OFFENDER PROFILING
Introduction
Crime has been a critical factor leading to insecurity all over the world for quite an extended period. At least in every society, there is an instance of a criminal offense such as rape, murder, robbery with violence, and even fraud. Offender profiling has been used in the recent past to identify the core suspects in all crimes committed. However, the measure was not well known until an FBI academy based in America, Quantico, started publicizing the action towards the criminal investigation. (Vettor 2011). In other words, offender profiling is a way of analyzing a crime scene of crimes one has committed and generating inferences which can be used to conclude in terms of characteristics of the offender.
Again, offender profiling could have been as a result of basing the crimes committed by one to draw their personality and behavioral characteristics. (Douglas et al., 1986). Thus it is a technique used by police and detectives to narrow down to a specific person when the case of the investigation had no evidence left at the crime scene. However, in only point to a suspect with certain features and not directly to someone who committed the offense.
Recently the evidence from the technique has been used to provide proof in courtrooms and this has adversely affected and crippled the court decisions although we can’t say it should be done with. This review focuses on offender profiling in specific, analyzing the crime scene and drawing conclusions rather than general investigations and carrying out studies outside the scene.
Offender profiling.
Generally, when there is a criminal offense committed, detectives may employ several techniques in identifying the possible characteristic of the suspects. The most common include reviewing the cameras if any installed in the crime scene, looking for any left objects which may have been used by the offender, checking at the body fluids left and any outfits left at the crime scene. These evidences combined with interrogations of people found at the scene or the victims can draw conclusions that may be used to identify the key suspects of the offense directly.
However, in cases that the offender left no evidence in the scene, offender profiling has been of great use. By carefully studying the scene and drawing well-considered inferences, police can get they know some information on how the offender might have been looking like or their possible locations or people.
I can stand with offender profiling as to be a useful technique in identifying the possible characteristics pertinent to the offender. It has helped solve significant nightmares in almost unsolvable cases. This technique unveiled serial criminals. Canter et al., (2004); however, found that the same can be wrong as the method dramatically depends on the offender’s experiences. Suppose an offender lies about their whereabouts and experiences or probably forgets what had taken place the technology could land the offender person out of the suspect list. It is also possible to have an innocent person being interviewed and then forgets about their experiences but decides to lie and accidentally gives information in line with the crime. The result is that this honest person shall undoubtedly land in jail for an offense they never committed.
Basing from the above findings of Canter et al., (2004), we can say that offender profiling findings can be wrong and end up releasing the guilty and jailing the innocent.
Conclusion.
Therefore offender profiling has been of great importance in solving important serial matters. Its utmost importance is that serial rapists were uncovered and long wanted silent killers found guilty. In promoting social security and making the world more open to citizens, we can give the strategy a big tick as a positive move. Currently, offender profiling is almost the only way of bringing down social security threats.
However, people need to know that offender profiling can also be a great throwback if not well conducted. Professional detectives only should be allowed to carry out this process if al at all accurate results are required. But that is not a guarantee that professionals will always give the correct information in the study. Offender profiling should be well backed up with other methodologies to reduce the risk of wrong information.
As a recommendation, the ultimate questions might arise from how wrong or right can be this technique? Are there possible substitutes that can provide more transparent information as compared to offender profiling?
References
Canter, D., (2004). Offender Profiling and Investigative Psychology. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 1-15.
Douglas, J., Ressler, R., Burgess, A. W., & Hartman, C. (1986). Criminal profiling from crime scene analysis. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 401-421.
Vettor, S., L. (2011). Offender Profiling: A Review, Critique, and an Investigation of the Influence of Context, Perception, and Motivations on Sexual Offending.