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Geographic profiling is a criminal investigative methodology that analyzes the locations of a connected series of crimes to determine the most probable area of offender residence. By incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, it assists in understanding spatial behaviour of an offender and focusing the investigation to a smaller area of the community. Typically used in cases of serial murder or rape, the technique helps police detectives prioritize information in large-scale major crime investigations that often involve hundreds or thousands of suspects and tips.
Robert Kenneth Ressler was an FBI agent and author. He played a significant role in the psychological profiling of violent offenders in the 1970s and is often credited with coining the term "serial killer." After retiring from the FBI, he authored a number of books on serial murders, and often gave lectures on criminology.
Environmental criminology focuses on criminal patterns within particular built environments and analyzes the impacts of these external variables on people's cognitive behavior. It forms a part of criminology's Positivist School in that it applies the scientific method to examine the society that causes crime.
The feminist school of criminology is a school of criminology developed in the late 1960s and into the 1970s as a reaction to the general disregard and discrimination of women in the traditional study of crime. Feminist criminologists note that the field of criminology has historically been dominated by men, leading to the development of criminological theories that focus on the male experience. This patriarchal domination is not unique to criminological theory, as it is also reflected in the criminal justice system which is cited as a gender institution itself. Both feminist criminologists, as well as criminologists that do not ascribe to this label, have argued that much of early criminological theory is both inherently biased and androcentric. Feminist criminology challenges mainstream criminology to no longer assume theories explaining male crime are equally valid for explaining crime committed by females. This practice is referred to as the "generalizability problem". By utilizing a feminist methodology, feminist criminologists work to address the "gender ratio" problem.
In criminology, rational choice theory adopts a utilitarian belief that humans are reasoning actors who weigh means and ends, costs and benefits, in order to make a rational choice. This method was designed by Cornish and Clarke to assist in thinking about situational crime prevention.
In sociology, the social disorganization theory is a theory developed by the Chicago School, related to ecological theories. The theory directly links crime rates to neighbourhood ecological characteristics; a core principle of social disorganization theory that states location matters. In other words, a person's residential location is a substantial factor shaping the likelihood that that person will become involved in illegal activities. The theory suggests that, among determinants of a person's later illegal activity, residential location is as significant as or more significant than the person's individual characteristics. For example, the theory suggests that youths from disadvantaged neighborhoods participate in a subculture which approves of delinquency, and that these youths thus acquire criminality in this social and cultural setting.
The fear of crime refers to the fear of being a victim of crime as opposed to the actual probability of being a victim of crime. The fear of crime, along with fear of the streets and the fear of youth, is said to have been in Western culture for "time immemorial". While fear of crime can be differentiated into public feelings, thoughts and behaviors about the personal risk of criminal victimization, distinctions can also be made between the tendency to see situations as fearful, the actual experience while in those situations, and broader expressions about the cultural and social significance of crime and symbols of crime in people's neighborhoods and in their daily, symbolic lives.
The FBI method of profiling is a system created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) used to detect and classify the major personality and behavioral characteristics of an individual based upon analysis of the crime or crimes the person committed. One of the first American profilers was FBI agent John E. Douglas, who was also instrumental in developing the behavioral science method of law enforcement.
Property crime is a category of crime, usually involving private property, that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime is a crime to obtain money, property, or some other benefit. This may involve force, or the threat of force, in cases like robbery or extortion. Since these crimes are committed in order to enrich the perpetrator they are considered property crimes. Crimes against property are divided into two groups: destroyed property and stolen property. When property is destroyed, it could be called arson or vandalism. Examples of the act of stealing property is robbery or embezzlement.
Operation Ceasefire (also known as the Boston Gun Project and the Boston Miracle) is a problem-oriented policing initiative implemented in 1996 in Boston, Massachusetts. The program was specifically aimed at youth gun violence as a large-scale problem. The plan is based on the work of criminologist David M. Kennedy.
Routine activity theory is a sub-field of crime opportunity theory that focuses on situations of crimes. It was first proposed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen in their explanation of crime rate changes in the United States 1947 - 1974. The theory has been extensively applied and has become one of the most cited theories in criminology. Unlike criminological theories of criminality, routine activity theory studies crime as an event, closely relates crime to its environment and emphasizes its ecological process, thereby diverting academic attention away from mere offenders.
Rape trauma syndrome (RTS) is the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim that includes disruptions to normal physical, emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal behavior. The theory was first described by nurse Ann Wolbert Burgess and sociologist Lynda Lytle Holmstrom in 1974.
The Macdonald triad is a set of three factors that has been suggested if all three or any combination of two, are present together, to be predictive of or associated with later violent tendencies, particularly with relation to serial offenses. The triad was first proposed by psychiatrist J.M. Macdonald in "The Threat to Kill", a 1963 paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Small-scale studies conducted by psychiatrists Daniel Hellman and Nathan Blackman, and then FBI agents John E. Douglas and Robert K. Ressler along with Dr. Ann Burgess, claimed substantial evidence for the association of these childhood patterns with later predatory behavior. Although it remains an influential and widely taught theory, subsequent research has generally not validated this line of thinking.
