Criminal Profiling Forensic Science 25 & 35

Early History 1880’s World War II 1956 Dr. Thomas Bond was involved in the Jack the Ripper case performed an autopsy and reconstructed the crime scene to interpret the possible behaviours of the killer World War II Dr. Walter Langer was asked to create a profile of Adolf Hitler asked to explain Hitler’s mindset, suggest his motives and predict his actions if he was apprehended 135-page profile correctly predicted that Hitler would commit suicide if Germany lost the war 1956 Dr. James Brussel profile of the Mad Bomber of New York City led to arrest correctly identified that the bomber would be wearing a double-breasted business suit when arrested worked on the Boston Strangler Case in 1964; convinced investigators that only one strangler existed and not two

1970’s FBI created a Behavioural Science Unit two FBI agents designed the Criminal Investigative Analysis Program crime scene evidence and the details of previous crimes and criminal behavior can be used to predict the behavioural trends, personality traits and perhaps even mental disorders of the suspect creation of HITS – a database that lists characteristics of violent crimes so that common threads could be investigated Dr. Robert D. Keppel and Dr. Richard Walter published an article that grouped sexual murderers into four distinct sub-type groups FBI agents John Douglas and Robert Ressler created a method of classifying criminals organized or disorganized method is used extensively today Keppel – police detective with doctorate in criminology Walter – prison psychologist who worked who interviewed over 2000 inmates BOTH saw common threads among offenders, which led to their article Very limited in use today: Small number of qualified personnel are trained in science and methodology of criminal profiling Limits use to only the most serious criminal investigations

Criminal Profiling – 5 Steps All available information from the crime scene and physical evidence is examined. All witness statements and, if possible the victim’s account, are reviewed; in a murder case, the autopsy is reviewed. Sequence of events leading to and occurring during the crime is suggested. detailed list of personality and behavioural characteristics of the offender are included in the profile Investigators use the profile to shorten the list of suspects. new evidence that arises causes the initial profile to be reviewed, and possibly changed If a suspect is apprehended, the criminal profile created is evaluated to determine its accuracy QUALITATIVE analysis of trends and patterns are used eg. Work by social scientists reveals that serial murderers share several traits Serial murderers: people who kill 3 or more victims on separate occasions Select a certain type of victim who fulfills a role in their fantasies Tend to be white males aged 25 to 34, avg intelligence and charming Most are illegitimate children and experience physical and sexual abuse during their childhood Prefer to kill using hands-on methods

Profiling is not perfect . . . 2002 Beltway Sniper shootings profile proposed that the killer was a middle-aged white male

Criminal Profiling in Homicide Investigations Mass murderer – kills several people, typically at the same time and at one location Spree murderer – kills several victims during a short time, usually in two or more locations Richard Farley – a former computer programmer, he was fired for stalking one of his co-workers; he returned with a gun, killed seven and injured four of his ex-colleagues. The female he stalekd was one of the four people injured. Seung-Hui Cho – student at Virginia Polytecyhnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). In April 2007, in two separate shootings two hours apart, he killed 32 people and wounded 25 people before committing suicide. This is considered the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.

Criminal Profiling in Homicide Investigations cont’d Serial murderer – kills several victims in three or more separate events during a time that may be days, weeks, months or even years Most are psychopaths who are considered to have a personality disorder but appear quite normal and charming Motivated specifically be psychological urges (primarily power and sexual compulsion) Categorized into three sub-types: Visionary – hears voices or sees visions that tell him or her to kill Missionary – goes on a hunting mission to rid Earth of a certain group of people Hedonistic –offenders are of four types, all of whom take pleasure in the kill: comfort-oriented, lust-oriented, thrill-oriented, an power-oriented

Herbert Williams Mullin - 13 murders from 1972 to 1973 in various places in California Claimed voices told him that murder was necessary to prevent California from suffering a massive earthquake Eerily, no earthquakes occurred during his murder spree

Organized vs. Disorganized Offenders Organized – plan and execute their crimes in organized ways. Disorganized – crimes are committed impulsively sparked by mental disorder, drugs, alcohol, youth, or inexperience. ORGANIZED scheming, deliberate and methodical Self-absorbed psychopath lacking empathy and remorse Tend to be well-spoken, outgoing and pleasant Target their victims, primarily choosing strangers whom they often capture by conning them (asking for money or assistance) Take the time to clean up or remove evidence; will take the weapon to the crime and then back with them Often will move or conceal the body DISORGANIZED Loners with poor social skills Often feel inadequate and have difficulties maintaining friendships and loving relationships Appear unkempt and live in messy homes tend to attack people they know (family, acquaintances, neighbours or friends) Victims are incapacitated quickly without much warning and are usually left badly mutilated Make no effort to ide the weapons or the bodies afterward Leave a chaotic mess

Geographic Profiling Strategy that is based on the assumption that criminals do not stray far from areas familiar to them, especially routes they travel among work, home, and recreational areas. Methodology vs. solving Based on the premise that mathematical analysis of crime scene locations can increase the efficiency of a police investigation by focusing attention on a specific area Relatively new (begain in the early 1190s)

Spatial Analysis History Formal process of geographic profiling originated in research conducted at the School of Criminology of Simon Fraser University in B.C. in 1989 Rooted in environmental criminology, routine activity theory, and rational choice theory Theory: Offenders maintain buffer zones around their homes in which they avoid committing crimes Offenders are not interested in travelling long distances to commit crimes unless they are attempting to achieve a larger potential payoff 1991 – algorithm was developed by Kim Rossmo, a foot patrol officer in downtown Victoria Algorithm is the basis of a software program called Rigel

Geographic Profiling Red – hot spots of criminal activity Red and Blue – jeopardy surface, peaks of criminal activity where an offender is assumed to reside The higher the number of crime sites entered, the higher the predictive power of the program ie. A suspect’s increased activity may increase the chances he will be apprehended. not effective for transient killers, like the Beltway Snipers, because there are no anchor points when the program was applied retroactivey to a case from the 70;s, Rossmo showed that the killer’s home was within 1.7% of the total hunting area again, applied retroactively, Rossmo was able to identify Clifford Olsen’s residence to within a 14 block radius