Week 7: The Process: Phase II – Concepts Relating to the Offender

Laureate Education (Producer). (2017a). Analyzing evidence in relationship to offenders [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes.  Credit: Provided courtesy of the Laureate International Network of Universities.

Now that the evidence involving the offense and the victim has been analyzed, Phase II of the criminal investigative analysis process concludes with an analysis and profile of the offender and offender behavior. Just as analysts look at the victim pre-offense, offense, and post-offense, they must look at the offender in the same way. In their analysis of the offender, they are looking for issues such as planning and victim selection; intent, motive, and aggression; and staging, body disposal, and consciousness of guilt.

This week you analyze the evidence from the offender perspective. You continue discussing the course case in the Open Forum Discussion and provide an analysis of the offender in the case.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze evidence in relationship to the offender of a crime
• Analyze concepts related to offender action during a crime

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Turvey, B. E. (2012). Criminal profiling: An introduction to behavioral evidence analysis (4th ed.). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Chapter 13, “Interpreting Motive” (pp. 311–330)
Chapter 14, “Case Linkage: Offender Modus Operandi and Signature” (pp. 331–360)
Chapter 17, “Inferring Offender Characteristics” (pp. 403–446)
Chapter 19, “Sex Crimes” (pp. 481–506)
Chapter 20, “Domestic Homicide” (pp. 507–520)

Miller, L. (2014). Serial killers: Development, dynamics, and forensics. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19(1), 12–22. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2013.11.003

hard-to-solve one-off homicides be distinguished from serial homicides? Differences in offence behaviours and victim characteristics” rel=”noopener”>Pakkanen, T., Zappalà, A., Bosco, D., Berti, A., & Santtila, P. (2015). Can hard-to-solve one-off homicides be distinguished from serial homicides? Differences in offense behaviors and victim characteristics. Journal of Criminal Psychology, 5(3), 216–232.

Trojan, C., & Salfati, G. (2016). Criminal history of homicide offenders: A multi-dimensional analysis of criminal specialization. Journal of Criminal Psychology, 6(1), 28–41.

Discussion: Open Forum

An analysis of the evidence related to the offender of a crime may provide insight into the general nature of the crime (type of crime, motivations, etc.), the offender’s knowledge of the location of the crime, the risk level for the offender, victim selection, and the relationship between the victim and offender.

In this Open Forum Discussion, you continue your conversation about the case, focusing on concepts related to the offender.

To prepare for the Discussion:

• Review the evidence of the criminal report from the offender’s perspective.

By Day 3

Post a response to the following:

• What are your initial thoughts of the offender that impact your analysis of the offense?
• What other things would you like to know about the offender?
• As you reviewed the evidence concerning the offender, what other issues are surfacing/presenting?

By Day 5

Respond to at least two of your colleagues with a substantive, interactive discussion that continues through Day 7 by responding to their questions and providing additional insight into the case.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria 

To access your rubric:
Week 7 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 5

To participate in this Discussion:
Week 7 Discussion

Assignment: Investigating a Crime: Phase II – Concepts Related to the Offender

The final part of Phase II is the analysis of the offender. As with victimology, criminal investigative analysis of the offender is evaluated in three stages:

• Pre-Offense – All information providing insight on such things as: 
  • Planning
  • Knowledge of victim
  • Knowledge of crime scene location
• Offense – All information providing insight on such things as: 
  • Offender risk level
  • Offender actions during offense
  • Nature of the offense (motive, aggression, etc.) 
    • Behaviors related to M.O.
    • Behaviors suggesting psychological needs
  • Relationship to victim
• Post-Offense – In homicides, actions by offender can sometimes provide insight into: 
  • Motivations
  • Offender/victim relationship
  • Consciousness of guilt

To prepare for this assignment:

• Review the criminal report from the perspective of the offender.

By Day 7

In a 2- to 3-page analysis of the offender:

• Pre-offense behavior
• Offense behavior
• Post-offense behavior
• Risk level
• Motive
• Intent
• Premeditation
• Aggression
• Victim selection