Forensic Psychology and Criminal...

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Forensic Psychology and Criminal Profiling

Transcript of Forensic Psychology and Criminal...

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Forensic Psychology and Criminal Profiling

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Forensic psychologist - no medical training but trained in topics like statistical analysis and psychological testing

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Forensic psychiatrist - physician trained in mental disorders, their diagnosis and treatment, and training in recognizing criminal behavior

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Forensic psychiatrist (continued)

- they can prescribe meds,provide psychotherapy, interview criminals and suspects, evaluate personal history and use these to establish an opinion of the mental state of the individual

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Forensic psychiatrist and psychologist- both deal with the study of human

behavior- they can work with child custody

evaluations, assess the mental state of criminals, provide consultation of jury selection and assist police in creating a profile of possible suspects

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Historical Background

1906 - Hans Gross - founding father of modern day criminal profiling

- suggested ways to profile the behavior of criminals, including murderers, arsonists and thieves

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1953 - Dr. Paul Kirk - profiled criminal behavior in conjunction with evaluating evidence

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1960 - Howard Teten - combined forensic science, death investigation and criminal behavior into profiling

- worked at the FBI where he taught agents how to improve their profiling skills

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1972 - Jack Kirsh - opened the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit (BSU)

BSU was so proficient in developing profiles of criminals they were receiving requests from around the country

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BSU - now directed by the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crimes (NCAVC) located at FBI Academy in Quatico, Virginia

- Thomas Harris (the author of Silence of the Lambs consulted BSU when developing his characters

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Stages of Profiling

1. Input - collecting information about the crime and the victim

- if there is a suspect, the profiler should NOT have any info about the suspect so as to not cloud their judgement

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-crime scene photos - gives info on physical evidence

- victim history - gives info about their job, habits, family relationship, hobbies, fears, friends

- autopsy photos - gives info about control and emotional state of suspect

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2. Classifying the Crime - type of crime, number of victims, number of locations, number of events, and time between the events

- determine spree vs serial

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spree - takes place at more than one location but not a lot of time between events

serial - may wait months between events

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3. Determining Motives - financial (burglery, insurance scam,etc), sexual (rape, sexual assault, dismemberment, mutilation), or emotional (family disputes, religious reasons, cults)

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4. Risk level of victim - age, lifestyle, occupation, ability to resist, size, location (ex.; a lone woman getting in her car in a dark parking lot has higher risk than a group of women walking together)

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5. Crime Assessment -profiler reconstructs the crime to yield clues to the suspect’s behavior

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Well-organized crime-indicates a clever suspect capable of logical thinking and able to create and execute a plan

- possible premeditation

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Disorganized crime

-indicates an impulsive suspect, possibly motivated by panic, stress, drugs, alcohol or mental illness

-usually a random victim

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6. Method of Operation

-also called modus operandi (MO)

-a recognized pattern of behavior, including the use of tools, weapon of choice or preference of victims

- seen in the case of serial criminals

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7. Signature- when a criminal commits the same

type of crime repeating habits- may include positioning bodies of

victims in a distinct fashion or leaving behind the same type of evidence at each scene

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Signature Examples- Boston Strangler - strangled his

victims with an article of their own clothing, sexually assaulted them and posed them with a bow tied under their chin

- Zodiac Killer - used a symbol in messages to the news media

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8. Criminal Profile

-develops a description of the suspect (race, sex, physical characteristics, habits, values, beliefs)

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Examples of Profiles

arsonist - white male 18-27, loner, history of drug/alcohol abuse, criminal record, poor employment history

serial murderer - white male, 25-34, average intelligence, charming, victim of child abuse

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9. Investigation

-profilers report is added to investigators information and suspects matching the description are evaluated

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10. Apprehension

-ultimate goal is apprehension of person responsible for the crime

-investigators interview and interrogate suspect

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Victimology

-study of victims affected by crime, accidents or natural disasters

-must assess the victims’ lifestyle, preferences, family, relationships, routines, risk assessment, etc.

-create a time-line prior to the crime