Criminal profiling

We will understand criminal profiling as and citing:

"The inference of the distinctive features of the aggressors from the physical and/or behavioral evidence" [1]  (Turvey, Criminal Profiling. An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis, Fundamentals, 2016)

That is to say; It is not to physically describe an individual, instead it is intended to be an instrument to help the investigation that provides relevant data for the capture of the individual who has committed the crime, all this from the evidence found by the expert in the field, the criminal profiler.

The beginnings of criminal profiling are reflected through the Quantico Academy of the University of Behavioral Sciences (UCC), where the profile of an attempt made to provide an investigation team with information about an individual who he had committed a certain crime (Genovéz, 2006).  

But profiling as such, was born in the FBI in the 1950s, in a small unit of investigators of the Behavioral Sciences Unit (BSU: Behavioral Science Unit, for its acronym in English), which today is integrated into the Center. for the Analysis of Violent Crime “NCAVC”); under the direction of Roger Depue and tutelage of Howard Teten, Pat Mullany.

Subsequently, the term "criminal profiling" was established in 1953, again in the FBI. Where Robert K. Ressler, a former FBI agent, is one of the main world exponents of this Unit and of the term.

  Criminal profilers must be skeptical but not naive, what I mean is, rather than being open-minded, one must be careful not to allow theories of external agents (lawyers, policemen, civilians) to permeate and condition their expertise, if on the contrary these theories are assumed as true, there is a risk that their abilities will be limited, that is; to search only  evidence to support preconceived theories and discard the others, which obviously translates into malpractice and lack of experience.

Now, the criminal profiler should not only care about the individual who commits a crime, it is just as important that he is interested in the victim, because in addition to being a human being, who therefore deserves respect and professionalism on the part of the expert, also It is a valuable source of information, therefore it is essential not to exclude it, because it is of vital help both for the physical description of the individual (in living victims) and the criminal act as well as for achieving effective social prevention, thus reducing the number of possible victims .

The profiler's loyalty is to justice and not to a person; that is, the expert's efforts are not to serve a single individual, but rather focus on  serve as a watershed between the criminal act and prevention; this often includes questioning one's own hypotheses and theories. Analyzing implies being aware and patient with one's own limitations, in which case they must be known and understood so as not to base conclusions on banal hunches without scientific basis. Intuitions are out of place.

Yes, criminal profiling alone does not solve cases (Porras, 2012). It is a tool that, carried out by an expert and with the correct professionalism, has great forensic scope, however it is so idealized and stereotyped by the non-studious population of forensic sciences and that television has a lot to do with it in the sense that it is believed that in days any investigation is solved or a hair will be found that solves everything, as it happens in these series and movies; since although it is true that the mind is educated, in the end it is still human and therefore, errors are part of. This does not mean that mistakes are made every moment, but there is a margin of this. It is also a fact that we do not work only on these investigations, the timely help of other disciplines is of great value when doing the profile modeling process. (Turvey, Criminal Profiling. An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis, Fundamentals, 2016)

It is very important to mention that at the national level there are not many criminal profilers nor many trained personnel, which is a serious problem, since criminal acts do not stop and continue to evolve, adapting and more now than according to INEGI data published on April 19, 2021 in the National Urban Public Safety Survey whose statistical purpose is the perception of insecurity in people over 18 years of age in which 66.4% of them nationally mentioned feeling unsafe in the city where they live. This is proof that it is real and there is more than an urgent need for personnel to solve social problems in matters of social security and prevention, as well as experts specializing in the creation of prevention strategies to support the population in fighting crime.

Human behaviors are fickle, malleable and permeable to the social circumstances that surround them, so it is irrefutable that as security professionals we are also in constant movement and learning so as not to leave room for antisocial behaviors that continue to advance.

 

 

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Bibliography

Genovéz, VG (2006). The trail of the murderer: psychological profile of criminals in criminal investigation. Spain: Ariel.

INEGI. (April 19, 2021). National Survey of Urban Public Safety. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/boletines/2021/ensu/ensu2021_04.pdf

Porras, JF (2012). Criminal profiling. Criminological technique in the accusatory system. Flowers.

Ríos, J. (August 20, 2016). Psychologists who are experts in criminal profiles are urgently needed in Mexico for the success of the new penal system. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from the University of Guadalajara: https://www.udg.mx/es/noticia/urgen-en-mexico-psicologos-expertos-en-perfiles-criminales-para-exito-de-nuevo criminal-system

Turvey, BE (2016). Criminal profiling. An introduction to the analysis of behavioral evidence, fundamentals (1st in Spanish ed., Vol. I). (DD Cardona, Trad.) Aguascalientes, Mexico: Forensic Press.

Turvey, BE (2016). Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral, Practical Evidence. (1st in Spanish ed., Vol. III). (DD Meléndez, Trad.) Sitka & Aguascalientes, Alaska & Mexico: Forensic Press.

 

 

[1]  PhD Brent E. Turvey, in his book entitled: “Criminal Profiling; An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis, Foundations. Page 78.