Environmental and Offender Profiling: Fight Against Crime - Essay Example

EXAMINE THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND OFFENDER PROFILING IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CRIME This essay examines the strengths and weaknesses of environmental and offender profiling and is divided into two parts. The first part of the essay examines environmental profiling and its strengths and weaknesses and the second part examines offender profiling and its strength and weaknesses. Environmental profiling entails the process of reconstructing the original environment of a crime through the interpretation of available proxy indicators at the crime scene, like plants, soil sediments, parts of animals, and whole or parts of organisms. (Wiltshire, n.d.) The original environment (or the crime scene) provides these indicators which are normally used in reconstructing the environment of serious crimes like rape, burglary, abduction, and murder. A combination of scientific disciplines and techniques are used in environmental profiling - e.g. pedology, biology, sedimentology, and geography. (Wiltshire, n.d.) Thus, all the scientific disciplines that compliment (or that are used in) environmental science are of use in environmental profiling. The use of chemistry to analyse soil particles in a laboratory for example, can give clues to the source of soil found at a crime scene and can be useful material evidence in solving crimes. Through the use of biological know how for example, soils from a crime scene may provide materials like insects, amoebae, parasitic worm eggs, and "aquatic organisms like Ostracods and Foraminifera". (Wiltshire, n.d. para. 2.1.2) Certain microscopic plants like diatoms and dinoflagellates may also be found in soil deposited unawares by an offender at a crime scene. These microscopic flora and fauna may not be widespread in location and would thus be only present in restricted areas. An analysis of such material could point investigators to the possible location of an offender. Wiltshire (n.d.) provides a non-exhaustive inventory of materials that can be useful in environmental profiling. These include - plants (including leaves, stems, bark, fruits), mosses, ground vegetation, decaying plant material, soil and sediment, dust and dusty impressions on flooring or paper, ropes and baskets, drug resins, fodder, soft furnishings, gut contents, cadavers, tools, clothing and textiles, footwear, and vehicles. (para. 3.2) Apart from use such valuable material in building environmental profiles of the crime scene, they also serve as very important evidential material in the building of a case against an offender in the criminal justice system. It must however be noted that very knowledgeable offenders can use some of these otherwise valuable materials as decoys. An intentional depositing of flora and fauna by an offender can easily sway the direction of the investigation to a wrong target, if the investigators 'bite the offender's bait'. Also, in situations where an offender is very 'skilful' in the conduct of crime, very little material may be left behind and this may not be very useful for building an environmental profile for the investigation. Environmental profiling thus to some extent, depends on the offender's level of incompetence. The more knowledgeable an offender is concerning forensic techniques of evidence collection, the less likely he/she is to leave enough material behind. The next segment of the essay considers the various forms of offender profiling. Though offender/criminal profiling has been popularly attributed to the Behavioural Science Unit (BSU) of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in the U.S., its use predates the founding of the FBI itself. Petherick (n.d.) states that the first recorded example of offender profiling in the contemporary sense was conducted in the 1880s by Dr. Thomas Bond, in his analysis of the corpse of Mary Kelly, who was the last victim of 'Jack the Ripper'. Bond wrote that: "the corner sheet to the right of the woman's head was much cut and saturated with blood, indicating that the face may have been covered with a sheet at the time of the attack". (cited by Harrison, 1993, p.106) Bond's recorded observations also aimed at interpreting the Ripper's behaviour and proposed that the Ripper may be a middle aged man, respectably dressed and who would not appear offensive. (Petherick, n.d.) The profile build by Bond was meant to aid investigators in their hunt for the Ripper. Bond was also able to link the murders of Nichols, Chapman, Eddowes, and Kelly to Jack the Ripper by noting the similar manner in which all these victims were mutilated. He for instance stated that: "In each case the mutilation was inflicted by a person who had no scientific nor anatomical knowledge. In my opinion he does not even possess the technical knowledge of a butcher or horse slaughterer or any person accustomed to cut up dead animals". (cited by Sugden, 1995, p. 320) Consequently, as it is done in contemporary offender profiling, Bond's observations sought to interpret