Introduction
Offender profiling is one of the forensic science areas attracting considerable attention of practitioners, policymakers, scientists, and the public. A heated debate regarding the matter is still ongoing, and people are largely divided into two major camps (Doorewaard, 2017). On the one hand, the proponents of offender profiling emphasize the effectiveness of this investigative technique and its role in resolving crimes (Alison and Canter, 2018b). On the other hand, offender profiling proponents argue that the practice is characterized by a significant degree of bias, activities poorly supported by evidence, or even guesswork (Fox et al., 2020). At the same time, this profiling is widely used in many countries, including the United Kingdom. Therefore, it is critical to identify the benefits of offender profiling, the major challenges associated with it (if any), the most effective techniques and methods, as well as ways to improve the existing approaches to profiling or the future of the field.
Discussion
Background and Major Principles of Offender Profiling
Offender profiling has been used for more than a century in diverse settings. For instance, a psychiatrist was addressed to develop a profile of ‘Jack the Ripper’ (Alison and Canter, 2018a). Even governments commissioned practitioners to develop profiles, which can be illustrated by the work of William Langer, who developed Adolf Hitler’s profile for the US government during the Second World War. At present, this technique is employed to investigate different types of crime, including but not confined to terrorism, financial crimes, and violent crimes, among others. In addition to locating suspects, profiling is often employed to prevent crime, which is specifically urgent for addressing issues related to terrorism. Sahar (2020) notes that community resilience can be facilitated by the effective use of offender profiling.
Scholars have come up with several definitions of offender profiling, but the focus is mainly on several domains. The most general perspective of offender profiling is associated with the analysis of the offender’s traits based on their behavior at a crime scene (Alison and Canter, 2018b). However, modern profilers employ a wide range of facts and types of data to infer offenders’ characteristics. These profiles may include such information as DNA data or concentrate on psychological traits (Amankwaa and McCartney, 2019; Home Office, 2021). When creating offender profiles, such components as victim traits, modus operandi, and crime scene are considered (Pecino-Latorre, Pérez-Fuentes and Patró-Hernández, 2019). In any case, profilers utilize sound methods and ground their findings on evidence and valid methodology.
Different Types and Techniques of Offender Profiling
According to the new approach to sentencing presented by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice in 2020, law enforcement professionals should make sure sound investigative methodologies are utilized (“A smarter approach to sentencing,” 2020). Profilers have developed some techniques and approaches to make sure that their profiling is evidence-based and effective. For instance, Goodwill et al. (2016) explored the efficiency of an action phase approach to profiling sex offenders. The researchers examined the validity of the four phases (search, selection, approach, and assault) of decision-making characterizing sex offenders that had been introduced earlier. The authors provide a model focusing on such dimensions as victim-type specificity and violence, describing the most recurrent offenders’ characteristics in each cluster. Goodwill et al. (2016) concluded that although each case is unique in its details, it is possible to elicit certain milestones that contribute to the creation of an offender’s profile.
Another model offered by Long et al. (2016) contains a clear matrix that can be used to profile male sex offenders with a focus on such areas as previous criminal history, being a parent, having contact with children, living with a partner, online behavior, substance use, and domestic abuse. The researchers also add that the model has displayed its effectiveness during the analysis of 374 police files (Long et al., 2016). Petherick and Brooks (2020) go further and suggests a framework for evaluating the relevance of the offender profiles. Their CRIME approach implies the analysis of crime scene evaluations, research relevancy, investigative opinion, methods of investigation, and evaluation (Petherick and Brooks, 2020). In simple terms, the authors provide a checklist for profilers to ensure all the aspects are considered, and all areas are covered.
Offender profiling is not confined to sex and violent crimes or terrorism. Button, Pakes, and Blackbourn (2016) developed a profile of household insurance fraudsters. The researchers shed light on such domains as claiming behavior seasonality, given explanations, and claimed goods. Geographic profiling is a helpful investigative tool enabling profilers and law enforcement professionals to locate suspects effectively because the data regarding the potential place of living and zones for committing crimes are identified (Canter and Youngs, 2017; Rossmo, 2017). Importantly, Almond et al. (2018) state that profiles are dynamic since offenders’ characteristics changes considerably. The authors highlight some of the changes that have taken place since the 1990s. These transformations also require the development of new methods and innovative (or new) approaches to offender profiling.
