NCJ Number
197955
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2002 Pages: 631-656
Editor(s)
George B. Palermo M.D.
Date Published
December 2002
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This study sought to develop an empirical model for the criminal psychological profiling of serial arson crimes through an independent analysis of offense behaviors.
Abstract
Despite an extensive body of literature on the broad topic of arson, there is little empirical information on the psychological profiling of arson crimes for criminal investigations and specifically on the profiling of serial arsonists. This study sought to develop an empirical model of serial arsonist behaviors that could be systematically associated with probable offender characteristics. The database employed in this study consisted of 148 incidents of arson and obtained from the New South Wales and Victorian police jurisdictions. The analysis was conducted in several stages beginning with a nonmetric multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis. This analysis was followed by a cluster analysis of the MDS dimensional coordinates and fitting external property vectors using variables from the personal, general, and event-specific variable sets to the MDS coordinates for each of the 29 variables in the crime scene set. The results produced an empirical model for serial arson crime scene behaviors that can be systematically associated with probable offender characteristics. The model shows that serial arson scene behaviors are composed of a centrally located constellation of common behaviors surrounded by four outlying patterns: the thrill pattern, the anger pattern, the wanton pattern, and the sexual pattern. Each of these four outlying patterns represents a distinct and coherent style to the commission of a serial arson attack. The key feature of the model is a holistic depiction of all potential behavioral patterns, both common and discriminatory. It is hoped that this model will have several effects in both the research and the practice of criminal psychological profiling. Figures, appendix, and references