Offender Profiling
Offender profiling is a behaviour based and exploratory technique that aids investigators to be able to identify unknown criminals (School of Psychology n.d). Offender profiling can also be referred to as criminal profiling. Criminal profiling dates back in the early 19th century when investigators such as Hans Gross and Jacob Fries used to utilize low level offender profiling. By then, offender profiling was characterized by unfairness and discrimination because little was known about this investigative technique.
Offender profiling is done by analyzing a crime with the most important factors being the nature of the felony and the way in which the wrongdoing was committed (Youngs & Canter 2009). Choices made by the criminal before, when and after committing the felony give a clue towards identification of the character profile of the offender. This information is put together with physical proof and compared to known characters and psychological anomalies to come up with a sensible description of the wrongdoer (De Gregorio 2009).
Statement
Recently, movies and cinema have gotten into the world of criminal profiling especially in Hollywood. Though the profilers in these movies portray ideal situations, to some extent they show that profiling is slowly being accepted into the society. Series like ‘Criminal Minds’ aim at understanding the personality of a criminal by delving into the way in which a criminal reasons out before, in the process and after an operation.
Just like in movies, the basic point of reasoning is that deeds reflect character (Myklebus & Bjorklund 2009). The Federal Bureau of Investigation officers try to realize offender profiling by asking questions based on several aspects. Firstly, an enquiry will be made into precursors of the crime. On this, the officers would be aimed at establishing the reason, scheme or desire the wrongdoer had in mind before committing the crime. Examples of questions asked are: What led to the assassination? What thought did the suspect have in mind? The second thing that these officers pay attention to is the comportment or way in which the crime was committed (Ainsworth 2001). In this stage, officers try to refer to victim selection and the selective methods used to commit the crime. Thirdly, officers try to identify scenes similar to the one in question. The last approach aims at establishing the aftermath of the crime. Questions asked are like: What does the criminal want? What demands does the suspect want met?
Enquiries into offender profiling is being done nowadays by the Investigative Support Unit which was started in mid 20th century by two Federal agents. Though the body remains controversial in its undertakings, this organization has some of the best experts who are well groomed with profiling and forensic techniques. The body is also fortified with psychologists and other cerebral experts. This entity has collected large amounts of information that determines the ancestral background, family traits, current manners and psychosomatic traits of various categories of criminals. This information is partially attained from conducting interviews on victims, convicts and psychologists who have handled criminal offenses before. The unit further offers training to other experts such as attorneys, psychologists and police officers.
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