CIRCULAR CONCEPT MAP

What is the current scientific research on the validity of criminal profiling as a practice for identifying and apprehending suspects? Are there specific approaches to criminal profiling that improve its validity? If so, what are they? And what are the alternatives, if any, to criminal profiling?

"Alternative Methods of Criminal Profiling" (CIA & IP)

Criminal Profiling

Zavie Duncan

"Reframing criminal profining: a guid for integrated practice"

Pascale Chifflet

Rita Alexandra Brilha Ribeiro

Wayne Petherick

Nathan Brooks

Brent E. Turvey

Wayne A. Petherick

Richard N. Kocsis

George B. Palermo

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"Disentangling Criminal Profiling"

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"Analyzing criminal profiling validity: underlying problems and future directions"

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"Questioning the Validity of criminal profiling: an evidence-based approach"

Research Question

What is the current scientific research on the validity of criminal profiling as a practice for identifying and apprehending suspects? Are there specific approaches to criminal profiling that improve its validity? If so, what are they? And what are the alternatives, if any, to criminal profiling?

Criminal profiling requires more research to know wheather it is a valid way of investigating. There are different methods of criminal profiling but this is still a uncertain form of investigation that has had minimal research done. Chiffelts knowlage is informed by her education in the feild of law and extensive research on the topic.

The academic article writen by Pascale Chifflet presents different ideals of what profiling is, how it is used in the law enforcement field and some of the different types of criminal profiling along with common assumptions and misconceptions about profiling.

• Profiling is used in different ways, some being for investigative purposes or even evidence in criminal trials.
• Profiling relies on theories that are uncertain at best, and minimal research has been conducted to evaluate the real accuracy of profiling.
• Profiling is also referred to as offender or psychological profiling, it refers to a procedure where evidence, especially discovered at the crime scene, is examined to identify similar traits of the perpetrator.
• “Theoretically, this translates into three fundamental assumptions: (1) offenders exhibiting similar criminal behaviour will possess similar characteristics (homology assumption); (2) offenders behave in a generally consistent manner each time they offend (behavioural consistency) and (3) how a particular offender behaves is distinguishable from that of another offender (behavioural differentiation) (Alison, 2005; Alison, McLean, & Almond, 2007; Canter, 2000; Mokros & Alison, 2002; Youngs, 2008).” (Chifflet, 2014)

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Pascale Chifflet (2014)

Questioning the Validity of criminal profiling: an evidence-based approach

Criminal profiling needs more research to understand how "valid" it is fully and depending on the method of profiling the accuracy of criminal profiling can increase. Ribeiro brings a philosophical logic view to the conversation on how valid criminal profiling is and what the differences between validity and accuracy are.

• Criminal Profiles are mainly focused on the analysis of a crime scene which provides the details of the crime, the victim, and any other available evidence.
• There are three statistical methods of criminal profiling; Criminal Investigative Anal­ysis, Investigative Psychology, and Crime Action Profiling.
• “Two major issues can be highlighted: 1) the technique is considered to be flawed and reductive (Wilson, Lincoln, & Kocsis, 1997); 2) CP neither contemplates empirical evidence on how it actually functions, nor evidence of its validity (Chifflet, 2015; Snook et al., 2008).”
• “Another issue associated with the concept of validity is that it is often confused with the concept of accuracy. Accuracy is the exactness of an instrument, which measures the lack of bias in any given measure.”
• There are a lot of Biases around the use of Criminal Profiling which causes its validity to be jeopardized. Overall Criminal Profiling needs more research to fully understand its validity.

The academic article written by Rita Alexandra Brilha Ribeiro gives a good understanding of how we could test the validity of criminal profiling and how accurate this would be. This article also explains the difference between validity and accuracy and gives a really good explanation of the different branches that use criminal profiling and how it is being used.

Analyzing criminal profiling validity: underlying problems and future directions

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Rita Alexandra Brilha Ribeiro (2021)

Wayne A. Petherick and Brent E. Turvey both contribute to the conversation together helping people understand that all methods of criminal profiling are heavily criticized, but each method has its unique way of contributing to help benefit law enforcement catch criminals. They add to the conversation by giving more in-depth background information on the different methods of criminal profiling that are used today.

