Criminal Profiling : History, Process, Applications & Examples

Investigators from specialized and national investigative units, such as the USA’s Federal Bureau of Investigation & Drugs Enforcement Agency, the UK’s National Crime Agency, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, etc., generally deal with some of the deadliest & horrific crimes ever perpetrated. Terrorism, serial killing, mass murders, executions, rapes, heists— central investigation agencies tackle the crimes at the extreme ends of the spectrum. These agencies work with highly skilled & well-trained experts and implement potent & advanced tools and techniques to mete out justice to one & all.

The United States of America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Profiling procedure is one such technique that has been highly effective in identifying behavioral patterns & predicting criminal behavior and acts with amazing accuracy. This article offers a concise overview of the subject.

A Bit About Criminal Profiling

The primary objectives of any law enforcement and investigative agency are to catch perpetrators as quickly as possible and prevent further crime. Enforcers and investigators are not concerned about determining the causes or understanding the machinations within a criminal's mind. Yet, the processes and techniques of criminal psychology, when combined with forensic investigative procedures, can aid investigations substantially.

Criminal profiling is an investigative tool that applies concepts, techniques, & study results from different disciplines to traditional investigative techniques. Together, they make criminal profiling a highly effective tool for combating violent crimes.

A Brief History

Criminal profiling has a long and checkered history, with the earliest implementations dating back to the late 19^th century. The earliest instances could be traced back to 1888 London when investigators of the London Metropolitan Police used primitive profiling processes to identify & capture the notorious Jack The Ripper. Though this demented murderer was never caught, investigators profiled numerous suspects using rudimentary techniques in the earliest instance of criminal profiling.

With advancements in technology & forensic science, investigative agencies worldwide began to utilize tools & concepts from different disciplines to enhance investigative processes. FBI Special Agent John Edward Douglas was the first to define and develop a procedural framework for the criminal profiling process as we know it today. By conducting interviews with criminals of different profiles, such as killers, terrorists, and violent criminals, Special Agent Douglas was able to note & dig deep into the psyche of violent & demented minds using the concepts & techniques from psychology, psychopathology, and forensic science.

Thus, arose modern criminal profiling, which helped law enforcers& investigators to identify patterns, correlate behavior, predict criminal activities, and nab criminals quickly.

The Process

The United States of America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation defines the criminal profiling process as a technique of investigation for identifying & characterizing major behavioral and personality traits of perpetrators based on a close analysis of their criminal history.  

It is a six-stage process and goes something like this à 

1. Evaluation of the Act of Crime
2. Exhaustive Evaluation of Every Aspect of the Crime Scene
3. Comprehensive Analysis of the Crime Victim
4. Scrutiny of Police Reports, Thorough Evaluation of Medical Reports, Coroner’s Reports, etc.
5. Careful Developing An Accurate & Pertinent Profile of the Criminal
6. Investigative Suggestions and Recommendations based on Constructed Profile

As may be evident to close observers, the profiling process has striking similarities with different medical profiling & diagnostic procedures. Several of the initial stages overlap and can be merged as necessary.

Developing a clear and insightful profile of some unknown entity & predicting its behavior requires careful data collation, assessment, formulation of hypothesis, and testing. Profiling processes are experimental to a large extent, with substantiated reports aiding in subsequent validation.

A Closer Look At The Profile-Generating Process

Simply put, criminal profiling enables investigators to narrow the list of suspects, predict crime patterns & criminal behavior, and speed up investigations. While it does not uncover the criminal's identity, it allows one to determine the nature of the person most likely to be the criminal.

While generally comprising seven stages, the profile-generating process can be categorized into offsite and onsite iterations. Onsite procedures tend to vary in composition, and offsite procedures, in practice, have five main stages followed by a sixth stage or eventual apprehension.

Stage 1: The Profiling Inputs

Input profiling involves comprehensive scrutiny of all case materials.

• The entire synopsis of the crime, descriptions of crime scenes, and every notable factor encompassing the environment of the crime are studied minutely.
• All background information about the victim is collated and studied. Information includes data about domestic settings, physical conditions, personality, criminal history, family & personal relationships, employment, social reputation & conduct, fear, habits, & hobbies, etc.
• Next up comes the forensic and crime scene investigation information. Medical & autopsy reports, any toxicology analysis, photographs of wounds, and the like. Investigators must also dwell on the medical examiner's findings, first impressions, deductions, and suspicions.
• Thorough auditing of the crime scene must also involve clear and prominent images, sketches, and detailed visualizations & descriptions of the immediate area & surroundings.

A criminal profiler collates all vital and pertinent data of a crime, evidential and background information included, to determine the intricacies of the crime, the mental states of the victim & the offender, the level of criminal sophistication, etc.

Stage 2: Decision Process Modelling

All information is organized, categorized, audited, and arranged into meaningful patterns in this stage. Several decision points and models organize information into a meaningful underlying structure for informed profiling.

The type and style of the crime, the primary intent of the criminal, the victim's risk & the offender's risk, the escalation of events, and temporal and spatial factors – all such information is crucial for accurate profiling.