Challenges Associated with Profiling
Some of the most serious challenges linked to offender profiling are associated with legal, ethical, and professional. First, addressing professionals outside law enforcement agencies is regarded as a vulnerable practice (Alison and Canter, 2018a). Numerous psychologists provide consultancy services to investigators, but in many cases, the credentials of these practitioners can be hardly seen as appropriate. Some may lack the necessary training, but their profiles are still utilized as an important set of data. The existing laws and policies (such as Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act or Race Relations Act 2000) have numerous gaps that leave some uncertainty that has to be eliminated or, at least, minimized (Alotaibi, 2016). The issue related to the lack of expertise and credentials is being addressed by the creation of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses or the Institute of Expert Witnesses (Cox, 2018). Nevertheless, these are only initial treads in the right direction, and the lack of standardization is still apparent.
As mentioned above, several methodologies and approaches to offender profiling exist, so law enforcement professionals, as well as lawyers, the media, and the public often question the validity and reliability of the obtained information (Kapardis and Krambia-Kapardis, 2016). There is a growing concern that innocent people can suffer due to the lack of a single clear and transparent standardized system. Canter (2018) states that some profiling techniques can be utilized for limited samples and some methods need further validation. The insufficient validity can lead to detaining innocent people or unexpected results in the court where juries have to make their decision based on the provided evidence.
Legal and ethical issues are often related to human rights protection, as well as the focus on unbiased and transparent practices. These aspects are central to racial profiling since minorities are often prone to prejudice existing in the UK among law enforcement professionals and the larger society (Alotaibi, 2016). The use of force is one of the urgent problems that require the specific attention of law enforcement professionals and policymakers. The characteristics described by profilers tend to affect police officers’ attitudes towards suspects, making them less impartial. Hence, it is critical to address all these issues to make the use of such an effective investigative instrument as offender profiling applicable in diverse settings.
Possible Strategies to Enhance the Validity and Reliability of Offender Profiling
In order to address the issues mentioned above, it is necessary to undertake some measures. The development and implementation of the corresponding programs and incentive requires close communication and collaboration of the primary stakeholders, including but not confined to psychologists, scientists, police, policymakers, communities, and the media. Some recommendations regarding the areas to be addressed are provided below. It is noteworthy that considerable transformations in the field are urgently required.
- Standards. The establishment of clear standards regarding profiling, addressing profilers, and using data are necessary for the most recent future. Although some attempts have been made, these efforts are insufficient (Ormerod, 2018). The collaboration of law enforcement professionals, psychologists, and policymakers can result in the development of clear standards and policies regulating offender profiling. Transparency and clarity should be the central principles for the new standards (Farrugia and Gabbert, 2020). The development of standards will help in addressing legal and ethical challenges since prejudice and bias can be minimized.
- Awareness. During the process of the development and implementation of sound methodologies and standards, it is important to make sure that the public and other stakeholders mentioned above have the necessary information on the matter. A wide public discussion of the relevance of offender profiling is critical for the appropriate use of the technique (Alison and Canter, 2018). Lawyers, prosecutors, judges, as well as the public (potentially, the jury) should have the necessary understanding of the peculiarities of the investigative tool in question.
- Methodology. Clearly, it is important to continue the development and evaluation of the existing and new methods and approaches to offender profiling. The instruments should be applicable in specific or different settings (Cox, 2018). They should also be appropriate for use with different populations as well. At that, the focus should be on the validation of the proposed methods as profilers should be certain that sound methods are employed.
Conclusion
On balance, it is necessary to note that offender profiling has proved to be an effective investigative tool. Diverse methods and techniques have been developed and widely utilized. The use of profiling led to locating criminals and their prosecution, so this approach is gaining momentum. However, numerous gaps related to its application are still apparent. The availability of diverse methods mentioned above is a benefit but is also a limitation since the validity of these methodologies is often questionable. Some people find this kind of evidence insufficient for the court. Ethical issues also arise as the impartiality of people involved in decision-making often deteriorates, which can lead to unjust decisions. Irrespective of the existing challenges, offender profiling displays substantial potential, and the development of technology and science contributes to the evolvement of the investigative technique under consideration.
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