Criminal Profiling

The emergence of psychology in the late 19th century and its rapid development in the following century had a significant impact on many fields of science and knowledge. Achievements in psychology began to be used to solve various problems and tasks. The potential of psychological knowledge, tools, and expertise started to be applied in investigative and law enforcement practices. Although, for a long time, professional collaboration between criminologists and psychologists was sporadic and not widespread, over time, its effectiveness became evident. This collaboration organically integrated into applied criminology, significantly updating its strategy, tactics, and methodology, increasing its potential, and opening new perspectives.

One such perspective was the opportunity to study the personal factors behind crimes, which is essential for reconstructing the psychological aspects of an offense and understanding the motives and psychological mechanisms behind it. An effective method for understanding criminal behavior is the psychological typology of the offender’s personality. This approach helps form an understanding of the most general, stable, and significant psychological traits of a particular type of criminal. The main advantage of this approach is its practical value—it aids in solving crimes committed by a specific type of offender.

The first attempt to link antisocial behavior and biological traits of personality was made by Italian physician and psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso, the founder of the anthropological school in criminology and criminal law. His main idea was the concept of the “born criminal.” Lombroso can be considered the founder of the criminal profiling method.

What Is a Criminal Profile?

A criminal profile is most often understood as a description of an unidentified offender. Unlike a verbal portrait, a psychological profile is a comprehensive psychological characterization of a person, including descriptions of their traits, behavioral signs, and possible actions in certain significant circumstances. In criminology, the main function of a psychological profile is to serve as a tool for searching and identifying an unknown offender. This means that a criminal profile includes features that are important for locating and identifying the perpetrator. The method of creating a profile of an unknown criminal is called criminal profiling.

The theoretical basis of this method is the assertion that an offender’s personality is reflected in their behavior. It is postulated that some frequently repeated, habitual behaviors become automatic and are not consciously controlled. The traces left at a crime scene serve as “psychological markers,” allowing investigators to infer habitual behaviors and, through them, the personality of the offender.

How Profilers Work

Profilers—specialists in this field—use various theories from different disciplines (psychology, forensic medicine, psychiatry, psychopathology, sociology, criminology, statistics, and more) to create a search profile of an unknown criminal. The main idea behind profiling is to study the connections between the crime and the characteristics of the offender, reconstructing the criminal’s personality based on the traces left during the crime, at the scene, and even on the victim’s body.

When creating a criminal profile, the profiler analyzes as much information as possible about both the offender and the victim: the offender’s actions before the crime, the victim’s behavior before the crime, the victim’s location at the time of the crime, the presence or absence of significant evidence indicating what the offender did to the victim, as well as the sequence of events and the behavior of the perpetrator before and after the crime. Additionally, the profiler studies the risks of victimization and criminality—examining the lifestyle, social circle, and work activities of both the offender and the victim. Based on this information, conclusions are drawn about the possible significance and motivation of specific actions.

A criminal profile may include the following characteristics:

• Primary motivation for the crimes
• Individual personality traits—habits, tendencies, skills
• Gender and age range
• Area of residence, work, service, or study
• Level of education and professional qualifications
• Occupation
• Marital status and presence of children
• Criminal record
• Mental or other pathologies
• Level of sexual maturity
• Risk factors
• Anthropological and dynamic characteristics (appearance, body type, gestures, etc.)
• Degree of acquaintance with the victim
• Possible reactions to police investigation and interrogation, and more

Based on the profiling process, a final written document is created, describing the profile of the suspected offender.

Example of a Criminal Profile Description

“Crimes committed by offenders from different age groups have their differences. For example, teenagers and young men may commit offenses against younger children. Unlike adults, teenagers and young men usually use threats and intimidation against their victims and are prone to inflicting bodily harm, as indicated in criminal case materials. Such young men are typically impulsive, hyperactive, and prone to early alcohol use.”

Current Issues in Criminal Profiling

The main current challenge in criminal profiling is improving the quality of profiles to provide investigators with additional data about the suspected offender, allowing them to focus on a much smaller group of suspects and narrow the circle of investigation. To achieve this, a method is used to analyze the correspondence between the psychological portrait of a subject and the profile of the person who committed the crime under investigation. This process involves gathering information about the event under investigation—the trace pattern of the crime (traceology, victimology, ballistics, fingerprinting, handwriting analysis, etc.), creating a profile of the suspected offender (type of offender, degree of acquaintance with the victim, motivation, description of appearance, method of committing the crime, crime scene, level of organization, etc.), and then collecting information about the subject from all possible sources (socio-psychological characteristics, ethno-cultural features, criminal records, medical history, etc.). The collected information is then analyzed and compared, and a conclusion is drawn about the degree of correspondence between the subject’s psychological portrait and the profile of the suspected offender.

Currently, criminal profiling is rarely used in Russia during criminal investigations. However, there are law enforcement and investigative professionals interested in developing criminal profiling, who actively use this method in their work, confirming the effectiveness of profiling technologies in increasing the clearance rate of violent crimes.