The development of criminal profiling is very important in crime investigations. It is defined as a behavioral tool that is used in investigations. Investigators, use the criminal profile in order for many reasons. Ta start with, criminal investigators use the criminal profile in order to be able to predict the unknown characteristic of the criminals or offenders who have committed a given crime. Many criminals have the tendency of committing crimes and trying to run away from the authority. However, when a criminal profile it developed, it helps the authority is able to start their investigations and if carefully carried out, the offenders or criminals get caught in no time. This has been elaborated to the public countless times through media. For instance, there are many television series that have taken the initiative of airing their movies with the aim of creating awareness to the general public. However, some media have used the criminal profile in a bad way. They act their movies using criminal profile tool as an adequate tool of crime investigations. Additionally, some nations across the world do not recognize the use of criminal profile as a lawful method of conducting investigations. Another good example is the case of murder against D.C. Sniper. He was a black man who had committed several crimes but there was no enough evidence to convict him. Unfortunately, because of his race and poor economic status false stereotypes and assumption were highly used in making his ruling.
The history of Police psychology dates back to 100 years ago. However, it has been improving with time and in current day; it is extensively used in used to help the police force in their selection of new police men in the police work. In 1916, policy psychology was one of the major tools that was used to select the qualified young men and women into the police force. This happened in Los Angeles and since then, it has gained familiarity all over the world. Since then police psychology has been considered on the very important tool (Shone, and Spender, 2008). It has gained familiarity and this has seen it grow drastically all across the world. Police psychology has become tremendously diverse and it includes more than 100 different competences and services. The policy psychology is also used in some three very important primary groups. These groups include; the functional work units within the law enforcement agencies, applicants to various levels, as well as, police employees. The use of police psychology may have some weaknesses but is still widely used in police selection. This is because of its liability, which most of the time results in to the hiring of police officers without using other methods like tests because of the fact that most police administrators believe that through police psychology, they at least screen out those police applicants who have emotional problems and are not fit to emotionally tackle police work. Some of the psychological tools used in the selection of the police include; medical tests where the applicants are tested whether they have any disability or mental ailments. Secondly, nonmedical matters, where the applicants are tested to see whether they are people of integrity and good morals.
Criminal profiling is a term in forensic psychology used to refer to the act where investigators develop a psychological profile of a suspected criminal basing their facts on the condition of the scene of the crime. Criminal profiling is usually done by forensic psychologist, who has learned to study the mind of criminals. This profile that gets developed is normally used by the police department to help in apprehending the offender (Carson, 2007). A criminal profile is a psychosomatic draft of an offender. There is usually so much that forensic psychologists can lot that a crime scene can get from the scene of the crime. The can easily tell the person who commuted a crime simply by looking at a crime scene from a psychological perspective. This is usually common in cases in involving homicide. Criminal profiling is also mostly used to catch offenders such as rapists, serial killers, dangerous psychopaths who can easily get away.
In criminal profiling, there are various steps that usually followed. The first step include; the estimation of the sociological, as well as, psychological characteristics of the offender. This step may be familiar to most people because it has been aired in various movies such as The Silence of the Lambs and Seven. Secondly, the Criminal investigators use the evidence they collect from the scene of the crime, the place of the crime, the nature of the crime, and the type of victims being that were targeted as their lead in identifying the profile of the criminal (Turvey, 2008). A good example is when the authority looking for the Green River Killer in Washington State, they put down all the evidence they collected and concluded that the offender must have been a white male who had past of dysfunctional relationships with ladies. They police were proven right when Gary Ridgway, who matched the above description, was arrested and charged of the crime.
References
Carson, D. (2007). Applying psychology to criminal justice. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.
Turvey, B. E. (2008). Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis. Burlington: Elsevier Science.
Shone, R., & Spender, N. (2008). Solving crimes through criminal profiling. New York: Rosen Pub. Group.
