Chapter 3 - Criminal Profiling, Interrogations, & Confessions

PSYC 268 - DR. ADELE QUIGLEY MCBRIDE - SFU

Criminal Profiling

A technique where an analyst identifies the major personality and behavioural characteristics of an individual based upon information about crimes they have committed. 

Use of Criminal Profiling

• Identifies where to focus limited sources.

• Prevents a cold case.

• Determines when multiple crimes might have have been committed by the same individual.

• Formulates interview and interrogations strategies.

• Useful in court to establish reasons and motives.

• Evaluate the level of threat an individual may pose to the society.

Profilers

Criminal investigators that use psychology, sociology, and forensic analysis to analyze crime scenes and develop a detailed profile of a criminal.

• Analyze crime scenes and gather data on their victims.

• Study the reports written by the police and pathologist/coroner.

• Make inferences about the criminal’s motives or reasons.

• Make inferences about the perpetrators identity such as gender, race, geographic, location, etc.

Classic Trait Model of Psychology 

An approach in psychology that seeks to explain personality by identifying stable, enduring characteristics, or dispositions that influence behaviour across different situations. 

Ambiguous Profiles

When information can be interpreted in lots of ways, which can mold or reframe to account for different people or circumstances.

Deductive Criminal Profiling

Profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on evidence they’ve left at crime scenes, deducing characteristics from clues (using in the moment resources). `

Inductive Criminal Profiling 

Profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on what we know about other solved cases, inferring specific cases based on general information (using prior knowledge/information). 

Organized-Disorganized Model

An FBI developed criminal profiling technique that classifies serial killer offenders into two types based on crime scene and offender characteristics.

Organized

• Planned Offence.

• Use of Restraints.

• Ante-Mortem Sexual Acts.

• Use of Vehicle.

• Corpse Not Taken.

• Little Evidence Left Behind.

• High Intelligence.

• Skilled Occupation.

• Sexually Adequate.

• Geographically Mobile.

• Lives and Works Away From Crime.

• Follows Crimes in Media.

• Maintains Residence and Vehicle.

Disorganized 

• Spontaneous Offence. 

• No Restraints.

• Post-Mortem Sexual Acts. 

• No Vehicle. 

• Corpse Taken. 

• Evidence Left at Scene. 

• Low Intelligence. 

• Unskilled Occupation. 

• Sexually Inadequate. 

• Geographically Stable. 

• Lives and Works Close to Crime. 

• Little Interest in Media. 

• Does Not Maintain Residence and Vehicle. 

Holmes’ Typology

Categorizes killers based on their motivations and behavioural patterns into four primary types.

• Visionary.

• Mission-Oriented.

• Hedonistic.

• Power-Oriented.

Visionary

Having visions or hearing voices from God or spirits instructing them to kill particular individuals.

Mission-Oriented 

Motivated by a desire to kill individuals they regard as evil or unworthy. 

Hedonistic

Has sadistic sexual pleasure in torturing their victims, such as killing for the thrill of it.

Power-Oriented

Receives satisfaction from capturing and controlling their victim. 

Investigative Psychology

Uses various questionnaires and psychological principles to figure out motives or reasons to inform criminal investigations and criminal profiling through more statistical and complicated methods.

Geographic Profiling

Estimating where a person may reside relative to where they commit their crimes.

• Usage of maps, statistics, pattern of past crimes, and geographical features of relevant places.

• Assumes serial offenders will stay in a “comfort zone”.

Anchor Point 

Location from which offender leaves to commit crimes. 

Buffer Zone

Around home of an offender where they are less likely to commit crimes.

Comfort Zone

Where an offender feels the most comfortable committing their crimes.

Distance Decay 

Probability of a crime decreasing as distance from past crime increases. 

Temporal Sequencing

When geographical range of a serial offender’s crime will increase.

RCMP ViCLAS

An automated system that allows police to link crimes that may seem geographically disparate, but similar in nature.

Crime Linkage 

When a single perpetrator commits two or more crimes.

Linkage Blindness

Inability of law enforcement across different jurisdictions to note that crimes committed in respective jurisdictions may be related.

• Often a team of specially trained analysts to look over details to reduce this.

Voluntary Confessions

The admissibility of a confession.

Determining Voluntariness of Confessions

• Suspect must be of sound operating mind. 

• No threats or false promises. 

