then examined by profilers who base their research on the theory that a person's behaviour reflects the socio-psychological personality. As the author has already indicated, the profilers' objective is not to identify a particular suspect, but merely narrow or direct the focus of the investigation (Douglas, 1986 at p.9).
The profilers follow a simple three-step process, which is very familiar to any trained investigator. Determine what took place, ascertain why certain things occurred (asking what are the reasons for every behaviorally significant factor of the crime?), and predict who would have committed the crime for the reasons already settled (Douglas, 1995 at pp 22-26).
Profiling experts break their inquiry into a number of parts:
The input stage;
At this point the profiler attempts to classify the risk elements for both the offender and victim. These elements are used to predict the criminal maturity and emotional state of the offender.
* A detailed description of the crime scene
* Weather conditions, political and social environments
* Victim information including life-style, employment, personality, family and social history
* Forensic information including autopsy reports, weapons used, sequences of wounds and injuries
* Photographs of the crime scene and victim
* Maps of the general area (Resser et al, 1986 at pp. 44-46), (Douglas, 1986 at p.12).
The decision process model stage;
The information is arranged into a logical pattern, and the profiler begins to build an overall picture of the crime.
* Homicide type and style - classifying by numbers of victims, numbers of scenes and numbers of homicidal events
* Primary intent of offender - identifying if an act is committed by a career criminal, by an emotional or selfish criminal or where sexual motivation or perversion is a consideration
* Victim risk - calculates the victim's exposure as either 'high', 'medium' or 'low' in relation to the particular crime under inquiry
* Offender risk - determines the risk taken by the offender to commit the crime
* Escalation - places in order the elements of the crime, which permits profilers to predict future criminal behaviour of the offender
* Time factor - considers time taken by the offender to commit the crime, or at what times the offender is more likely to have committed the crime
* Location factor - examines where an offence occurred (Ressler et al, 1988 at pp. 44-46) (Douglas, 1986 at p. 9).
Crime scene assessment stage;
Reconstructing the sequence of events allow an assessment of the offender as either 'organized' or 'disorganized'. Profilers believe they can ascertain an offender's intelligence and social prowess at this stage.
* Organized offender - after finding a victim who fits a set criteria, the offence is committed in a safe area where no evidence is intended to be left behind - sometimes, the victim may be left where the maximum shock-value occurs to a finder
* Disorganized offender - makes sudden and impromptu attacks, and no attempt is made to conceal the crime (Douglas, 1996 at pp. 50-51).
The criminal profile stage;
A description of the offender is compiled, taking into account such factors as sexual maturity, age range, marital status, employment , possibility of previous history of offences and likelihood of striking again
The investigation stage;
The profiler completes a written report for the requesting agency. Possible suspects are compared to the profile offered
The apprehension stage;
The profile is examined for validity once a suspect has been apprehended.
Modus Operandi and crime signatures
Profiling largely relies upon identifying an offender's modus operandi (MO) or learned behaviour. An experienced criminal who builds confidence through ability or contact with the criminal justice system, can vary the MO. Douglas (1995 at p. 10) describes this as being dynamic.
An offender's MO may include the ability to leave false clues to conceal the real reasons for a crime. For example, a rape victim's house may be ransacked to give the impression the main reason for the offender being there was robbery.
Whilst the MO may alter, the offender's signature is less flexible. A signature is the passion behind the commission of a crime. For instance, if an offender has needed to dominate or humiliate a victim to achieve a desired response, these emotional drives are the signature of the crime.
Applications of profiling in serious sex offences
In most jurisdictions, the most common use of profiling is in the investigation of murder and rape cases. For our purposes, we will briefly touch upon some of the indicators profilers would look for in conjunction with an investigation of a serious sex offence.
Although the legal definitions of rape vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, it basically outlaws forced sexual intercourse. In most reported cases, the victim is female and the offender male.
Douglas (1995 at p.74) holds the three common motives of rapist are domination, manipulation and control. These motives manifest themselves in fantasies that ultimately reach a stage when the offender feels he must move them into reality.
Douglas says offenders often believe they have been subject to domination, manipulation and control in their own lives, and they choose a victim to enable them to rebel against these perceptions.
