Introduction to Forensic We have culture that is obsessed with criminals and those who catch them: Serial murder Films USA Decade No. of films 1920s 2 1930s 3 1940s 3 1950s 4 1960s 12 1970s 20 1980s 23 1990s 64 3 Serial murder Films USA

70 1920s 60 1930s 50 1940s 40 1950s

30 1960s

20 1970s 1980s 10 1990s 0 No. US Films Serial Killers & Profiling: culture?

 Talk Shows  Trading Cards  Films  Pop Songs  TV Show Plots  T-Shirts  Art Exhibits  900 Numbers  Comic Books  ‘Cult’ groupies Common Terms

 Modus Operandi – the operating technique used by the offender. The actions necessary to commit murder.  Signature – The signature is often referred to as the “calling card” of the offender. The person goes beyond what is necessary to commit the , i.e. stab a specific number of times.  Staging – Altering the crime scene to throw the investigation, this may happen with organised offenders.  Undoing – Undoing usually takes place when there is a close relationship between the victim and offender.  Concept of Escalation - The concept of escalation involves an increase in the intensity of criminal behaviour. start at a minor level and progress to worsening levels. Burglary is often correlated with murder. 6

Investigative Psychology

 DEFINITION: The application of psychology to criminal investigation.

 Profiling—one of the tasks often associated with investigative psychology—requires sketching the significant psychological and demographic features of a person or persons.

Investigative Psychology

 Broadly defined, investigative psychology includes research and practice involving:  Profiling  Risk Assessment  Police Line-ups  Interrogation  Polygraph  Hypnosis

3 Questions asked by Profilers

 What are the important behavioral features of the crime that may help identify and successfully prosecute the perpetrator?

 What inferences can be made about the characteristics of the offender that may help identify him or her?

 Are there any other crimes that are likely to have been committed by the same person? CRIMINAL PROFILING Background What is Criminal Profiling?  Criminal profiling is the process of identifying personality traits, behavioral tendencies, geographical location, and demographic or biographical descriptors of an offender (or offenders) based on crime scene characteristics. Goals of Profiling

 The primary goal of profiling is to narrow the field of possible suspects.  Profiling is also a form of prediction -- the profiler tries to “predict” who the offender or offenders might be and where and how the next crime may occur. Why Use Criminal Profiles in Law Enforcement?

 Traditional investigative techniques often fall short in extreme cases.  A subset of offenses/offenders are considered most suitable for profiling -- What crimes are more suitable for profiling??

 Suggested Crimes for Profiling  Sadistic sexual assaults  Sexual homicide  Postmortem cases of abuse and humiliation  Motiveless fire settings  Lust and mutilation murders  Rape  Occult and ritualistic crimes  Child sexual abuse including pedophilia  Bank robberies  Anonymous obscene communications First Profile?: ‘Jack the Ripper’

 First known case of killer profiling-Dr. Thomas Bond examined the victim-Mary Kelly.  Determined some personality traits of the killer from victim.  Often considered the first recorded because of the nature of the crimes (a typical sexual motive).

Brief History of Criminal Profiling

 1942 - First well documented use by psychiatrist Walter Langer, a psychiatrist, was commissioned during WWII to construct a psychodynamic profile of Hitler. His profile diagnosed Hilter’s mental state and correctly predicted what would happen were he to be defeated – i.e. suicide.

1957 – NYC’s Mad Bomber.

 Psychiatrist James Brussels worked with NYPD to construct a profile.  George P. Metesky, terrorized NYC for 16 years (1940s - 50s) with explosives planted in theaters, terminals, libraries, phone booths, storage lockers and offices. Bombs were left in public buildings.  Perhaps most notably, Metesky bombed movie theaters, where he cut into seat upholstery and slipped his explosive devices inside.

Does not always get it right – Example: The Boston Strangler

 Profiled as “two male schoolteachers living alone, one of whom was probably homosexual”  Reality: Albert DeSalvo – heterosexual construction worker living with his family  1970s-1980s - FBI became involved in psychological profiling and popularized the technique.

 1990s – 2003 - attempt to “scientize” profiling and move the practice beyond the purview of the FBI.