• No oppressive interviewing context. 

• No deception that would shock the community. 

Permitted Police Behaviour

• Lying within limits. 

• Good-cop, bad-cop routine. 

• Offering counselling or psychiatric help. 

• Religious or spiritual appeals. 

• Involving a suspect’s family in appeals. 

• Using polygraph tests. 

• Presenting fabricated evidence. 

NonPermitted Police Behaviour

• Physical abuse.

• Threats of torture. 

• Quid pro quo. 

• Involving the suspects family in threats or promises. 

• Creating oppressive conditions. 

• Using tricks that would shock the community. 

Suspects Rights in Canada 

• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 7 and 10b. 

  • Right to Silence. 

  • Right to Legal Counsel. 

• A suspect may waive their right to both, however they run the risk of incriminating themselves. 

Perceptions of Confessions 

• High conviction rates. 

• Coerced confessions result in higher conviction rates than no confessions.

• Retracted confessions are still compelling. 

• Proven false confessions led to 81% of conviction rates. 

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency to attribute another person’s behaviour to internal factors, ignoring the influence of situational factors. 

Reasons of False Confessions 

• Vulnerability of the Suspect. 

• Interrogation-Related Regulatory Decline. 

• Phenomenology of Innocence.

• Conviction Interrogation Tactics. 

Vulnerability of the Suspect 

• Highly suggestible. 

• Lack of understanding in the consequences of confessing or the law. 

• Believe that they need to confess for the best outcome. 

Interrogation-Related Regulatory Decline

• Interrogations impacts on individuals cognitive control. 

• Intense situations reduce a suspects ability to consider the consequences. 

Phenomenology of Innocence 

• Innocent people are more likely to waive their rights. 

• People think falsely confessing can help an investigation. 

• Belief that their innocence will become obvious later. 

Types of False Confessions 

• Voluntary False Confessions. 

• Coerced-Compliant False Confessions. 

• Coerced-Internalized False Confessions. 

Voluntary False Confessions

Suspect falsely confesses to a crime they know they didn’t commit without any coercion or influence.

• Fame.

• Protection of another individual. 

• Mental illness. 

Coerced-Compliant False Confessions

Suspect falsely confesses to a crime they know they didn’t commit from coercive interrogation techniques.

• Belief that confessing is the only way to leave the situation.

Coerced-Internalized False Confessions 

Suspect falsely confesses to a crime they have come to believe they committed rom coercive interrogation techniques. 

• Belief in their own guilt 

Interrogation Techniques

• Interrogations.

• Interviews.

• Reid-Technique-Approach.

• Minimization & Maximization. 

Interrogations 

Designed to get incriminating information and ideally a confession from the suspect. Has a clear motive.

Interviews

Tends to be information gathering focused, whatever the nature of that information ends up being. Has no clear motive.

Reid-Technique Approach

Uses psychological pressure to induce confessions. 

• Factual Analysis: gathering of evidence. 

• Behaviour Analysis Interview: assesses guilt with behaviour provoking questions and determines if they are being deceptive. 

• Interrogation: obtain a confession. 

Minimization Technique

Designed to lull suspects into a false sense of security.

Maximization Technique

Designed to intimidate suspect.

Manipulation of Coercive Interrogation Tactics 

• Loss of Control. 

• Social Isolation. 

• Certainty of Guilt. 

• Minimization of Culpability. 

Loss of Control

When control is taken away from the suspect through physical environment, content/pace of conversation, and the amount of time being interviewed.

Social Isolation

When interrogations happen alone, especially if a suspect waives their rights.

• Lacking support from friends and family. 

• No way to confirm the truth.

Certainty of Guilt 

When interrogators focus on the guilt of the suspect through fabricated evidence.

Minimization of Culpability

When interrogators minimize the suspects role in the crime, trying to shift the blame to other individuals or circumstances involved/

• Suspect given the choice; committed the crime for a justifiable reason, or committed the crime fro a terrible reason.

Reforms to Reduce False Confessions

• Video recordings. 

• Required probable cause before beginning interrogations. 

• Appropriate adult safeguard for vulnerable suspects. 

• Jury instructions. 

• Information gathering approach; peace method. 

PEACE

• P = Preparation and Planning. 

• E = Engage and Explain.

• A = Account.

• C = Closure.

• E = Evaluation.