The classification of murder has been described by various experts including law enforcement personnel, criminologists, and psychologists. Lust serial murder is the act of deviant behaviors by the means of brutally and sadistically killing multiple victims to achieve ultimate sexual satisfaction with cooling off periods. The most common motives within the lust crimes are the gaining of pleasure, control, and satisfaction toward hostile fantasies through the resulting of crimes. Lust murderers are likely to repeat the crimes over a long period of time with increase of aggressive paraphilia process. The paraphilia within the lust murders usually involve mutilation, flagellation, picquerism, cannibalism, vampirism, and necrophilia with victim bodies. Defined by the FBI, lust serial murderers premeditate each of their sexual offenses, both the nature and content of the killing consistent with their sexual fantasy. Lust murderer cannot escape from his own fantasy, and over time the imagines grow increasingly violent and deadly and escalate the lust offender's attack. The result of the attack satisfies the offender's sexual lust including power, domination, molestation, and degradation or humiliation of others. The creation of the fantasy and fascination with paraphilia is rooted in the lust murderer's childhood development. They were exposed to traumatic events; such as being sexually abuse or violently abuse by caregivers or other adults. Those individuals who cannot cope with past trauma will likely foster feelings of self-doubt, hopelessness, and helplessness. The lack of self-esteem leads the individual to isolate themselves from society and lack the ability to form attachment with others. From this stage, the individual will begin daydreaming and fantasy becomes a stand-in for the social relationships that maladjusted individual is incapable of forming. Fantasy then become a safe place for that individual to fall into once encounter similar trauma events in the past experiences. Sexual fantasy active paraphilia system and eventually become process in and of itself. Most sexual lust offenders sustain their paraphilia process through fantasy, compulsive masturbation, and facilitators. Lust murderers increase the use of drug, alcohol, and pornography can escalate their paraphilic that eventually engaging in sexual homicide or lust murder.
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, management, causes, control, consequences, and prevention of criminal behaviour, both on individual and social levels. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and social sciences, which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists, psychologists, philosophers, psychiatrists, biologists, social anthropologists, as well as scholars of law.
Crime opportunity theory suggests that offenders make rational choices and thus choose targets that offer a high reward with little effort and risk. The occurrence of a crime depends on two things: the presence of at least one motivated offender who is ready or willing to engage in a crime, and the conditions of the environment in which that offender is situated, to wit, opportunities for crime. All crimes require opportunity but not every opportunity is followed by crime. Similarly, a motivated offender is necessary for the commission of a crime but not sufficient. A large part of this theory focuses on how variations in lifestyle or routine activities affect the opportunities for crime.
Crime Pattern Theory is a way of explaining why crimes are committed in certain areas. Crime is not random, it is either planned or opportunistic. According to the theory crime happens when the activity space of a victim or target intersects with the activity space of an offender. A person's activity space consists of locations in everyday life, for example home, work, school, shopping areas, entertainment areas etc. These personal locations are also called nodes. The course or route a person takes to and from these nodes are called personal paths. Personal paths connect with various nodes creating a perimeter. This perimeter is a person's awareness space. Crime Pattern Theory claims that a crime involving an offender and a victim or target can only occur when the activity spaces of both cross paths. Simply put crime will occur if an area provides opportunity for crime and it exists within an offender's awareness space. Consequently, an area that provides shopping, recreation and restaurants such as a shopping mall has a higher rate of crime. This is largely due to the high number of potential victims and offenders visiting the area and the various targets in the area. It is highly probable that an area like this will have a lot of car theft because of all the traffic in and out of the area. It is also probable that people may fall victim of purse snatching or pick pocketing because victims typically carry cash with them. Therefore, crime pattern theory provides analysts an organized way to explore patterns of behaviour. Criminals come across new opportunities for crime every day. These opportunities arise as they go to and from personal nodes using personal paths. For example, a victim could enter an offender's awareness space by way of a liquor store parking lot or a new shopping center being built. If the shopping center is being built in an area where crime occurs a couple of miles away, chances are it will exist in some if not all offender's awareness space. This theory aids law enforcement in figuring out why crime exists in certain areas. It also helps predict where certain crimes may occur.
Social network analysis in criminology views social relationships in terms of network theory, consisting of nodes and ties These networks are often depicted in a social network diagram, where nodes are represented as points and ties are represented as lines.
A narrative crime script is a step-by-step account of the procedures and decision-making processes involved in a particular event, usually relating to an illegal activity. It is constructed using a logical sequence of events that is easily interpreted by an observer to make themselves a participant viewer. For instance, an observer doesn't need to see firefighters at a burnt house to know there were there.
The feminist pathways perspective is a feminist perspective of criminology which suggests victimization throughout the life course is a key risk factor for women's entry into offending.
References
- 1 2 3 Groff, Elizabeth R.; Tom McEwen (2007). "Integrating Distance Into Mobility Triangle Typologies". Social Science Computer Review. 25 (2): 210–238. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.690.442 . doi:10.1177/0894439307298924.
- ↑ R. E. Park, E. W. Burgess, & R. D. McKenzie (Eds.) (1967). The city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 47–62 (Reprint of 1925 article).CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- ↑ Rossmo, D. Kim (2000). Geographic Profiling. CRC Press. pp. 101–103. ISBN 9780849381294.
- ↑ Andresen, Martin A.; Felson, Marcus; Frank, Richard (October 2012). "The Geometry of Offending and Victimization". Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. 54 (4): 495–510. doi:10.3138/cjccj.2011.E.36 . Retrieved 7 February 2013.