The FBI Profilers

 Small/prominent group of FBI profilers helped to popularize the term in 1970s in the Behavioral Science Unit -- called the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) since 1984.  Responsible for establishing the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP). Published Crime Classification Manual, Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives and true crime novels.  Criticized for relying too much on intuition/faulty use of the scientific method. Is Profiling a Science or Profession?

 Profiling has not yet achieved the status of a profession. Factors hindering professionalization:  Lack of consensus (on terms, approaches, training, appropriate experience/educational background, etc.).  Practical issues (sensitivity and confidentiality of cases).  Ego/territorial issues.  Absence of uniform standards, practices, peer review, and ethics.  Small number (if any) of profiling positions where profiling is the primary job description.  The notion (and acknowledgement among many profilers) that profiling is more art than science.

Assumptions Made (About a single subject) in the Profiling Process:

 Crime scene reflects the personality of the offender.

 M.O. remains similar.

 Signature will remain the same.

 Offender’s personality will not change. The Organized-Disorganized Typology

 Whether or not the crime scene is left ORGANIZED or DISORGANIZED is said to provide information about the offender’s criminal sophistication and personality.  Organized crime scene reflects offender who commits crime out of a need for power. Motivation associated with .  Disorganized crime scene reflects offender who commits crime out of passion, compulsion, frustration, or anxiety. Motivation associated with PSYCHOSIS.

The Organized Crime Scene

 Offense planned  Restraints used  Victim a targeted  Aggressive acts prior to stranger death  Victim personalized  Body hidden  Controlled conversation  Weapon/evidence  Crime scene reflects absent overall control  victim or body  Demands submissive transported from scene victim  Associated with psychopathy

The Disorganized Crime Scene

 Spontaneous offense  Minimal use of  Victim or location restraints known  Sexual acts after death  Depersonalizes victim  Body left in view  Minimal conversation  Evidence/weapon often  Crime scene random present and sloppy  Body left at death  Sudden violence to scene victim  Associated with Psychosis

Interview/Interrogation Strategies

 ORGANIZED  DISORGANIZED  Direct confrontation  Relationship motivated  Respects competency  Empathy  One-person interview  Constant stream of  Don’t expect “free conversation information”  Use positive personal  No use of “false evidence” relationship (are too sharp for this)  Conduct at night  Conduct when suspect has no time to gather thoughts

FBI Psychological Profile of Lust Killers

Organised Killer Dis-organised Killer  intelligent  below average IQ  high birth order  low birth order  socially immature  masculine image  seldom dates  charismatic  high school failure  socially capable  unemployed father  sexually capable  lives alone  occupationally mobile  has secret hiding places  lives with partner  nocturnal  geographically mobile  lives/works near crime  experienced harsh  unskilled worker  childhood discipline  behaviour change  low interest in media  controlled emotions  little alcohol consumption  interested in media  high anxiety during crime  model inmate

27 Organized Killers:

 BTK  Dexter  Jeffery Dahmer  Ted Bundy Disorganized Killers:

 Ed Gein  “Son of Sam” David Berkowitz Classification of Offenders ORGANISED DISORGANISED

VICTIMS Wives and girlfriends safe – Anybody – very poor gets more pleasure from relations with women in killing than sex with wives general. Usually live alone. and girlfriends – Single White Female.

CRIME SCENE Crime scene staged, and No staging, leave body transport body where killed.

WEAPON May carry weapon with him, Uses weapon of and take them away after the opportunity, frenzied attack, crime, i.e. rape kits often depersonalizes the victim, i.e. turn them on their stomachs

30 Classification of Offenders

ORGANISED DISORGANISED

CHILDHOOD Troublemaker at school. Classmates won’t remember the offender. PERSONALITY Externalize anger, often Internalize anger, attractive, confident, physically unattractive, intelligent, good verbal low self-esteem, and skills. History of previous suicide attempts, problems with authority. not very articulate in conversation. RELATIONSHIPS WITH Talks to women, mood is Doesn’t often talk to WOMEN fairly controlled. women, mood is anxious

31 Classification of Offenders

ORGANISED DISORGANISED PLACE OF Live some distance from the Kills where there is RESIDENCE crime, except the first crime, familiarity, usually close to as it is close to home and more home or to work. Lives comfortable. Usually live alone. with a woman.

PRE-OFFENCE May be precipitated by loss of Low self-esteem comes on job or break-up with partner. victim of opportunity.

