3 - Geographic Profiling

Geographic Profiling

The analysis of geographic locations associated with the spatial movements of a single serial offender or a small cohort of offenders.

Geoprofiling

Someone who is trained to see spatial patterns in crimes.

Distance Decay

The effect that distance has on cultural interactions or patterns between locales; in geographic profiling, it relates to the probability of offending and distance from home.

Buffer Zone

A small zone around the offender’s residence in which they have a strong tendency not to commit crime.

Mental Maps

Subjective reconstructions of an offender's environment, reflecting individual perceptions of places and influencing how they store and retrieve location-based information.

Social Disorganization Theory

A theory that explains the relationship between crime rates and characteristics of neighborhoods, identifying factors such as low socioeconomic status and ethnic heterogeneity.

Crime Pattern Theory

A theory stating that crimes are neither randomly nor uniformly distributed across space, influenced by environmental factors such as city layout.

Routine Activities Perspective

A framework suggesting that crime occurs when a motivated offender encounters a suitable target in the absence of a capable guardian.

Centrality Theory

The hypothesis that crime spatial patterns of serial offenders approximate a circle around their homes or anchor points.

Marauder

An offender who travels from their base to commit crime and returns, going out in different directions.

Commuter

An offender who operates in a separate area from their home, showing little overlap between their criminal and home ranges.

Geographic Hunting Patterns

Typologies that highlight the variety of spatial and time-related movements and geographic patterns of different serial offenders.

Cognitive Scripts

Mental images and plans offenders use to prepare for how they will react in specific situations when committing crimes.

Bayesian Methods

Statistical approaches that incorporate existing knowledge about offenders and their behaviors into crime analysis.

CrimeStat

Software that visualizes crime data and analyzes criminal travel behavior using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Dragnet

Software designed for police investigations that assists in linking crimes without requiring GIS training.

The Law of Crime Concentration

A principle stating that a small percentage of locations account for a large proportion of crime.

Environmental Criminology

The study of how spatial and temporal distribution of opportunities influences the commission of crimes.

Offender Decision Making

The process by which offenders evaluate the risks and rewards of committing crimes in certain locations.

Key Assumptions of Geographic Profiling

Linking crimes to one offender, requiring multiple crimes to effectively establish a pattern related to an offender's base of operations.