The offender needs to reassert himself in his own mind, and dominate someone else. Douglas (1995 at p. 34) puts it as "...finally he's now calling the shots".
Gerbeth (1993 at p. 7) believes human sexuality is entrenched in a person through conditioning and experience. Both good and bad learned behaviors leave an individual with a sensation of what is what is exciting and sufficiently personally fulfilling. Aberrant erotic development during this process leads some individuals to believe they cannot be satisfied within the parameters of 'normal' relationships. The deviation leads to the commission of offences to redress these feelings of inadequacy.
Gerbeth's (1993 at p. 7) criteria for the development of sexual deviancy is an anti sexual upbringing, sexual abuse of the child between ages 5 and 8 by the primary care-giver, over exposure to sexually stimulating behaviour and inappropriate and pathological family dynamics. These act as triggers for deviancy in later life.
Profilers attempt to predict the criminal personality through awareness of these triggers.
Where profiling goes wrong
Profiling has had some notable successes over the years, but it is important not to ascribe more influence to the process than is due. Professor Wilson (1996 at p.18) of Bond University, in his article Psychology Profiling: Red, Green or Amber? raised six real concerns:
* Making the breakthrough;
Wilson is critical of the science behind profiling. He argues profiling has only come to prominence through media headlines, and those involved in profiling have allowed their "tentative assertions" to be sensationalized in order to advance their own careers.
* Putting science on a pedestal;
Professor Wilson warns against the total acceptance of profiling as dangerous, and many practitioners fail to question the theories behind profiling.
* Recognizing the limitations;
The use of profiling should be restricted to cases of multiple rapes or murders. It is inappropriate to use where there is no "ritualistic behaviour" apparent.
* Reducing not producing;
Do the police arrest a suspect who fits the mould and rationalize the evidence? Wilson questions whether or not some investigators become lazy and use the profiling to prove the offence rather than setting a range of suspects.
* Listing of characteristics;
By listing a great deal of characteristics, the chances of inaccuracy are magnified.
* Focussing on stereotypes;
As with Brussel's initial profile where certain presumptions were made about attributes of social and ethnic groups, the trap of assigning characteristics to individuals because of the groups they are assigned to be well recognized. By locking on to stereotypical assumptions , an investigator may lock out evidence that serves to exonerate a suspect.
The use of criminal profiling as an aid to investigations may very well be a double-edged sword. As Professor Wilson has indicated, any method of attempting to predict or account for the behaviour of an individual based on assumptions and presumptions of known behaviour is inherently fraught with danger. There are several well-known cases in Australian criminal history where investigators have focussed too closely on assumptions about an unknown offender, only to ignore evidence that ultimately pointed to the real culprit. The most recent was the so-called 'Granny Killer' case in 1991. Police ignored sightings of a middle-aged well-dressed male (later identified as John Glover, and charged with eight murders) because he did not fit the preconceptions of the criminal profile prepared by psychiatrist Dr Rod Milton (Sharpe, A. 1994 at p.411).
The temptation to believe that profiling allows quick and neat conclusions in often distasteful and frightening crimes must not be allowed to assume prominence over the fact that the psychology of individuals remain largely a mystery to us all.
REFERENCES
Boon, J. and Davies, G (1993) Criminal Profiling in Policing Journal Issue 218
Casey, C (1995) The Signature Aspect in Criminal Investigations in Criminal Personality Profiling November
Douglas, J. and Olshaker, M (1995) Mindhunter: Inside the FBI Serial Crime Unit Pocket Star Books , New York
Douglas, J (1986) Criminal Profiling: A Viable Investigative Tool Against Violent Crime in FBI Law Enforcement December Bulletin
Gerbeth, V. (1993) Practical Homicide Investigation 2nd Edition, CRC Press Boston
Ressler, R., Douglas, J., Burgess, A., and Hartman C. (1986) Criminal Profiling from Crime Scene Analysis in Behavioral Sciences and the Law Issue 401
Sharpe, A. (1994) Crimes That Shocked Australia The Book Company Sydney
Wilson, P (1996) Psychological Profiling: Red, Green or Amber? in The Police Journal January
Yefsky, J (1993) The Criminal Investigative Method of Policing in The Narc Officer March/April issue
