Criminal Investigative

Analysis

Gérard Labuschagne

Contents of presentation

• Introduction & Definition

• History of the ICIAF

• Which types of Crimes Can be Profiled?

• Value and Use of Offender Profiles

• Profile Inputs

• Profile headings

Introduction and definition

• The term profiling has taken on a life of its

own

• It can be seen narrowly:

– a report of an unknown offender who has

committed a violent or sexual crime

• Broadly as an umbrella term encompassing

many tasks including:

– Unknown offender profile

– Linkage analysis

– Equivocal death analysis

– Crime Scene Assessment

– Interview strategies

– Geographic profiling

– Threat assessment

• Most people in the field prefer the term

Criminal Investigative Analysis (broad)

• True ‘offender profiling’ (narrow) makes up

only small part of what a CIA does

• Most criticism seems to be focused on the

unknown offender profile report as having no

scientific basis

SAPS Definition of offender profiling

• … any activity specifically undertaken with the intentof assisting an investigator to determine the mostlikely type of individual to have committed a specificcrime.

• This process would usually involve an assessmentof the crime scene, attending the autopsy,examining all available docket information such asstatements, photos, forensic reports & investigativedecisions.

SAPS definition continued

• This information is compared to available

research.

• Hypotheses are made regarding the

suspect.

• These are formulated into a written report-

the offender profile…

History of Offender Profiling

• The first organisation to try and formalise

offender profiling was most likely the FBI in

1978

• In 1983, FBI profilers were specifically

assigned the task of assisting law

enforcement agencies in non-federal

investigations of crimes of violence

• In 1984 the FBI offered a “Special

Fellowship” program to members of state

and local law enforcement. Duration was 1

year

• Also established the “Police Fellowship”

which later (in 1989) became the

International Criminal Investigative Analysis

Fellowship for alumni

• International Police began to attend in 1989

• In 1991 training for non-FBI members

ceased

• At the 1992 ICIAF annual meeting fellows

designed an understudy program to

replicate the training they had received

from the NCAVC

• Aim as to continue providing ‘profiling’

training to non-FBI law enforcement

agencies

– 37 trained to date

• Training is a two year program

• Covers topics such as:

– Homicide investigation

– Sexual offences investigation

– Offender typologies

– SCAN

– Interviewing

– Bloodstain Pattern Analysis

– Equivocal Death Analysis

– Threat Assessment

– Arson and Bombing

– Forensic pathology

What types of crimes can be

profiled?

What crimes can be profiled?

• Not suitable for all crimes

– Must have psychological motive

• Best used in cases where there is an

unknown suspect and a degree of violence or

sexual activity

Value and uses of profiles

Value & uses of profiles

• Profiling has the following uses:

Educating: investigators

Linking: cases together

Classifying: the crime

Describing: the offender

Reducing: hours spent by focusing

Value & uses of profiles

Summarising: cases so far

Predicting: future behaviour

Investigating: guidelines

Interview: techniques

Recommendations: for search warrant

Prosecution: strategy

Profile inputs

What info is necessary to

compile an offender profile?

Information sources

• The crime scene

• Witness & victim statements (if rape)

• Autopsy or J88 (Medico-legal examination)

• Victimology

• Forensic information & lab reports

• Preliminary docket/case-file information

• Photographs and maps

Source 1: The Crime Scene

– Profiler should ideally attend scene before it is

altered

– If cannot attend then crime scene photos, videos &

descriptions must be used

– IO looks for physical evidence to gather, profiler

looks for ‘psychological evidence’ to interpret

– Evidence will have different meaning for profiler

• Eg Cigarette - DNA but also time spent on scene

• Eg Drink bottle - Fingerprints but also went back to

scene

Source 1: The Crime Scene continued

• Tissue paper - serial murderers return to crime

scenes to masturbate

• Clothing - was clothing pulled down? Was victim

covered?

• What clothing is missing - souvenir value

• Sipho Twala – Phoenix - used clothing of previous

victim to strangle next victim

• Was victim redressed? If so, why?

Source 1: The Crime Scene Cont.

• Jewelry - Sithole used victims’ jewelry to entice

next victim

• Urine & Excrement - psychologically NB

• Inserting foreign objects into vagina of victim

• Can indicate sexual dysfunction

Source 1: The Crime Scene continued

• Positioning of body

• Displayed? (see next slide)

• Moved?

• Hidden?

• Restraint of victim

• Handcuffs

• Cable ties

• Rope (photograph knots carefully)

• The crime scene location is very important:

– It is always important to go visit scenes

– Is it near other crime scenes of a similar nature?

– Difficult is it to get to crime scene?

– Is crime scene at a place that only a local would

know about?

– Perhaps suspect lives near crime scene

Source 1: The Crime Scene continued

Source 2: Victimology

• What made one person become a

victim instead of another?

• Choice of victim will be influenced by

the fantasy

• Who are high-risk victims?

• Try to develop a victim profile

• Once identified:

– Info about personal lives

• Habits

• Occupation

• Places they visited

– Recent photographs of victims

• Are there similarities in looks / appearance?

– Biographical information

• Age, race, gender

• Are there similarities?

Source 2: Victimology continued

Source 3: Docket Information

• Confirm cause of death with pathologist

– Never assume

– Victim may have ligature around neck but

may have died from trauma to head

• Take note of all wounds

– Bite marks (breasts, buttocks etc)

– Pre- or post- mortem wounds or sex activity

– Relevance?

• All laboratory reports need to be passed

on to profiler

– Ballistics

– Handwriting

– Biology

– Entomology

– Blood-alcohol

– Any other reports

Source 3: Docket Information continued

• Background info regarding the crime

• Docket information

– Factual summary

– Statements

– Time crime occurred

• Who reported the crime?

• Analysis of neighborhood

• Crime rate

Source 3: Docket Information continued

• Crime scene photographs

• Autopsy photographs

• ‘Living’ photos of victims

• Aerial/Satelite photographs

• Maps of the area

• Video of crime scene

Source 3: Docket Information continued

Living photos of victims

Profile Headings

• Decision making process

• Crime scene assessment

• Criminal profile

• Investigative considerations

Decision making process

• Murder/ Rape type & style

– Eg: serial rape: power reassurance type

• Primary intent (ie main motive)

• Offender risk

• Victim risk

• Escalation & prediction of future behaviour

– Rate, cooling off period, dates, signature progress

• Time needed to commit crime

• Location factors

Crime scene assessment

• Reconstruction of crime

• Crime classification

• Staging / posing (see next slide)

• Motivation: Reasons why the did it

• Crime scene dynamics

– Development of behaviours / signature

Profile of the offender

• Integration of all previous elements but

suspect focused:

– Personality of offender

– Age, race, marital status, employment habitat,

education

– Fantasies, attitude towards sex

– Interrogation strategy

– Search warrant

• Feedback is important

The investigation

• Profile is for eyes of Investigating Officer

• Shared amongst investigation team

• Never given to press

• Used to prioritise suspects

• After guilty finding the profile should be

compared against the facts of the case

Apprehension

Apprehension

• After suspect has been arrested the profile

can help act as a guide to the suspect’s mind

• Important for interrogation & cross

examination

• Prosecutor will decide whether or not to use

the profile in the trial (ideally not)

Thank you

L&S Threat Management

Investigative Psychology Unit@GNLabuschagne