PUBLICITY Takes interest in media reports No interest in / fear of media of crime, will often try to get reports of crime. involved with the police investigation

32 Distinction Between Psychopathy and Psychosis

 PSYCHOPATHY  Personality disorder made up of a particular constellation of characteristics).  Lack of attachment, defect in affect, absence of anxiety.  In touch with reality.  Severe Lack or Empathy.

 PSYCHOSIS  Clinical mental illness – Schizophrenia.  May meet legal definition of insanity.  Out of touch with reality.

Criticism of the Organized/Disorganized Typology

 Developed/oversimplified for use by law enforcement professionals with little academic training in criminology, psychology, and forensic science and encourages unsophisticated profiling.  Is a FALSE DICHOTOMY --few offenders/crime scenes fit neatly into either type.

.  Hillside Stranglers, Bianchi . and Buono. . Zodiac Killer 

M.O. and Signature

 METHOD OF OPERATION (M.O. – Modus Operandi)  How the offender committed the crime. Tells about the experience of the offender and situational/contextual factors involved in the crime.  SIGNATURE  The behavior/expression of fantasy the killer must leave at the scene to satisfy emotional/psychological needs. Goes beyond what’s necessary to commit crime and tells about the offender’s psychological needs and motivation.

.  Zodiac BTK  Factors that Shape M.O.

 Trade/Professional Experience

 Criminal experience and confidence

 Contact with the criminal justice system

 Media and pop culture

 Offender Mood/Mental state

 X-Factors (unknown/unplanned influences) Factors that Shape Signature

 Personality/Psychopathology

 Evolution of Fantasy  Zodiac operated under the assumption that he was too smart to be caught – I guess he was right.  Zodiac’s fantasy evolved as he taunted police.

Distinguishing M.O. from Signature

 Signature and M.O. needs may be satisfied by the same behavior. Important to remember the “two most important axioms of criminal profiling”:  Different offenders do similar things for different reasons.  Offender behaviors can be the result of multiple motivations and/or external influences. Static and Dynamic Risk

 Offender risk factors are static and dynamic. Are important in understanding M.O. and Signature behaviors.  STATIC RISKs: Stay the same over time.  Possibility of getting caught during a rape or robbery.  DYNAMIC RISKs: Change over time.  Stable dynamic: change slowly over months or years.  Acute dynamic: change rapidly over minutes or days. . Changing of police patrols. . Possible victims being more aware or their danger.

Geographical Profiling and Mapping

 Geographical profiling refers to the analysis of geographical locations associated with the spatial movements of a single serial offender,

 Geographical mapping is concerned with analyzing the spatial patterns of crimes committed by numerous offenders over a period of time. Geographical mapping focuses on identifying the “hot spots” of certain types of crime.

The Polygraph

 The polygraph—commonly called the “lie detector”—detects psychophysiological responses that accompany emotional reactions to guilt, shame, and anxiety through heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and skin conductance.

 In addition to observing the physiological measures, the skillful polygrapher makes behavioral observations and notations to infer truth or deception in the subject being examined.

 The polygraph can accurately measure and record the physiological responses but it is unclear whether it can detect actual lying and deception.  This movie isn’t exactly how it works… Current Approaches to Offender Profiling:

American Approach:  Incarcerated serial murderers (36) interviewed.  Categorised into organised or disorganised.  View crime scene for indicators. Current Approaches - American

 Basis of FBI Approach is:  Crime scene and MO as indicators of individual pathology.  Compare with known offenders.  May fit pattern.  Can be used to detect, but also to predict and therefore prevent.

Current Approaches - American

 Aims of American profiling approach are:  Reduce scope of investigation.  Allow some prediction of future offences.  Provide a psychological evaluation of belongings found in the murderers possession, e.g. souvenirs from previous offences.  Provide strategies for interviewing. Current Approaches - American

 Known as “holistic” or “top-down” approach.

 Data from scene and from MO compared with previously known information.

