forensic victimology 2nd edition chapter four: constructing a victim profile

Forensic Victimology 2nd Edition

Chapter Four: Constructing a Victim Profile

Constructing a Victim Profile

• Forensic victimology is concerned with the investigation and examination of particular victims alleged to have suffered specific crimes, which is an idiographic form of knowledge building.

• Idiographic refers to the study of the concrete: examining individuals and their actual qualities.

• An idiographic victim profile is a list of the characteristics possessed by a specific victim.

– This includes physical, biological, mental, social, educational, occupational, and personality descriptors.

Constructing a Victim Profile

• Nomothetic refers to the study of the abstract: examining groups and universal laws.

• The primary goal of nomothetic victim studies is to accumulate general, typical, common, or averaged characteristics of victim groups.

• Nomothetic victim profiles, therefore, do not represent an actual victim that exists in the real world.

The Purpose of Victim Profiles

• Forensic victimologists serve investigations and court proceedings in the following ways:

1. Assist in understanding elements of the crime

2. Assist in developing a timeline

3. Define the suspect pool

4. Provide investigative suggestions

5. Assist with crime reconstruction

6. Assist with contextualizing allegations of victimization

7. Assist with the development of offender modus operandi

The Purpose of Victim Profiles

• Continued:8. Assist with the development of offender motive9. Assist with case linkage10.Assist with public safety response

11.Educate the court

• Forensic victimology is intended to serve both investigative and forensic goals, which are very different in scope and reliability with respect to findings.

Standards of Pratice • Practice standards are the fundamental rules that set

the limits of evidentiary interpretation. • The following practice standards are designed to help

reduce bias, encourage the employment of analytical logic and the scientific method, and require the formation of hypotheses and conclusions only in accordance with the known evidence.

1. Forensic examiners must strive diligently to avoid bias.2. Forensic examiners are responsible for requesting all

relevant evidence and information in order to render an adequate victim profile and form related opinions.

Standards of Pratice 3. Forensic examiners are responsible for determining whether the evidence

they are examining is of sufficient quality to provide the basis for an adequate examination.

4. Forensic examiners must, whenever possible, visit the crime scene.5. Forensic conclusions, and their basis, must be provided in a written format.6. Forensic examiners must demonstrate an understanding of behavioral

science, forensic science, and the scientific method. 7. All conclusions must be based on established facts. Facts may not be

assumed for the purpose of analysis.

3. .

Standards of Pratice 8. Conclusions must be valid inferences based on logical arguments and

analytical reasoning.9. Conclusions must be reached with the assistance of the scientific

method. 10.Conclusions must demonstrate an understanding of, and clearly

distinguish between, individuating findings and all others. 11.Forensic examiners must demonstrate an understanding of the

conditions of transfer (Locard’s Exchange Principle and Evidence Dynamics).

12.Any evidence, data, or findings on which conclusions are based must be made available through presentation or citation.

8. .

Victimology: General Guidelines

• The following objective packages must be gathered and assessed by the criminal investigator and forensic victimologist alike, as with any intelligence.

• Personal Package• Digital Package• Residence Package• Relationship Package• Employment Package • Financial Package• Medical Package• Court Package

• .


• Personal Package1. Sex2. Race3. Height4. Weight5. Hair color/length/dyed6. Eyes: color/glasses/contacts7. Clothing/jewelry8. Personal items9. Grooming/manner of dress10. Smoker or non-smoker11. Hobbies/skills12. Routine daily activities and commitments13. Recently scheduled events14. Upcoming scheduled events

1. .


• Digital Package1. Call phone: calls, chats, address book, GPS, photos, video2. Laptop/desktop: email, calls, chats, documents, address books, browser history,

photos, video3. Personal Web sites: recent browser history, social network and social media

activity, blogs, dating Web site, and other personal subscription Web sites4. Financial Web sites/payment history: stocks, mutual funds/401K, credit cards,

and online banking5. Personal GPS device: recent trips, destinations, bookmarked points of interest

1. .


• Residence Package1. Physical home address2. Location/condition of bedroom3. Evidence of music/literature/personal interests4. Personal correspondence5. Personal sexual items/explicit material6. Missing items7. Signs of violence8. Location/condition of personal vehicle9. Hard line phone calls10. 911 calls and criminal history of residence

1. .


• Relationship Package1. Current and previous intimate or marital partner(s)2. Current and previous family members3. Current and previous household members4. Current and previous friends5. Current and previous co-workers/classmates6. History of relationship counseling

1. .


• Employment Package1. Educational background and history2. Current occupations/job titles3. Place of employment/work schedule/supervisor/coworkers4. Employment history5. Work phone: calls, chats, address book, GPS, video6. Laptop/desktop: email, calls, chats, documents, address books, browser history, photos, video7. Business GPS device: recent trips, destinations, bookmarked points of interest8. Business vehicle: logs, travel (times/destinations), GPS device9. Business insurance policies

• .


• Financial Package1. Wallet/Purse: contents, cards, personal items2. Credit cards/history3. Bank accounts/history4. Property ownership5. Stocks/mutual funds/410K/retirement benefits6. Insurance policies

1. .


• Medical Package1. Current state of intoxication (drug and alcohol levels)2. Current medical conditions (physical and mental)3. History of serious medical conditions4. Current medications 5. Current treatment regimes6. Current treatment professionals7. Recent medical appointments8. Addictions (drugs, alcohol, or obsessive behavior)

1. .


• Court Package1. Criminal history2. Civil court history3. Witness history4. In-state and out-of-state records5. Evidence of victim criminal activity during the crime6. Evidence of ongoing victim criminal activity unrelated to the crime

1. .


• These packages should be used to complete the following tasks:1. Compile a list of the victim’s daily routines, habits, and activities2. Compile a complete list of victim family members with contact

information3. Compile a complete list of victim friends with contact information4. Compile a complete list of victim coworkers/schoolmates with contact

information5. Create a timeline of events using witness statements, digital evidence,

and physical evidence.

1. .

Creating a Timeline: The Last 24 Hours

• The purpose of creating a timeline is to familiarize the forensic victimologist with the last known activities of the victim.

• A good approach to creating this timeline of locations and events includes at least the following steps:

• Compile all witness data• Compile all available forensic evidence and findings• Compile all of the police/media crime scene photographs and video• Compile all security stills and video covering the crime scene and any paths

taken by the victim or offender to or from it

• .


• Continued:• Create a linear timeline of events and locations• Create a map of the victim’s route for the 24 hours before the attack,

as detailed as possible• Physically walk through the victim’s last 24 hours using the map and

forensic evidence as a guide• Document expected background elements of the route.

• .


• Then, attempt to determine the following:• The point at which the offender acquired the victim• The place where the offender attacked the victim• How well the attack location can be seen from any surrounding locations• Whether the offender would need to be familiar with the area to know of this

specific location or get to it• Whether knowledge of the route would require or indicate prior surveillance• Whether this route placed the victim at higher or lower exposure to an attack• Whether the acquisition of the victim on that route placed the offender at

higher or lower exposure to identification or apprehension

• .

forensic victimology 2nd edition chapter four: constructing a victim profile

Documents

forensic conclusions

forensic examiners

victim profile slide

court forensic victimology

forensic science

forensic goals

specific victim

actual victim