Building a psychological profile:
Necessary items for a psychological profile include:
1) Complete photographs of the crime scene, including photographs of the victim if it is a homicide. Also helpful is some means of determining the angle from which the photographs were taken and a general description of the immediate area. One enterprising police officer developed the excellent technique of photocopying his crime scene sketch, attaching one copy to each photo, and then outlining in red the area which was included in the photograph.
2) The completed autopsy protocol including, if possible, any results of lab tests which were done on the victim.
3) A complete report of the incident to include such standard details as date and time of offense, location (by town as well as by actual site of incident), weapon used (if known), investigative officers’ reconstruction of the sequence of events (if any), and a detailed interview of any surviving victims or witnesses. These items are usually a part of all investigations and do not generally require extra report writing or extra written material. Also included in most investigative reports is background information on the victim(s). Yet, this seems to be the area where the least amount of information is available to the profiler. Usually, this is because the investigative officer cannot possibly write down all of the many details concerning the victim which he collects while investigating the crime.
When the investigator provides information concerning a victim to a profiler, some items which the officer should include are:
1) Occupation (former and present).
2) Residence (former and present).
3) Reputation, at work and in his neighborhood.
4) Physical description, including dress at the time of the incident.
5) Marital status, including children and close family members.
6) Educational level.
7) Financial status, past and present.
8) Information and background of victim’s family and parents, including victim’s relationship with parent.
9) Medical history, both physical and mental.
10) Fears.
11)Personal habits.
12) Social habits.
13) Use of alcohol and drugs.
14) Hobbies.
15) Friends and enemies.
16) Recent changes in lifestyle.
17) Recent court action.
The primary psychological evidence which the profiler is looking for is motive.
(From: A Psychological Assessment of Criminal Profiling; Ault&Reese)
