Validity, utility and ethics of profiling for serial violent and sexual offenders

Body Disposal Patterns of Sexual Murderers: Implications for Offender Profiling

“…This model has been the object of many criticisms since its first publication (Beauregard and Proulx 2002;Canter 1994;Canter et al 2004;Godwin 1998;Kocsis et al 1998;Rossmo 1997;Turco 1990;Wilson et al 1997;Wilson and Soothill 1996). However, our results suggest that the organized-disorganized model shows some usefulness, especially when looking at offenders' characteristics.…”

What works in offender profiling? A comparison of typological, thematic, and multivariate models

“…First, the profiles are often based on the motivation, desires, and fantasies of an offender, which are impossible to verify reliably post-conviction (Alison, Smith, Eastman, & Rainbow, 2003). Second, the approach is often difficult to quantify because of the apparent trade-off between the large number of cases required for quantitative research and the lengthy detailed clinical analysis needed for each individual case (Wilson et al, 1997). This is not to say that clinical-based approaches may or may not be equally valid; simply, in this comparative and quantitative context they were not feasible.…”

“…It would no doubt have been of interest to include a clinically based psychological or psychiatric profile (Boon, 1997;Copson, Babcock, Boon, & Britton, 1997;McGrath, 2000) or diagnostic evaluation (see Wilson et al, 1997); however, these approaches are difficult to compare empirically for two reasons. First, the profiles are often based on the motivation, desires, and fantasies of an offender, which are impossible to verify reliably post-conviction (Alison, Smith, Eastman, & Rainbow, 2003).…”

“…Moreover, researchers have differed significantly in what crime scene information (e.g. behaviors) they believe should be used, what offender characteristics can and should be predicted, and how this causal link between crime scene actions and offender characteristics should be made (see Wilson et al, 1997, for a review). The present study acknowledges the lack of any effort in the field to provide a systematic or comprehensive analytical backdrop to the prediction of offender characteristics from crime scene information.…”

The Evolution of Criminal Profiling

“…This method of profiling has since been termed diagnostic evaluation (Wilson, Lincoln & Kocsis, 1997), and it is essentially the psychologist's or psychiatrist's evaluation of the offender based on, for example, developmental and/or clinical issues (Badcock, 1997). Developmental (the personal needs and life experiences) and clinical (patterns of offending associated with mental illness) analyses are the cornerstone of forensic practitioners, enabling their expertise and training to be utilized in identifying possible aspects of the offender's psyche.…”