• If we consider homicides, they can be of different kinds and have different motivations behind them. Classic mass murders, family mass murders, serial killings, or spree killings have different profiles.
• Different intentions may drive murderers. A spree killer or classic mass murderer generally does not follow a specific pattern, while serial killers & family mass murderers plan, choose, and execute the murders.
• Identifying a crime as a singular incident or discovering the connection between seemingly unrelated crimes requires organizing all pertinent information into structured models that aid in uncovering crucial insights.
• Understanding the primary intent of a criminal is also a vital step in the decision process modeling stage, as this heavily influences the next actional step.  

For example, criminal enterprise killings are generally impulsive & often involve money. Again, when there are emotions, selfishness, sexual motives, or specific reasons involved, criminals may act much more impulsively. However, even in such cases, there may be instances wherein criminals act with proper planning and a specific agenda.

• Offender and victim risk profiling allow for better reconstruction of the crime and determining how the killer operates. The kind of victims the offender has targeted, and the risks they have taken by targeting them can be crucial in evaluating the motive and mindset of the criminal.
• Understanding the manner of escalation of the crime and deduction of the sequence of events is done by fact and pattern analysis. Such information contributes substantially to the development of a precise criminal profile.
• Time and location factors are vital to determine how criminal operates, the places they frequent, their movement and behavior, and the resources at their disposal.

All of the above factors and information contribute to developing a decision-making model, which serves as the primary mechanism for deeper assessment & evaluation of the crime.

Stage 3: Crime Assessment

In this stage, investigators use the decision process models to reconstruct the crime in minute detail. Based on the different decisions taken using the model, a hypothesis of the entire sequence of events, the planning & organization, and the nature and behavior of both the criminal & the offender are developed.

This is the stage where investigators make well-informed guesses about the nature of the crime, identifying specific characteristics and categorizing it accurately. The crime assessment stage is where investigators pinpoint the following:

• The crime is organized or unorganized;
• The nature & specific classification;
• The selection of the victim;
• The planning, strategies, and agenda of the perpetrator;
• The sequence of events;
• The motivation and mindset of the offender;
• The dynamics of the crime scene;

The evaluation of the organized or disorganized nature of the crime is of particular importance. Through such analysis, investigators get a clue about the offender's choice of targets, strategies of interaction & gaining proximity, the tactics of controlling the circumstances that led to the event, and the ultimate crime sequence.

• Organized crimestend to be agenda-specific, with offenders exhibiting control over the victim & the circumstances surrounding the crime, and how events escalate to the actual crime. On the contrary, unorganized or impulsive crimes have offenders behaving erratically without planning, finding victims by chance, and acting out of psychotic impulses.
• Understanding whether the crime was stagedaids in understanding what motivates the killer. Such information tells investigators if the offender is acting out of random, unhinged impulses or s deliberately setting things up due to some hidden agenda. It also informs investigators about the offender's manner of operation, skills, abilities, and knowledge and aids them in hypothesizing & predicting subsequent chain of events.
• Ascertaining the offender's motivationrequires more than data from crime scenes, police & medical reports, or the victim's details and credentials. It requires understanding how the offender thinks and acts. It is always easier to determine the motives behind organized crimes than those perpetrated by the mentally deranged. Any factors that may have supplemented the offender's motivation and aggravated their actions, such as alcohol or drug use, panic or stress-induced reactions, etc., must all be taken into account.
• Finally, the crime scene dynamics come into play, which involve vital elements about the location of the crime. Several such elements are misunderstood by first reporting officers & even investigative agents, such as the cause of death, significant events, methods implemented, nature of wounds & trauma, positioning of victim & other crime scene elements, etc.

Previous investigations generally act as the basis of new interpretations as preliminary knowledge allows for better decision-making.

Stage 4: The Profiling

Generating an informed and intricately detailed criminal profile enables the development of an efficacious and successful investigative strategy.

• All vital information is present in a criminal profile, including crime scene investigation information, all vital details of the victim, the offender's strategies, beliefs, movements, resources, mindset, & probable motivation, etc. pre-offense & post-offense tendencies & behavior, etc. Criminal profiles can also contain investigative and/or interrogation questionnaires to aid law enforcement agencies.
• Feedbacks, suggestions, recommendations, and comparisons with similar profiles & previous investigative procedures are vital for validating new profiles Criminal profiles must fit with key aspects of previous aspects of the crime, the current circumstances & present evidence, and decision-making models.

Congruency between profiles and established frameworks, evidence, and pre-investigative findings are a must.

Stage 5: Investigation

Once absolute congruency has been established, the criminal profiles, along with all associated reports, are sent to the concerned investigative agency. A complete and accurate criminal profile, replete with effective & pertinent recommendations, makes its way to the investigators-in-charge, where the list of potential suspects is tallied with profiled & further evaluations are done.

If any new evidence or profile matching is unsuccessful, reevaluation and re-profiling are carried out alongside subsequent re-validation.

Stage 6: Apprehension

The final stage involves successfully identifying the offender and their eventual apprehension. The agreement and alignment of different stages of the profiling process and the outcome undergo a thorough examination to reinforce the validity of the profile. It is also important to conduct a detailed interview of the convict with the profile as the basis to reinforce its validity.

That about rounds up this write-up. Hope this article is a concise and informative guide to the process & application of criminal profiling.

Take care, and never stop learning!