Criminal Psychology: What it takes to commit a crime I. Criminal Psychology a. Also known as Forensic Psychology b. Application of methods, theories and concepts of psychology within the legal system. c. Concerned with the relationship between i. Police officer ii. Victim iii. Juror iv. Expert witness v. Lawyer vi. Judge vii. Defendant viii. Prison guard and/or parole officer ix. And the legal system II. Subfields of Criminal Psychology a. Clinical-Forensic Psychology: clients here are not only suffering from some type of mental problem, but their issues are of importance to legal decision making, as well. b. Developmental Psychology: deals with juveniles, the elderly, and the law c. Social Psychology: concerned with how jurors interact and arrive at a group decision d. Cognitive Psychology: closely associated with social psychology subfield, but looks more into how people make decisions in legal cases e. Criminal Investigative Psychology: police psychology, criminal profiling and psychological autopsies (case studies). Experts may choose to conduct research and/or work closely in analyzing the minds of criminal suspects. III. Forensic Psychologists in the Court a. Psychologists and Psychiatrists testify in an estimated 8% of all federal civil trials b. Mental health professionals participate in as many as 1,000,000 cases per year. IV. Criminal Profiling a. AKA: Offender Profiling b. Learning about an offender based on details of the crime c. Construction of a psychological, behavioral and demographic profile of the type of person likely to have committed the crime d. Usually applied to serial crimes (serial murders, serial rapes, etc.) e. There are four types of criminal profiling techniques: i. The geographical approach 1. A set of techniques for making inferences about crime and criminals from the location and timing of offences ii. Investigative Psychology 1. Grew out of geographical profiling and uses established psychological theories and methods of analysis to predict offender characteristics from offending behavior iii. The typological approach 1. Involves looking at the characteristics of crime scenes to assign offenders to different categories, each category of offender having different typical characteristics iv. The clinical approach 1. Uses insights from psychiatry and clinical psychology to aid investigation where an offender is thought to be suffering from a mental illness of other psychological abnormality V. Geographic Profiling a. By employing Geographical mapping, we may be able to get a glimpse of a criminal’s mental map. b. We may notice that crimes are centralized around a certain area. c. Mental Maps: individuals construct mental maps of the areas they know. i. These are not absolutely accurate maps. They embody the person’s experience and perspective on the area. ii. The distribution of linked offenses may reflect the offender’s mental map of the area. d. Crime Mapping: Plot the crimes on the map and then decide i. How many offenders do you think are responsible and why? ii. What other suggestions can you make about the offender(s)? iii. Clustering: some similar crimes may be clustered or grouped in small pockets 1. At this point, investigators will look for likely access points (like roads) that the crimes have in common. 2. After identifying access points, investigators can put out announcements to law enforcement agents, investigators, or the general public to watch for suspicious behavior in these areas. e. Routine activity theory i. Crimes occur when three circumstances coincide: 1. A motivated offender 2. A suitable (and vulnerable) victim 3. Absence of a capable guardian ii. Criminal offenses are an extension of the offender’s normal activities, so will occur in places the offender makes regular use of. VI. Criminal Profiling (The typological approach) VII. Typological offender profiling a. Developed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the 1970s and 1980s. b. Key ideas: i. There are different types of offenders ii. Behavioural evidence can tell us which type of offender committed a crime iii. Knowing an offender’s type allows us to predict other things about him/her VIII. FBI profiling process a. Data assimilation: data compiled from police reports, post mortems, crime scene photos, etc. b. Crime classification: profilers decide whether the crime scene is organized or disorganized c. Crime reconstruction: Hypotheses about crime sequence, offender, and victim behaviour, etc. d. Profile generation: offender’s physical, demographic, and behavioural characteristics IX. What to look for a. Signature: something done to fulfill or satisfy the offenders emotional state b. Not the same as Modus Operandi c. Modus Operandi - what is needed to complete the crime d. State of the crime scene i. Gives clues about the type of offender 1. Age 2. Race 3. Motive X. Organized vs. Disorganized a. Organized crime scene: i. Body is hidden ii. Weapon is removed from scene iii. Appears to be well-planned iv. The victim is specifically targeted v. Restraints often used vi. Aggression takes place before death b. Disorganized: i. Body not hidden ii. Weapon is present iii. Appears to be spontaneous iv. Victim may be an acquaintance v. Aggression post-mortem XI. What does it all mean? a. Organized crime scene suggests an offender: i. Average or above average IQ ii. Employed, usually quite skilled iii. Socially competent iv. Uses alcohol in commission of crime v. Uses car to drive to crime scene/hunt for victim vi. Obsessed with media coverage of his crimes b. Disorganized crime scene suggests an offender: i. Below average IQ ii. Unstable employment record, unskilled iii. Socially isolated iv. Lives close to crime scene v. Strict discipline as a child vi. Extremely anxious XII. Definition of a Serial Killer a. Murder of three or more persons b. Involves a distinctive “cooling off” period i. Can be days to months to years c. Differs from Mass Murder & Spree Killing i. Mass murder: 3+ persons killed together ii. Spree killing: 3+ persons killed in short period of time at different locations XIII. Typical serial killer a. White male b. Late 20’s to early 30’s c. Kills within his own race d. Method of murder is “hands on” (strangulation or stabbing) e. Victims selected because they share specific characteristics XIV. The Lust Murderer: subtype of a serial killer a. Sadistic and brutal crime b. Committed almost exclusively against women c. Two types of offenders: i. Organized Nonsocial 1. Indifferent to the well-being of others 2. Self-centered and narcissistic 3. Manipulative and cunning 4. Lives away from crime scene 5. Crime appears controlled, methodical 6. Pre and post-mortem mutilation and torture 7. Returns to the crime scene to see status of investigation 8. Wants his crime to outrage the community; feels he is “getting even” with society ii. Disorganized Asocial 1. Described by others as a “loner” 2. Inexperienced in relationships, unable to socialize 3. Crime is committed in a frenzied manner 4. Lives close to crime scene because he feels safe and secure in his own neighborhood 5. Weapon of opportunity - demonstrates lack of plan 6. Post-mortem mutilation a. Biting or slashing of skin and other tissues 7. Insertion of foreign objects a. “an inquisitive child with a new toy” b. Exploring how body works 8. Returns to crime scene often to continue mutilation iii. Example of lust killers 1. James Russell Odom & James Clayton Lawson a. Met in a mental institution b. Talked about their fantasies regarding women: Odom raping and Lawson mutilating c. Their crime: Kidnapped, raped and brutally mutilated a woman XV. Problems with typological profiling a. Assumptions about stable types i. Don’t people change? Does every criminal fit the profile? b. Incomplete data c. Subjective judgements i. Not all researchers agree on assessments. d. Small and unusual sample i. Only a small number of people actually commit violent crimes. e. Validity of methodology i. Who decided this was a good way to do things? f. Narrative and anecdotal evidence i. No experimental data is available, so each case is looked at individually. XVI. Compare and contrast… a. How are geographical and typological offender profiling similar and different? i. Purpose ii. Assumptions iii. Use of categories/types iv. Types of crime applicable v. Evidence based