 Mainly with murderers in USA, not so often with lesser crimes. Current Approaches - British

 British approach is less subjective.  Called “bottom up” method, or “data-driven”.  Data is collected and analysed to produce definite, measured, specific associations between offences and offender characteristics. Current Approaches - British

 Dominated by David Canter  Made his name with the “Railway Rapist” in 1985

David Canter

 Traditionally, the only valuable clues at a crime scene were hard evidence, e.g.  blood,  semen  Fingerprints  Hair  etc. David Canter Profiling proposes that there are also less recognised clues which also define the offender. The problem is to interpret these clues correctly.

 the choice of victim,  the location,  the nature of the assault,  what is and isn't left behind,  what is and isn't said to the victim,  whether or not the victim is killed David Canter

 Over a period of four years, a series of sexual assaults and rapes, culminating in the murder of three women, had been committed in the London area.

 The police had linked all these crimes to the same man but, despite extensive inquiries, had failed to make an arrest. David Canter

Canter went through each case in detail, looking at

 the location,  time of day,  and the nature of the victim, and drew up a profile of the likely suspect, including where he was likely to be living. Information Collected:

.North London: Kilburn Area. .3 Murders and 26 Rapes . .1982 and 1986. .Victims: Women, Early 20’s, Strangers. .Attacked During Night. .On or Near Railway. .Used Mask & Conversation. .Violent Rapes. .Used a Knife. .Talked to victim after rape. .Questioned victims about where they lived. .Varied Description of Rapist by victims. .Greeted victims as he passed and then attacked from behind.. .Restrained victims by fastening hands behind their backs. .Gave victims instructions on how to get home. Some Profile Details:

Home Location .Lived in middle of crimes

Marital Status .Married, no kids, later separated

Friendships .Only two male friends

Extracurricular activities .Martial Arts

Previous Actions Toward Women .Violence towards wife

Pornography Interest? .Collector of hard-core porn

Occupation .Carpenter with British Rail

Age .28 when arrested (Started age 24)

David Canter

 As a result of this profile, the police were able to focus their investigation on John Duffy, a man who had previously ranked no higher than 1,505th on the list of possible suspects and, within a comparatively short period of time, had gathered enough evidence to convict.

How often is profiling used?

 > 100 profilers in USA and U.K.

 FBI produces 1000 profiles/year in USA.

 242 profiles 1981-1995 U.K.

Law Enforcement Satisfaction

 Evaluation studies (e.g., Copson, 1995 – N = 182) 83% – “operationally useful” 69% – definitely use profiling again

But…… 2.7% profiling helped identify offender 14% helped solve case 16% open new lines of inquiry Profile Content Analysis Categories Statements in a profile were placed in one of the categories below by the people who evaluated the effectiveness of a profile: Factual/Summary information – case info Unsubstantiated opinion (e.g., no backing) Unverifiable (e.g., emotions) Ambiguous (e.g., vague – “poor skills”) Opposing alternatives – multiple outs Results of Content Analysis

 3090 statements (Mean =147/profile)

 Only 25% statements were predictions about offender (780) 82% – unsubstantiated 55% – unverifiable 24% – ambiguous 6% – opposing alternatives 1% – fully justified (most from 1 profile)

Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist (PCL)

Factor 1: Measures of selfish, callous & remorseless use of others & includes most of the following:  Glibness/superficial charm  Grandiose sense of self-worth/narcissism  Pathological lying & deception  Conning (insincere), manipulative behaviour  Lack of remorse or guilt  Shallow affect  Callousness/lack of empathy  Failure to accept responsibility for actions Psychopathy Checklist (PCL)

Other Factors:  Promiscuous sexual behaviour.  Many short-term marital relations.  Criminal versatility.  Drug & alcohol addition, but not the direct cause of anti-social behavior. Psychopathy Checklist (PCL)

Factor 2: Measures social deviance manifest as a chronically unstable & anti-social lifestyle - more explicit than Factor 1.  Need for stimulation/prone to boredom.  Parasitic lifestyle/behaviour.  Poor behavioural controls.  Early behavioural problems.  Lack of realistic long-term goals.  Impulsivity.  Irresponsible.  Juvenile delinquency/criminal record.  Revocation of conditional release or supervision. Psychopathy Vs Reactive Offender

PSYCHOPATH REACTIVE Self-concept: Self-concept:  Invulnerable  Vulnerable  Superior  Fluctuates/unstable  Pre-emptive rights.  Fragile rights Sees Others: Sees Others:  Hostile  Dupes/stupid  Oppositional  Inferior  The enemy  Weak Strategies: Strategies:  Inadequate problem solving.  Manipulation  “Defensive” violence  Violence