1st cycle of studies in Psychology

Criminal Profiling: Principles and Practices2

Perfis Criminais: Princípios e Práticas

Course code:9219316

Cristina Branca Bento de Matos Soeiro

Learning outcomes of the curricular unit:

The criminal profiling is a forensic tool that is intended to help police investigators to accurately predict and profile the characteristics of criminal subjects or offenders of a violent crime. The aim of this curricular unit is to allow: Know the basics of criminal profiling and its origins; understand the concept and those contributions recognize criminal behavior patterns and motive; outline and construct a criminal profile based on scientific assessments and assumptions. The students must be able to define a criminal profiler, describe the criminal profiling process, describe profiling decision process models, recognize the most important studies about validity and accuracy of a criminal profile and identify the profile of different violent criminal contexts.

Syllabus:
  1. The concept of forensic criminal profile.
  2. Historical evolution of the concept of forensic profile.
  3. The building process of forensic criminal profile.
  4. Technical approaches to criminal forensics profile.
  5. Validity of forensic criminal profile.
  6. Studies of validity and accuracy of criminal forensics profile.
  7. Criminal profiles associated with violent crime: sex crimes, homicide, arson, robbery with firearm.
 
Suggested Bibliography:
  • Brookman F, Maguire M, Pierpoint H & Bennet T (2010) Handbook on Crime. Devon: Willan Publishing.
  • Canter D (2006) Psychology of offender profiling. In Keppel R, Offender profiling (pp. 49-58). Mason: Thomson.
  • Chifflet P (2015) Questioning the validity of criminal profiling: An evidence-based approach. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, Vol. 48(2) 238–255. DOI: 10.1177/0004865814530732
  • Kocsis RN (2006) Criminal profiling: Principles and practice. Totowa: Humana Press.
  • Kocsis R & Palermo G (2016). Criminal profiling as expert witness evidence: The implications of the profiler validity research. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. November. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp