What is Criminal Psychological Profiling?
Criminal psychological profiling is a tool that is meant to help law enforcers catch a perpetrator. Through analysis of the crime scene and the evidence present, a professional who is trained in criminal psychological profiling can create a description of the perpetrator and why he may have committed the crime.
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Purpose
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Criminal psychological profiling, which is also known as offender profiling, is intended to help law enforcement refine the range of suspects by identifying what behavioral and personality features the perpetrator might have. Criminal psychological profiling can also create a profile that can be released to the public, allowing the public to aid in the capture of the perpetrator.
Features
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A criminal psychological profile will typically include three things. First, it will provide a social and psychological assessment of the offender, which includes things like what the offender might look like or where the offender might work. Second, the profile will include an evaluation of the physical evidence at the crime scene, and third, the profile will suggest ideas for questioning the offender should law enforcement find someone who matches the description.
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Types
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Only certain types of crime lend themselves to criminal psychological profiling. Only crimes that tell the profiler something about the offender's behavior and personality are appropriate for this process. These offenses are typically called "motiveless" crimes, like murder, rape, sexual assault and arson. These crimes do not have an obvious material gain for the perpetrator.
Process
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According to Washington University at St. Louis, the process of criminal psychological profiling begins with accumulating evidence from the crime scene, analysis of the victim and examination of the police reports and photographs. This stage is known as the Profiling Inputs Stage, and it is followed by the Crime Assessment Stage, where information like the risk level of the victim, the type of crime and the motive are investigated. Finally, the information is put together in the Profiling Stage, which can produce guesses regarding the perpetrator's family history, personality, history and social interests.
Requirements
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A criminal psychological profiler needs to have a background in psychology, which is essential to understanding the mental dynamics of the crime. Similarly, knowledge of sociology is important to understanding the social context of the crime and how that context affects the offender. Finally, the profiler needs to have a thorough understanding of criminal investigation in order to understand how criminals typically operate.
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References
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