The police will then evaluate the victim such as background checks, previous crimes, maybe interviews with close relatives or friends. Next, they review the preliminary police reports. The explained steps explain the basics of a criminal profiling act. There are additional steps that include evaluating medical examiners autopsy findings when a homicide is involved and developing a profile with important offender characteristics. Criminal profiling becomes most useful in homicides, rape crimes, arsonists, and sexual murders.
Night Stalker Brenda Feliz Everest University Online 1. Please explain a case where physical evidence was extremely important in the conviction of the criminal. 2. Please explain the facts of the case and how they pertain to the physical evidence. In Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1990, there were three different crimes committed by an unknown attacker that was named the “Night Stalker”.
Role of Victimology Victimology in its most simple form is the study of the victim or victims of a particular offender. It is defined as "the thorough study and analysis of victim characteristics" (Turvey, 1999) and may also be called "victim profiling" (Holmes, 1996). In essence criminal profilers are studying the harm the victim endured during the crime, plus its physical and emotional aspects. Victimologists are people who are in essence investigators, researchers, and observers of the victimized persons and their connection to the crime (Karmen, 2007). Holmes & Holmes (2009, p290) stated “To appraise a crime without some knowledge of the victim is certainly remiss.” The victim constitutes half of the crime therefore victimology should be heavily looked at in order to connect them to the offender (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 1992).Victimology is important to an investigation process in that, it is not just learning about the victim’s personal history and personality, but it also why the victim was chosen (Petherick, 2010).
In it’s simplest definition, victimology is the study of the victim or victims of a particular offender (Wallace & Roberson 2011: 3). However, two other definitions expound deeper into victimology: (1) victimology is the study of crime victims and the psychological effects of being a victim (Def, Random House Dictionary, 2011), and (2) victimology is the study of the ways in which the behavior of crime victims may have or have not contributed to their victimization (Def, Merriam-Webster, 2011). The early works about victims were first written by criminologist, as early as the mid 1700’s. The term victimology was coined by Beniamin Mendelsohn in 1974 (Dussich, 2000). Several criminologist (Hentig, Mendelsohn and Ellenberger) examined victim-offender interactions and stressed reciprocal influences and role reversals.
In assessing the question “Are official statistics a reliable source of information about crime in Britain?” several factors will be considered: including how the statistics are collected, the divide between males and females in crime statistics, the over representation of ethnic minorities and any problems in looking at the true extent of crime using statistics as an indicator for this. In the United Kingdom statistics are produced by the Home Office, the first crime statistics were published in 1976, and contained crimes recorded by the police. Today these statistics are published annually. These statistics make up the British Crime Survey, which measures the amount of crime in England and Wales by asking people about crimes they have experienced in the last year. The British Crime Survey also includes crimes which are not reported to the police, therefore is an important alternative to police records and provides criminologists, the police, the courts, the media and anyone else who has an interest with the statistics, two different types of data: Firstly trends on crime over time chartered, Details are compiled from offenders who are eventually found guilty or cautioned; details gathered include sex and the age of the offender.
Word count : 1700 Criminal victimization and rational theories The classical approach to explain crime has always revolved around examining the personal motivations of offenders for committing crime. However, in the recent past decades researchers have focused not only on offender incentive, but also on the lifestyles and activities of those at risk of being victimized. The following article explores different risk determinants, rational choice and social control theories in an attempt to establish both victim and offender's crime circumstances. Cohen, Kluegel and Land present the opportunity model of predatory victimization perspective as a basic explanatory model for criminal victimization. In order to comprehend why race, age and income have the potential to affect criminal victimization, the authors portray five main risk factors which are: exposure, guardianship, proximity to potential offenders, attractiveness of targets and definitional properties of specific crimes.
(Page 7 ch1) One contribution is the journal he has written is about the improved methods of scientific crime detection and this still reports today. The second contribution is his treatise written about scientific disciplines in the field of criminal investigations. (Page 8 ch 1) Karl Landsteiner figured out how to divide blood into groups and today there are four different groups A,B,AB,O. Then Leone Lattes takes this information and puts it to work with figuring out the types of blood with dried blood. (pg10 ch1) The first person to apply the principals of forensic science was Edmond Locard, he began in the attic of the Lyons police department.
A insurance company might use an investigator to analyze a car accident to determine whether or not the company will pay for the damages that was done to the car. A law enforcement agency might use an investigator to analyze the crime scene of a homicide or even a robbery to help get evidence to find or prosecute a suspect. A Crime Scene Investigator will have to write reports, take photographs of the crime scene and evidence, sketch of the crime scene, collect evidence, like bullets, weapons, shoe prints, fingerprints, etc. There are several steps you will need to do to become a Crime Scene Investigator. The first thing you need to do is get your high school diploma or G.E.D.
Definition of Key Concepts 2.1 Criminal Profiling ( Hard evidence profiling) According to Turvey 1999, the process of inferring distinctive personality characteristics of individuals responsible for committing criminal acts has been commonly referred to as ‘criminal profiling.’ These include biographic details of the perpetrator, crime-scene analysis, and so on. 2.2 Criminological Profiling (Soft evidence profiling) According to Joubert, Hesselink & Marais 2003, criminological profiling is the assessment of criminal behaviour which includes assessing the victims’ credibility, motives & causes of the crime, modi operandi, personal & family background, post offence behaviour & appearances. 2.3 Risk Assessment The assessment of risk involves predicting how likely it is that the individual will in the future commit crime, or reoffend. 3. Main Views The main purpose of the profile is to investigate a crime in order to successfully apprehend the perpetrator, provide investigators with relevant leads & strategies & to help gain insight into the offenders state of mind before, during & after the commission of the crime, whereas the main objective of prediction is to identify the risk factors that are involved in reoffending &
He believes that the positivist scientific method could be applied to the study of crime so as to find out its causes and prevent it. His particular approach was described as criminal anthropology. He compared the known offenders and a control group of soldiers by the post-mortem measurement and examination. After studying the resulting, Lombroso think that there a correlation between certain physical features, such as an asymmetrical face, large jaws and long arms, and criminality. In his opinion, these physical traits were characteristic of an earlier period of human evolution.