Organized/Disorganized Model of Sexual Homicide (also serial homicide)

(Basic idea, what it classified, types of each)

Classifies crime scenes and offenders into disorganized or organized.

Basic Idea: 

-Organized crime scenes- planned, exercise control over the scene.

-Organized offenders- organized in their lives- intelligent, employed, and seemingly “normal” individuals.

-Disorganized crime scenes- not well planned out; act in a haphazard manner engaging in depersonalization and mutilation behaviors.

-Disorganized offenders- disorganized in their lives- live alone, know victims, experience a number of emotional, social, and occupational difficulties. 

is a field of psychology that applies psychological principles to all aspects of police investigations and legal proceedings.

David Canter developed it and coined the term.

IP proposes that police investigations can be made more effective by drawing on knowledge from the behavioral sciences

Focus of IP

(theoretical (2), and practical)

-development of decision support systems for law enforcement

-inform investigative procedures and police training

Classification Development

Offender Profiling

Gathering/evaluating information

Making inferences/conclusions from gathered information

Taking investigative actions

Generates new information, new inferences, new investigative actions (Cycle)

-Investigative information- its retrieval, evaluation, and utilization

-Investigative inferences- conclusions that can be made about criminal activity from investigative information. (Focuses on what types of conclusions can be drawn)

-Police actions and decisions- their improvement and support. (With research and backing)

Inferences 

-offender characteristics and motivations 

-offender home location

-victim/offender relationship, etc.

-Investigators use these inferences to help them decide what avenues/lines inquiry they should pursue. (or abandon)

-Investigative inferences MUST be based on sound theory and research. Based on experience right now

-Offender profiling and linkage analysis do not meet the legal standards for admissibility in the U.S. 

Behavioral Salience

Consistency

Development/Change

Differentiating Offenders

(Behavioral) Salience 

(Definition, required areas of knowledge)

focuses on what behaviors are most important to focus on at the crime scene, what can tell us  the psychological processes or meanings of a crime

- are offenders' salient behavioors consistent across series. If they're consistent, can use to link crime scenes together/linkage analysis and offender profiling. Also use to link behaviors to background characteristics, offers support for offender profiling. 

focuses on how offenders learn through experience, escalation, etc. 

Differentiation 

(Definition, purpose, frequency type of aspects useful)

To determine whether offenders are consistent/whether they develop/change we need to be able to distinguish between types of offenses/offenders. 

Classifications proposed for crime scenes and offender backgrounds into types. If can classify crime scenes can determine if consistent. If can classify offenders too, can link both.

Less common aspects provide a basis for distinguishing (and classifying) between types of offenses and offenders

“a strategy enabling law enforcement to prioritize the most likely suspect based on their behavior at the crime scene”

Typically involves practitioners/law enforcement drawing on clinical/professional experience to make educated guesses about characteristics of unknown offenders from actions at a crime scene

Often been inaccurate

IP wants to enhance clinical/professional judgments with research

Behavioral Investigative Advice (BIA)

IP has abandoned term "profiling," it has become an integral part of media and carries a particular connotation

IP Version of profiling. Enhacing clinical/professional based on research 

 (Same def. as profiling, different basis)

“a strategy enabling law enforcement to prioritize the most likely suspect based on their behavior at the crime scene”

Clinical Perspective on Profiling

(Basis, focus, criticism)

Based on clinical expertise

Focus: providing law enforcement with info that they can’t derive from investigation- internal processes

Personality characteristics; psychopathology

“Criminal personality profiling”

Internal processes- can’t be seen; can’t be identified thru database; may not be linked to behavior

(questionable usefulness. Can't be identified in database who in surrounding area has mental disorder/etc. Also question about whether internal processes can be linked to behavior)

Law Enforcement Perspective on Offender Profiling

(Basis, Focus, criticism)

Based on investigative experience

Focus: identifying motivation

Motivation- important in legal proceedings; focus of investigations

Motivation = goal directed behavior

Only one motivation for a crime? - maybe not Poses a big problem about basing analysis on motivation

Can motivations be determined from behavior? 

based on experience in similar situations to solve problems 

Oversimplify and lead to wrong answers

Based on theory and research 

Not experience-led

Focus: observable behaviors that can be directly identified at scene

Not motivations

Link with characteristics that are useful to investigations- i.e. criminal history; military

Not psychopathology

(Things that can be looked up in databases)