NCJ Number
210961
Date Published
2005
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This chapter outlines a systematic process for constructing, utilizing, and evaluating psychological offender profiles.
Abstract
Despite their potential uses to police investigators, regulations to assure quality and consistency in psychological profiling are only in their infancy. Indeed, there has been little guidance or research concerning the provision of psychological investigative analytic reports to the police. Psychological offender profiles should be constructed according to the strict standards of evidentiary reliability and relevancy applied to courtroom evidence. Moreover, it remains crucial that as evidence is revealed, psychological reports be re-evaluated in light of the resolution of the case; this step is often missing from the profiling field despite the opportunities it offers for improvement in method and theory. The need to establish which elements are most effective in identifying similarities between offenses and offender characteristics would also help propel the field of psychological offender profiling forward. Potential elements to be examined in this regard include behaviors, temporal sequences, geographic targeting, and victimology. The importance of internal consistency and differentiation within offender profiles that attempt to link crime variables to offenders is discussed, as is the utility of calculating base rates and a cost/benefit analysis to determine the probability of the occurrence of an event. A recommended format for psychological offender profile reports is offered that includes sections on background, demographic analysis, behavioral analysis, and investigative recommendations. The appendix contains a sample psychological report to police. Tables, note, references, appendix