through the evidence made available from the crime scene, a psychological and behavioural profile of The Ripper so as to help investigators in their search for the murderer. The profile built from Bond's observation of the manner of mutilation also sought to rule out The Ripper from certain professions (e.g. a scientist, a doctor, or a butcher) hence narrowing down the scope of the possible suspects that investigators would have to deal with. This, it can be said is one of the main strengths of offender profiling. A relatively more contemporary case (in the second half of the previous century) that supports the above stated strength of offender profiling is the profile conducted by a New York Psychiatrist, James Brussels, on 'The Mad Bomber of New York' who had sent 32 explosive packages within New York in the space of almost eight years. (Petherick, n.d.) After reviewing the 'Bomber's' case file which included pictures and letters mailed by the 'Bomber', Brussels opined that the 'Bomber' was a heavy middle aged single man, a Catholic, and who lived with a sister or brother. (Petherick, n.d.) Brussels further opined that the 'Bomber' "hated his father, was obsessively loved by his mother and lived in the state of Connecticut". (Petherick, n.d., para. 9) Brussels also suggested that the 'Bomber' would likely be wearing a buttoned double breasted suit when arrested. The profile built by Brussels was strikingly similar to the actual 'Bomber' and the offender even wore a buttoned double breasted suit when arrested by the police. It is evident that without such a close matching profile built by Brussels, the police could have been looking for 'a pin in a hay stack' in their investigative work, and their chances of finding the 'Bomber' would have been greatly diminished. The examples of 'Jack the Ripper' and 'The Mad Bomber of New York' are specific forms of offender profiling that were conducted for a series of specific crimes and that deals with the psychology of the offender. Some profiles may be more generic and systematic and these forms (including their strengths and weaknesses) will be analysed beneath. One of the main purposes of offender profiling is to find the criminal's method of operation. Thus systematic characterisations adopted in profiling aim at ascertaining questions like why, how, when an offender decides to commit a crime. Also, questions concerning the offender particular choice of victim, or location for a crime are pertinent issues that inform a profiler's quest to find the offender's mode of operation. This section of the essay will analyse the use of statistical profiling in offender profiling. Statistical profiling does not rely on the psychological profile of a particular criminal committing a particular crime. It is based on a database of offender populations that are studied and categorised under broad offender groups. (Petherick, n.d.) These known offender groups become typologies that are used in comparative studies of unknown offenders in the bid to fit the unknown offenders within a known category of offender group. Each known offender group would have a list of characteristics (i.e. profile) that would be used in analysing and categorising the offending behaviour of unknown offenders. The FBI for instance in known to employ a statistical model based on organised offender and disorganised offender classifications. The list of characteristics under the organised offender profile includes - average to above intelligence; social competence; preference for skilled work; sexual competence; high birth status; stability of father's work; inconsistency in childhood discipline; controlled in mood when committing crime; use of alcohol with crime; living with partner; mobility with car in good condition; follows crime in news media; and possible change of jobs or relocation. (Petherick, n.d.) The character list for the disorganised offender is directly opposite to that of the organised offender and includes the following - below average intelligence; social inadequacy; unskilled work; sexual incompetence; low birth status; instability in father's work; harsh discipline during childhood; anxious mood when committing crime; minimal alcohol use; loner; proximity to crime scene through residence or work; minimal interest in news media; and significant change in behaviour including drug use. (Petherick, n.d.) Another example of statistical profiling is David Canter's Investigative Psychology. Canter's model is based on an offender population database though this database is updated continually to generate models. (Egger, 1998) Canter uses principles of psychology that are adapted to his database generated models to build profiles. A five-factor model "based on five aspects of the interaction between the victim and the offender" has been developed by Canter. (Petherick, n.d. p.6) Canter's five-factor model consists of interpersonal coherence, significance of time and place, criminal characteristics, criminal career, and forensic awareness. (Canter, 1989) Offender profiles that fall under interpersonal coherence are offenders