CPSS240_wk1_DQ1
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University of Phoenix *
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240
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Law
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Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by SuperFang6755
Identify some criminal characteristics and explain why they are important for criminal justice human service practitioners to know.
There are a number of criminal characteristics mentioned in our text. These include aggressive behavior, high impulsivity, low self control, cognitive distortion, and wide range of mood swings, among many others. These are important for human service practitioners to know and understand so that they can provide the appropriate level of care and services for offenders. These characteristics are also important to know so that the practitioner can best support them and their journey toward rehabilitation.
Do you believe identifying criminal characteristics constitutes criminal profiling?
I do not believe that identifying criminal characteristics in itself does not constitute profiling. I do believe it is a part of the profiling process, but there are multiple sources of information that need to be taken into account when building a criminal profile vs identifying criminal characteristics.
The American Psychological Association defines criminal profiling as “a technique used to narrow a criminal investigation to suspects with certain personality traits that might be inferred from the way a crime was committed, where it happened, victimology, and other factors.” (APA, 2024) Do you see using criminal characteristics to develop a criminal profile as problematic or beneficial to a human service practitioner? Why?
I can see issues in using criminal characteristics alone to develop a criminal profile for human service practitioners for a number of reasons. When dealing with people,
there will always be some that cannot reserve personal bias and judgement when attempting to make informed decisions. This leaves too much room for emotion and not enough room for logic to be applied. Human service professionals need to be able to provide support services for the offender that are tailored to their specific situation. These services should realistically, and within reason, provide them the opportunity to redirect their path toward rehabilitation. Basing their needs and support off of criminal characteristics alone would not only do a disservice to the them, it would also be doing a disservice to the community.
APA. (2024). APA Dictionary of Psychology
. Apa.org. https://dictionary.apa.org/criminal-
profiling
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