Criminal profiling analysis

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Running head: VALIDITY OF CRIMINAL PROFILING 1 Validity of Criminal Profiling Mackenzie Connell Southern New Hampshire University

VALIDITY OF CRIMINAL PROFILING 2 Validity of Criminal Profiling In the practice of criminal investigation, there are, unfortunately, cases and individuals that represent a particularly significant risk to the public peace and wellbeing. As a result, this practice has faced the need to develop numerous methods of investigating the people responsible for perpetrating these crimes in order to bring them to justice. One of these practices is criminal profiling, which involves studying and putting together the traits of the people who typically engage in these criminal activities to understand their psychological backgrounds and the acts of which they are typically capable. However, some have pointed out the controversial implications of submitting a person to punishment by the criminal justice system for merely fitting into a profile that was put together instead of more direct physical evidence. Although this is a valid objection, the complex reality of criminal acts often leaves little to no evidence other than these constructed profiles. Although the risks and concerns of relying on criminal profiling must be taken into consideration, the alternative option of releasing violent individuals due to a lack of evidence should also be kept in mind. The article on criminal profiling by Kocsis & Palermo (2013) justifies the careful application of criminal profiling by demonstrating both the limitations that should be considered as well as the conditions under which this practice is applicable and reliable. The article by Kocsis & Palermo (2013) analyzes the accuracy of the practice of criminal profiling by discussing “offender homology” and trait-based profiling. Offender homology refers to the idea that criminals have identities that can be understood as being alike, thus allowing a faceless profile to be constructed and applied equally to different individuals. The intention of this concept is to provide a criticism of the idea that different individuals under varying circumstances committing separate crimes can be all classified under a homologous profile. Similarly, the idea of trait-based profiling intends to criticize criminal profiling by portraying it as a reduction of individuals to a set of traits that can be

VALIDITY OF CRIMINAL PROFILING 3 applied equally to different suspects. Once again, by describing criminal profiling as the compilation of traits, the intention is to discredit the practice by saying the reality and individuals are much more complex than a list of traits. Both of these concepts exist as a criticism of the practice of criminal profiling, and the authors of the article address them in order to determine whether or not these observations suffice to indicate that this technique is not a credible methodology for criminal investigation. In order to evaluate the accuracy of these observations, the authors divide the arguments from previous research into the validity of offender homology into 4 tenets. The first of these is that profilers themselves are inaccurate and so their conclusions are unreliable (Kocsis & Palermo, 2013). The authors begin by noting several case studies that state criminal profiling is accurate, while also observing that these are semibiographical and so are not particularly grounded in scientific practice. They go on to discuss a study by the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit that indicates criminal profiling to have an accuracy ratio of around 80% (Kocsis & Palermo, 2013). Afterwards, the authors mention a scientifically grounded study from 1990 wherein the accuracy of profiles written by profilers and non-profilers was evaluated through studies using information from crimes that had already been solved previously. The participants were given the facts surrounding a murder and sexual assault case and asked to write a profile on the perpetrators. This study found that the criminal profilers created profiles that were far more accurate than the rest of the participants. Furthermore, when presented with a pool of possible perpetrators, senior profilers presented an accuracy of 100%, whereas students were found at an accuracy of 16%. The evidence presented against the first tenet concerning the inaccuracy of profilers is ultimately persuasive. The second tenet that is discussed and analyzed in the paper is that there is no reason to believe that there is a connection between the characteristics of criminal offenders and

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VALIDITY OF CRIMINAL PROFILING 4 their behavior. Once again, this criticism relies on the idea that it there is an assumed false homology between criminals. Ultimately, this argument holds that each criminal mind comes from a different background with a different identity and therefore have varied motives. These complex situations and actions cannot be reduced simply to a list of traits that applies to all of the different people who could potentially perpetrate the same crime in a different context. The authors provide an extensive list of literature that is categorized into those which examine the profiles of rapists, sexual murderers, serial rapists, and arsonists. In confirmation of the previously provided results, these studies also found that there is a tendency for perpetrators to exhibit traits compiled in the descriptions made by criminal profilers. After this examination, the authors go on to analyze the third tenet that proposes that there is no connection between criminal behavior and offender characteristics. The proposed observation in this tenet is that there is an erred assumption of a causative relationship between the attributes that are compiled in a criminal profile and the actions of perpetrators (Kocsis & Palermo, 2013). The authors of this article point out that despite the common findings in studies concerning the patterns of criminal behaviors and characteristics, it is rare for any of the researchers in this area to frame this pattern as a causal relationship. Despite this, there does seem to be a correlative relationship that is useful to criminal investigations. Finally, the fourth examined tenet mentions that criminal profilers do not take situational factors into consideration. The observation proposed by this tenet is that focusing entirely on the profile of the individual involved in the perpetration of a crime ignores the extremely complex situational factors which may have contributed to the crime itself. Against these observations, the authors mentions that the fact that situational factors are not explicitly mentioned when constructing criminal profiles does not mean that they are completely excluded from these processes (Kocsis & Palermo, 2013). They add that early examples of

VALIDITY OF CRIMINAL PROFILING 5 criminal profiles clearly exhibit, for example, interview questions to rape victims that are intended to clarify situational factors. Ultimately, this article provides valid responses to the proposed criticisms of homology and trait-based profiling. The method of addressing these is by clarifying that they are dependent on an idea that criminal profiling is a process that is distant from the complexities of real crimes and criminal identities. The authors respond to these criticisms by indicating that, in actual practice, criminal profiling is not only a considerably effective practice, but that those factors are also taken into consideration when constructing profiles. Profilers have practical experience that leads them to improve and perfect their activities. In addition to this, they are aware of the complexities of real identities and situational factors, and they take those considerations into account during their practices. In addition to this, the authors also present a realistic description of the strengths and limitations of criminal profiling. They state the fact that criminal profiling is more effective in certain cases than in others; clearly, serial rapists or serial murderers are more likely to exhibit a specific form of psychopathology than single offenders. As a result, rather than abandon the practice of criminal profiling due to critiques surrounding homology or trait-based profiling, the conclusion should be that a realistic appreciation of the limitations of this technique should be kept in mind by criminal profilers.

VALIDITY OF CRIMINAL PROFILING 6 Conclusion In conclusion, the selected article provides a useful and thorough examination of the criticism on criminal profiling, focusing on homology and trait-based profiling. This analysis is carried out effectively by breaking up the observations on the limitations of this practice into 4 different tenets and analyzing their merits through an evaluation of existent literature. They provide an overview of the tenets that state that profilers are inaccurate, that there is no link between the characteristics of offenders and their behaviors, that profiling depends on trait-based relationships, and that profiles do not take situational factors into consideration. One by one, the authors disprove each of these tenets by citing existing literature that has researched each of these points. Overall, I found the arguments presented to be persuasive, leading the reader to the conclusion that although criminal profiling is not a scientifically accurate method, it is effective enough to continue to be exercised with caution. In addition to this, I consider that this practice is a response to an issue that is extremely complex and does not have an immediately evident solution. Although scientifically sound techniques would be ideal, many criminal offenses do not leave concrete evidence that can be used to establish scientific grounds to determine culpability. Criminal profiling is a necessary practice in a criminal justice system that would otherwise lack any leads or evidence to indicate violent and dangerous perpetrators.

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VALIDITY OF CRIMINAL PROFILING 7 References Kocsis, R. N., & Palermo, G. B. (2013). Disentangling criminal profiling. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology , 59 (3), 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x13513429

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