whose criminal behaviour or victims mirror the way they deal with people in non-offending circumstances in everyday life. Victims may thus symbolise people of significance in their lives. (Carter, 1989) A typical case in point Ted Bundy who is thought to have selected his victims to correspond to his ex-girlfriend. (Petherick, n.d.) Time and place is also significant in offender profiling because the offender may choose a specific time to commit a crime and this may give a clue as to his/her personal life, for example, his/her work schedule or leisure time. The choice of place for committing the crime may also show patterns of mobility or residence which can give clues regarding the possible location of an offender. Canter's criminal characteristics refers to the categorisation of offender profiles based on character classifications similar to the FBI's offender profiling. A lot of times an offender may be re-offending and as such, analysing the 'criminal career' of the offender may show that a current crime may be similar to a past crime and this could give clues to investigators trying to solve some particular crimes. Canter's 'forensic awareness' in offender profiling refers to an offender's knowledge or familiarity with police procedure and techniques. Such an offender may take precautions that will make it difficult for investigators to trace him/her. The wearing of gloves, care against spillage of body fluids at the crime scene, and the use of condoms by rapists are examples of some of the precautions an offender with forensic awareness will take. Generally, it can be said that like the individual psychological profiles in the cases Ripper and 'The Mad Bomber of New York', statistical profiling helps investigators to narrow down the possible suspects in a crime and hence brings some focus and direction in the investigative process. Especially in Turvey (1999) states that the FBI's statistical offender profiling has been criticised for having various weaknesses. The categorisation used do not apply in some real crime situations. Domestic violence crimes for instance do not fit within the organised and disorganised offender profiles. Some crimes may also be interrupted in the process of commission and may thus look disorganised. Also offences committed out of retaliation may not fit the classifications given by the FBI. Furthermore, could be a lot of overlaps between the two offender profile groups that makes its use as a guide disadvantageous. Consequently, the statistical offender profile could be misleading and could wrongly categorise an unknown offender under one profile when he/she may rather be of another profile. This is made even more obvious when media coverage makes public a serious offender's mode of committing a crime. There could be the tendency for other offenders to commit 'copy cat' crimes that mirror notable ones. Offender profiling may not be able to distinguish between the offenders and may be searching for only one offender when there could be more than one. Alternatives to the statistical form of offender profiling have thus been proposed. A notable example is Brent Turvey's Behavioural Evidence Analysis, which recognises the fact that offenders do lie about their crimes and behaviour and thus a more intuitive forensic approach must be employed whose analysis does not focus so much on the offender's behaviour. (Petherick, n.d.) Sources like photos from the crime scene, autopsy reports, witness interviews, investigators reports, the victim's travel map prior to being murdered and the victim's background feature prominently in what Turvey calls equivocal forensic analysis. Evidently, no system of profiling offenders for investigative purposes is without its weaknesses. Environmental and offender profiling have produced some good results in solving crimes, but since it has its weaknesses, there have been failures as well. Even in the modern age of advanced technology, crimes still go unsolved partly due to the fact that criminals are also more sophisticated enough to sometimes elude the radar of the police's environmental and offender profiling techniques (among others.) References Canter, D. (1989). 'Offender Profiles' The psychologist, January, pp. 12 - 16. Egger, S. (1998). The Killer Among Us: An examination of Serial Murder and its Investigation. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Harrison, S. (1993). The Diary of Jack the Ripper: The Chilling Confessions of James Maybrick. London: Smith Gryphon Petherick, W. (n.d.) 'Criminal Profiling: How it got Started and how it is Used' http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/profiling/profiling2/1.html (accessed on 15/03/08) Sugden, P. (1995). The Complete History of Jack the Ripper. London: Robinson Turvey, B. E. (1999). Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioural Evidence Analysis. London: Academic Press Wiltshire, P. E. J. (n.d.) Environmental Profiling and Forensic Palynology: Background and Potential Value to the Criminal Investigator http://www.bahid.org/docs/NCF_Env%20Prof.html (accessed on 17/03/08) Read More