• The CIA method of criminal profiling is made up of many steps or stages where information about a crime is gathered and demonstrations are made to show its relevance and meaning.
• “Ressler et al. (1988) suggest that CIA is a six-step method, although, in reality, it has five steps, with the sixth step being the arrest of an offender, if identified.” (Petherick & Turvey, 2012, p.79)
• The profiling community heavily criticizes criminal investigative analysis (CIA) as methodologically deficient and outdated even though it is still being heavily used today
• Investigative psychology is a research-based approach to the analysis of an individual offender's behavior and remains completely abstract and theoretical. Investigative psychology is dependent on the amount of accuracy of data collected
• Investigative psychology covers a lot of psychology that is relevant to the conduct of a criminal and civil investigation.
• Investigative psychology is sort of looking closely at how criminals behave and trying to figure out patterns or trends that could help police solve crimes.
• “The IP method has five main components, commonly referred to as the five-factor model, that reflect an offender’s past and present. They are interpersonal coherence, significance of time and place, criminal characteristics, criminal career, and forensic awareness.” (Petherick & Turvey, 2012, p.85)

The section in the academic article written by Wayne A. Petherick & Brent E. Turvey on Criminal Intelligence Analysis (CIA) gives a good understanding of the CIA is and how this method is used and criticized in today's world. The section on Investigative psychology (IP) gives the reader a better grasp of what IP is and how it is used, including the five-factor model and how it is used with IP.

Alternative Methods of Criminal Profiling

Wayne A. Petherick & Brent E. Turvey 2012

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• Criminal profiling focuses on the major personalities and behavioural characteristics of said offenders based on their interactions in the crime.
• There us three types of logic can ultimately be used when developing criminal profiles. These three types of logic are; induction, abduction, and deduction.

• “The future of profiling is dependent on the discipline progressing towards science, and integrated practice is the first fundamental step”

• A disorganized crime can happen suddenly and impulsively. The perpetrator may know the victim or the location, but the crime scene would be messy and unplaned. There might be some violence, few restraints are used and sexual acts may occur after the victim has died.

• A police psychologist with more than 20 years of field experience, considered criminal profiling as “‘virtually pointless and dangerous’”. Many others have written that criminal profiling needs much more research done before it actually becomes a useful tool for law enforcement.
• It seemes that criminal profiling would improve that if there was a approach to practice that offers a structure for creating profiles.

Petherick and Brooks give a deep view on the different methods that are used in criminal profiling and look at it through an outside lens to truly understand how television and society have a different view of criminal profiling that make criminal profiling not seem as valid. Petherick and Brooks also add to the conversation by explaining common misconceptions and assumptions about criminal profiling.

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The academic article written by Wayne Petherick and Nathan Brooks gives a really good overview of the different methods of Criminal profiling in detail and how these are used in real life compared to what television shows portray how they are being used. This article also explains what society's thoughts on each methods validity is.

Reframing criminal profiling: a guid for integrated practice

Wayne Petherick & Nathan Brooks (2020)

• The cautious scientific language used to talk about the idea of offender similarity in early writings about criminal profiling has changed over time. Now, people are using more confident language and making more direct comparisons between criminal profiles and personality theories.
• In studies about offender similarity and related arguments, there is an assumption that the characteristics of offenders is the only reason behind their criminal behaviors, and these connections are the only thing that is used in the creation of a criminal profiles in real life.
• “The apparent failure to clearly find such connections in homology studies is apparently interpreted thereafter to imply that the so-called "trait-based" profiling methods cannot be viable.”

• “This assumption appears to fea- ture two key dimensions. The first appears to be a perspective that all people assigned the same legal label for a crime are equivalent and comparable. Second, all human beings who are labeled as a "criminal" or an "offender" (due to the perpetration of a crime), irrespective of the mode of offence, can also in some capacity be equated and considered comparable with each other”
• Creating criminal profiles is more complex than some literature shows, especially when it comex to understanding and carrying out the whole process of it.

Kocisis and Palermo add the the conversation by explaining the more negative aspects of criminal profiling and looking at it through more of society views instead of a logical more in-depth way. They explain how criminal profiling is not the most accurate form of profiling.

The academic article written by Richard N. Kocsis and George B. Palermo gives a good explanation on how criminal profiling can not always be a good valid way of investigating. This article really dives into what homology is and how it plays a role in criminal profiling.

Disentangling Criminal Profiling: Accuracy, Homology, and the Myth of Trait-Based Profiling

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Richard N. Kocsis & George B. Palermo (2013)