INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY:For instance, Empirical and logical approach

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Forensic Psychology (PSY - 513)

Lesson 06

INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Objectives

To understand the major approaches towards investigation

To understand the phenomenon of profiling and issues involved in profiling

Investigative Psychology is the term given to a new area of applied Psychology. It brings together issues

in the recovery of investigative information, the drawing of inferences about that information and the

ways in which police decision making can be supported through various systems derived from scientific

research. Inferences about the characteristics of the offender are made to identify him. Like what type of

persons can commit some specific type of crimes. Important behavioral features of crime are identified

that may help make out and prosecute the crime successfully.

For instance:

A dead body is found with knife in right hand along with suicidal note. While investigating, it was

uncovered that murdered man was left handed, although knife was found in right hand. At the same time

when interviewing family only wife stressed that her husband was under stress and was not mentally

healthy. Whereas other sources like friends, family members, neighbours and written records (diaries,

letters) were depicting that murdered man was quite happy and satisfied. So, these behavioural features

lead to the incorporation of his wife into the list of suspects.

There are two approaches to investigate a criminal case

1. Clinical /Subjective Approach

2. Empirical and logical approach

Clinical /Subjective Approach

Traditional police profiling which grew out of the experience of police officers offering opinions and

making judgments to their colleagues about the possible characteristics of unknown offenders and

criminals. This approach emphasizes subjective processes such as "thinking like the criminal

phenomenon".

Empirical and logical approach

In contrast investigative Psychology originates directly out of empirical research and logical illation to

cover the full range of investigative activities not only the preparation of 'profiles'. Important behavioral

features of crime are identified that may help make out and prosecute the crime successfully. The

assumption processes at the heart of Investigative Psychology contrast with the subjective approach, the

Investigative Psychology stresses that the results of scientific psychology can contribute to many

aspects of civilian and criminal investigation, including the full range of crimes from robbery to

terrorism, not just those intense crimes of violence that have an obvious psychopathic component.

Investigations are done with the help of research findings and statistical analysis. The contribution to

investigations draws on the extent to which an offender displays various tested characteristics.

Investigative psychology research is determining behaviourally important and empirically supported

information regarding the consistency and variability of the behaviour of many different types of

offenders.

Criminal investigation done by forensic psychologists is normally the kind done by detectives in police

departments. Broadly investigative psychology encompasses all the ways that psychology can be used

or integrated with the processes and procedures of criminal investigation. A criminal investigation

roughly consists of the following eight steps:

1 - Determine if a crime has been committed.

2 - Verify the jurisdictional and statutory authority before beginning a thorough and systematic inquiry.

Forensic Psychology (PSY - 513)

3 - Discover all the facts and collect the evidence.

4 - Recover any stolen property, if any.

5- Identify the executors or culprits.

6 - Locate and apprehend the culprits.

7 - Aid the prosecution by providing evidence of guilt admissible in court.

8 - Testify effectively as a witness in court.

Narrowly investigative psychology is a term referring to methods of identifying key features of a crime

and the likely characteristics of the perpetrator. In short, investigative psychology is profiling, and in

some instances, profiling is used to summarize the psychological features of persons who may commit a

crime, and in this sense, profiling is prediction. So, Inferences about the characteristics of the offender

are made to identify him. Assumptions are made and chances are viewed that are there any other crimes

likely to have been committed by the same person.

Profiling

Profiling is the psychological sketch of the unknown criminal and is mostly used to narrow down an

investigation to those suspects who possess certain behavioral and personality features that are revealed

by the way a crime was committed. Therefore, the primary goal is to aid local police in limiting and

rectifying their suspect list so they can direct their resources where they might do the most good.

Profiling in itself, however, does not identify a specific suspect, reveal a certain individual and give an

address or a phone number. Instead, Psychological Sketch a general biographical description of the most

likely type of unknown suspect.

The basic components of a profile include:

1. Probable AGE of suspect

2. Probable SEX of suspect

3. Probable RACE of suspect

4. Probable RESIDENCE of suspect

5. What INTELLIGENCE level the suspect is operating at

6. The probable OCCUPATION of suspect

7. The probable MARITAL STATUS of suspect

8. The probable LIVING ARRANGEMENTS of suspect

9. The PSYCHOSEXUAL MATURITY of the suspect

10. The probable TYPE AND CONDITION OF VEHICLE driven by the suspect

11. The suspect's probable MOTIVATING FACTORS

12. The probable ARREST RECORD of the suspect

13. What PROVOCATION FACTORS might drive the suspect out?

14. What INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES would work best with the suspect?

If we are suppose to make a profile of a witch the more expected profile would be:

Profile of a Witch

1. Elderly female beyond child bearing range

2. Poor

3. Lives on edge of town

4. Displays knowledge of herbal medicines

5. Contains the Mark of the Devil on her body

6. Steals men's potency, causing impotence in the surrounding areas

(Kramer & Sprenger 1971)

Prevent Terrorism

Same psychological sketch of criminal is made but to prevent the future crime and terrorism.

