Home » Mind & Soul » Forensic Psychology » The Future of Criminal Profiling

The Future of Criminal Profiling

© Michael Decaire

Criminal Profiling as an acceptable investigative tool has received increased interest by both the media, academia, and police forces. However, while the tool is quickly becoming a household name, many questions have been raised regarding its application. The uncertainty regarding its future raises many concerns within the field and has led to a great deal of skepticism with investigators.

There is currently two primary profiling 'schools of thought'. Which one will become the dominant school is still highly questionable. The 'FBI' model is fairly popular in the United States. This model was created by a number of FBI special agents through the application of their investigative experiences and a number of case studies created during prison interviews. The FBI's own validity research into the assistance of criminal profiles on investigations is fairly promising regarding its accuracy. However, the question of the FBI's non- biased judgment in this research has to be at least considered.

From the United Kingdom and Europe a new school of profiling has begun to emerge. The school of Investigative Psychology allows the direct scientific application of psychological and statistical knowledge to criminal investigations. The profiling process of this style does not take the questionable case study approach that the FBI model is based upon. Through a gigantic statistical evaluation of criminal behavior a very accurate predictor of criminal behavior was created. While this approach is more scientifically valid, it does still require some of the 'opinion' and 'experience' calls that the FBI model does. But truthfully these occur in any scientific endeavor in the mental health disciplines (i.e., diagnosis). The Investigative Psychology approach does have additional benefits, including the addition of geographic predictions. In these cases the killers likely place of residence can be predicted to a fairly accurate degree.

Scientifically the Investigative Psychology approach is likely the more valid one and should be the one used in the future of criminal profiling. However, it would not be the first time a less accurate procedure was used in the face of scientific evidence against the other approaches. There is a huge following behind the FBI model and the usage of Investigative Psychology in the United States faces a daunting task. However, an investigative psychology graduate program has recently been created state-side so that should help the process greatly.

Validity research still needs to be applied on a larger scale with profiling. Most of the current validity studies cannot be considered very accurate simply due to the size of the sample and the fact that they are primarily reflective on past case successes. An application and analysis of different approaches to new serial cases is needed, though it faces a number of ethical concerns that first must be dealt with.

The copyright of the article The Future of Criminal Profiling in Forensic Psychology is owned by . Permission to republish The Future of Criminal Profiling in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.