NCJ Number
181550
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 66 Issue: 12 Dated: December 1999 Pages: 38-47
Date Published
December 1999
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The investigation and arrest of police officer and serial rapist Randy Comeaux in Louisiana in January 1999 used a relatively new technique called geographic profiling, which takes conventional crime mapping techniques and reverses them.
Abstract
Crime mapping predicts the date or the site of the next crime. In contrast, geographical profiling takes the locations of past crimes and uses a complex mathematical algorithm to calculate probabilities of the suspect's residence. Geographic profiling pinpointed the location of Comeaux's residence to within 0.2 miles. Detective Mac Gallien headed the investigation. The investigation involved thousands of leads, solid investigative techniques, and an informant. The result was the clearance of a series of sexual assaults that started in 1984. Comeaux is now serving three consecutive and three concurrent life sentences. Gallien says that geographic profiling cannot solve cases by itself. However, it is a useful tool to accompany a psychological profile and other tools. Police agencies in Baltimore, Norfolk, Va., and Mesa, Ariz., also have crime mapping and analysis. However, data on its effectiveness is still anecdotal; evaluation is needed. Baltimore's success in catching the Shotgun Bandits led to the formation of a regional crime mapping system. Both commercial and free crime mapping products are available. Free products are available from other agencies or from the Department of Justice's Crime Mapping Research Center, which, along with the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (of the National Institute of Justice), also provide training programs.