Forensic Psychology (PSY - 513)

Computerized Profiling

Contemporary uses of computerized profiling can be found in USA Airline Security. For quite a while,

the airline industry used CAPPS (Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System), an automated

system which scores each airline passenger's profile to identify drug dealers and potential terrorists or

who might pose a threat to civil aviation. 10 out of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attack were identified

via the CAPPS system (unfortunately, nothing much was done about It.

CAPPS is sensitive to followings traveling patterns:

One-way tickets

Under the light of past terrorist activities, terrorist are more likely to buy one way tickets.

· Pay in cash

In Pakistan paying in cash is quite frequent but in US usually people pay through cards so, paying in

cash can be considered as a reason of black money.

· Travel alone

Terrorist usually do not travel with the family

· Persistent patterns

One very important factor is the persistent patterns of traveling; suspected person always buys one

way tickets, always pays in cash and travels alone.

Is It Successful?

Is CAPPS is successful? CAPPS did flag two of the four hijackers of flight AA 77 as suspicious when

they checked in at Dulles Airport on September 11, 2001.Their bags were searched but they were not

given a personal search.

The problem of false positives

Many times passengers face the problem of false positive in simple terms; a false positive normally

means that a test claims something to be positive, when that is not the case. For example, a CAPPS

identifying a person as terrorist when he is actually not.

September, 9/11 incident of terrorism has changed the way psychologists view the terrorism.After the

incident it was realized that only traveling profile is not enough and for further data Psychologists were

asked for deeper profiling and cameras were fixed to record the behavior of people at air port. And a

deeper profile came forward to avoid the chances of errors.

· Dressing pattern and clothes

· Nationality

· Travel history

· Behavior at airport

· Books purchased at airport

· Cultural and social background

The Hijacking Epidemic

In 1968 to 1978 a much heightened crime was plane hijacking in US. There was a hijacking epidemic in

US and hundreds of local flights were hijacked and diverted to Cuba. Few figures are listed below to

show you the picture

In 1968, 36 hijackings 20 of which were US planes diverted to Cuba

In 1969, 71 hijackings, 58 diverted to Cuba

In 1970, 69 hijackings

The Profile In 1970's

In 1970s psychologists prepared the profiles of hijackers and identified that they were

· Unsuccessful Members of Society

· Socially Inadequate

· Unsteady Occupational Patterns

· Occupational Problems

Forensic Psychology (PSY - 513)

Lacking in Resourcefulness

Feelings of Helplessness & Hopelessness

Suicidal

Unconscious desire to gain control over world

But this profiling is no longer valid on international levels. Now days terrorists are not coming up to the

earlier profiling and no terrorist has a typical profile, they are socially adequate have girl friends,

happily married with children and have stable businesses or jobs.

Criminal Profiling

Another form of profiling relevant to police work is the criminal profiling, like who is the offender? Or

/and what place or person can be the next target of criminal act.

Geographic Profiling

Geographic profiling is an investigative aid that predicts the offender's most likely location i.e., home,

work, social venues and travel routes).

Racial Profiling

Police initiated action that relies on the race ethnicity, or national origin rather than the behavior of

an individual or information that leads the police to a particular criminal. Racial profiling is the

inclusion of race as a primary determinant in the characterization of a person considered likely to

commit a particular type of crime.

"Driving While Black" is a parody of the real crime driving while intoxicated; it refers to the idea that

a driver can be pulled over by a police officer simply because he or she is black and then questioned or

searched and charged with a niggling or perhaps non-existent offense. This concept stems from a long

history of racism in the United States and other countries. It is generally a reference to racial profiling,

as employed by many police forces.

Limits of profiling

There are several limits of profiling like the way it is done: Profiling requires lots of training and

experience on the other hand many experts stated that profiling can not be taught or learned as is an art.

With all sophistications only profiler can give an ambiguous sketch, can not tell about any thing

certainly, it can hardly ever directly point to an individual even the most sophisticated profiling can only

yield some judgment of probabilities. Old profiles have been failed because of ever changing different

types and styles of terrorists and terrorism acts. It tends to eliminate a large number of people from

investigation, innocent people are suspected and this could be problematic as some times profiles miss

guide as well i.e. according to profile suspect is 20 years old black while crime was committed by 40

years white.

Two major limits are

1. Individual differences

2. Unpredictability

(Will discuss in detail in next lecture)

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