Criminal Profiling Essay - 2440 Words

The Origin and Art of Criminal Profiling Sawyer Thompson Southwest Baptist University December 13, 2011 Abstract Criminal profiling is a process by which investigators attempt to solve a crime through careful analyzing of data and patterns. It can be found in numerous places throughout history, from the Roman Catholic Church to World War II to the present day. It officially began in the Behavioral Science Unit; Howard Teten, Pat Mullany, Robert Ressler, and John Douglas are four of the most well-known individuals associated with profiling. Numerous serial killers have been caught by using this process and it is suspected that the identity of Jack the Ripper would be known today had this technique been†¦show more content†¦In fact, the doctor guessed he probably didn’t have a real occupation whatsoever (Ramsland, 2011). Thomas Bond’s notes were never taken into deep consideration and the identity of Jack the Ripper is still a mystery, one that will most likely never be solved. Or will it? According to Innes (2005), David Canter has expressed his opinion on the matter. Cant er’s prime suspect is Aaron Kosminski, a Polish bootmaker who came to London in 1882, six years before the Ripper murders. He based this speculation on the geographic side of profiling. With a map of the location of the nine killings in hand, Canter pointed right in the middle of the murder sites; the area he was pointing to was Kosminski’s home. According to him, many killers tend to maintain the optimum distance which balances both familiarity and risk, thus making the murder locations appear as a rough circle (Innes, 2005). Unfortunately, with no DNA or any physical evidence, society will never know for sure the identity of the twisted Jack the Ripper. During the Ripper’s reign of terror, technology and general knowledge of criminology was not quite as advanced as it is now. The first official attempt at profiling did not come until World War II began. The OSS (the forerunner of the CIA) asked psychiatrist Walter Lange to prepare a psycho-dynamic personality profile of Adolf Hitler. At the end of his long, detailed report, Lange stated that when defeat was imminent, the German Fuhrer would commit suicide; HitlerShow MoreRelatedCriminal Profiling1917 Words   |  8 PagesCriminal Profiling The term â€Å"serial killer† was derived from a man named Robert K. Ressler, who, in the 1970’s deemed this term because of the term the English used; â€Å"crimes in a series† and because of the serial films he grew up watching. (Freeman, 2007) Prior to the term serial killer, people would use the terms, mass murders and stranger-on-stranger crime. The definition of a serial killer, according to dictionary.com is; â€Å"a person who attacks and kills victims one by one in a seriesRead MoreRacial Profiling And Criminal Profiling Essay1538 Words   |  7 PagesRacial Profiling Vs Criminal Profiling Camilo Paez Briarcliffe College Professor Keirnan 11/13/2016 â€Æ' Executive summary Racial Profiling is a big problem is society. Over time you become biased of certain groups which is good and bad. Criminal profiling helps keep the bad guys off the streets. This maybe be also linked with being racist according to the people stopped by police. As a police officer you never win because no one wants to go to jail. It is very hard to â€Æ' Racial Profiling VsRead MoreCriminal Profiling And Racial Profiling1373 Words   |  6 PagesCriminal Profiling and Racial Profiling. Criminal profiling has been around since the 1880’s, and up to this day, that method still has not had a great success rate. Also, racial profiling has not had a great success rate either through the years. At times, innocent people get detained and charged with crimes that they never committed due to matching the characteristics of other suspects. In other words, creating assumptions that will narrow down a suspect is just not the best method to utilizeRead MoreEssay on Criminal Profiling1253 Words   |  6 PagesCriminal profiling is one of few first things to think of when it comes to forensic psychology. Criminal profiling is featured in popular television shows such as in Law and Order and CSI. Often in those shows, the police officers were able to catch the criminals based on the criminal profile that forensic psychologists came up with. In a theory, the polices rely on criminal profiling to catch criminals, educate the public about a possible criminal, and confirm t he witnesses’ accounts. CriminalRead MoreThe Validity Of Criminal Profiling Essay1531 Words   |  7 PagesThe Validity of Criminal Profiling and its Effectiveness on Solving Crime In law, law enforcement relies on a variety of approaches to solving crimes. One method of doing so, is criminal profiling. Police use criminal profiling as an aid to identify the typology of individuals most likely to fit the suspect profile. In this approach, evidence of a crime is used to identify the characteristics of the criminal in relation to their personality and psychological state of mind. As wellRead MoreCriminal Profiling, Criminal, And Forensic Psychology1226 Words   |  5 PagesCriminal profiling is another subject of criminal and forensic psychology, which is probably one of the oldest studies of forensic science. Criminal profiling has been called many things, such as behavioral profiling, crime scene profiling, criminal personality profiling, psychological profiling, and more recently even criminal investigation analysis. Criminal profiling’s history has come from a history of criminal behavior, the study of mental illnesses, and forensic ex aminations. Criminal profilingRead MoreOverview of Criminal Profiling Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesBeing a criminal profiler is not like it is on all the television shows, but it is still an interesting and important job. Criminal profilers have been used to close many police and federal cases. They work in several homicide cases involving rape, racial killings, brutal killings, and involving serial killers. They help make it easier for the police to find the right person by examining the crime scene. Being a criminal profiler is a tough job but with hard work and dedication it is a great careerRead MoreWhat is the importance of Criminal Profiling?1311 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿What is the importance of Criminal Profiling? By Tiffany Collier Criminal Profiling is a great way to try to understand the suspect as a person. It is necessary to learn who the individual is in order to track and locate them. The person’s information is vital to an investigation. Things such as habits, history of violence, family, education, schedules/routines, and personality traits just to name a few. This new development of investigating is helpful in obtaining fugitives quickerRead MoreCriminal Profiling And The Law Enforcement2100 Words   |  9 PagesCriminal profiling is the investigative profession that is used to help the law enforcement and the government agencies to pursue unknown perpetrators. It objectively seeks to identify the major personality and the behavioral characteristics of the serial offenders based on a thorough analysis of the crimes committed. It includes the combination of the analysis of the physical and the behavioral evidence. This study aims at analyzing criminal profiling on the basis of its basic elem ents and its useRead MoreCriminal Profiling Essay example1826 Words   |  8 Pagescharacteristics of individuals responsible for committing criminal acts has commonly been referred to as criminal profiling. (Turvey) Criminal profiling can also be referred to as, behavioral profiling because when a profiler creates a profile they refer to the behavior of the offender. The general term criminal profiling can also be referred to as crime scene profiling, criminal personality profiling, offender profiling, psychological profiling and criminal investigative analysis. All the terms listed above