Investigating homicide offender typologies based on their clinical histories and crime scene behaviour patterns

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-03-2019-0022
Date16 September 2019
Published date16 September 2019
Pages168-188
AuthorValeria Abreu,Edward Barker,Hannah Dickson,Francois Husson,Sandra Flynn,Jennifer Shaw
Subject MatterHealth & social care
Investigating homicide offender typologies
based on their clinical histories and crime
scene behaviour patterns
Valeria Abreu, Edward Barker, Hannah Dickson, Francois Husson, Sandra Flynn and
Jennifer Shaw
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper i s to identify offender t ypologies based on aspe cts of the
offenderspsychopathology and their associations with crime scene behaviours using data derived
from the National Confi dential Enquiry into Su icide and Safety in Menta l Health concerning ho micides in
England and Wales committed by offenders in contact with mental health services in the year preceding the
offence (n ¼759).
Design/methodology/approach The authors used multiple correspondence analysis to investigate the
interrelationships between the variables and hierarchical agglomerative clustering to identify offender
typologies. Variables describing: the offendersmental health histories; the offendersmental state at the
time of offence; characteristics useful for police investigations; and patterns of crime scene behaviours
were included.
Findings Results showed differences in the offendershistories in relation to their crime scene behaviours.
Further, analyses revealed three homicide typologies: externalising, psychosis and depression.
Practical implications These typologies may assist the police during homicide investigations by:
furthering their understanding of the crime or likely suspect; offering insights into crime patterns; provide
advice as to what an offenders offence behaviour might signify about his/her mental health background.
Findings suggest information concerning offender psychopathology may be useful for offender profiling
purposes in cases of homicide offenders with schizophrenia, depression and comorbid diagnosis of
personality disorder and alcohol/drug dependence.
Originality/value Empirical studies with an emphasis on offender profiling have almost exclusively
focussed on the inference of offender demographic characteristics. This study provides a first step in the
exploration of offender psychopathology and its integration to the multivariate analysis of offence information
for the purposes of investigative profiling of homicide by identifying the dominant patterns of mental illness
within homicidal behaviour.
Keywords Offender profiling, Mental illness, Psychopathology, Multivariate analysis, Homicide,
Crime scene analysis, Crime scene behaviours, Investigative advice
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Offender profiling and behavioural investigative advice
Traditional offender profiling has entailed predicting the likely socio-demographic characteristics
of an offender based on crime scene information (Almond et al., 2007). However, in the last
20 years, a broader definition of offender profiling has emerged in the UK: behavioural
investigative advice (BIA) (Alison et al., 2003). This consists of a more integrated multidisciplinary
approach that recognises the range of reliable, tested and transparent evidence-based methods
by which psychologists might provide advice to law enforcement during the course of an
investigation (Alison et al., 2007). The BIA approach has involved a focus on the bidirectional
collaboration between academics and practitioners (Alison et al., 2010).
Received 31 March 2019
Revised 25 June 2019
Accepted 31 July 2019
Valeria Abreu is based at the
College of Law, Criminology
and Social Sciences at the
University of Derby, UK.
Edward Barker is based at the
Department of Psychology,
Kings College London,
London, UK.
Hannah Dickson is based at the
Department of Forensic and
Neurodevelopmental Sciences,
Kings College London,
London, UK.
Francois Husson is based at
the Department of Statistics
and Computer Science,
Agrocampus Ouest,
Rennes, France.
Sandra Flynn and Jennifer Shaw
are both based at the Division of
Psychology and Mental Health,
The University of Manchester,
Manchester, UK.
PAGE168
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JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH, POLICY AND PRACTICE
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VOL. 5 NO. 3 2019, pp.168-188, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-3841 DOI 10.1108/JCRPP-03-2019-0022
Behavioural investigative advisors are a professional group of individuals with extensive
experience of serious crime and the knowledge to integrate their behavioural advice into an
investigation (Rainbow, 2008). They provide advice and investigative support based on
knowledge from behavioural sciences (Vettor, 2012). Further, BIA not only involves what is
typically considered to be offender profiling, but also contributes to other aspects of the
investigative process by aiding: suspect prioritisation, crime linkage, geographical profiling, the
interview process and risk assessment of offenders in clinical settings.
A hypothesis, that is, central to offender profiling and consequently to the provision of BIA refers
to the possibility that an offender will have some characteristic similarities in the manner she or he
carries out a crime, and that variations in such will relate to the individuals who commit them
(Canter, 2000). There are two main assumptions underlying the hypothesis at the heart of
offender profiling (Alison et al., 2002).
The two assumptions underpinning offender profiling
Two central assumptions need to be met in order for offender profiling to be valid and useful:
behavioural consistency and homology (Alison et al., 2002). The behavioural consistency
assumption holds that the variations in behaviours of an offender across their offence series must
be less than the variation in behaviour between offenders (Salfati and Bateman, 2005). That is,
intraindividual behavioural variation across offences is smaller than interindividual behavioural
variation. The homology assumption requires the variations between crimes to be related to
variations in offender characteristics; criminals who exhibit similar crime scene actions will also
possess similar background characteristics (Doan and Snook, 2008; Mokros and Alison, 2002).
For example, two homicide offenders that are married have the same previous convictions to
each other and a history of drug abuse should be more likely to offend in the same way than an
offender who is single has different previous convictions and no history of drug abuse.
These two assumptions are used to validate the profiling equation, abbreviated as the AC
equation(Canter, 2000). In this equation, the A(ctions) in an offence are used to derive inferences
about the C(haracteristics) of the offender. The assumption of behavioural consistency is not
dependent upon the assumption of homology being met since consistent behaviour across
offences does not require similarity of characteristics across offenders (Alison et al., 2002).
However, if the assumption of homology is found to be valid then the behavioural consistency
assumption would be valid as well due to the implication that offendersactions have to remain
consistent for similarities to be identified between their characteristics and behaviour (Mokros
and Alison, 2002). If these assumptions are invalid, advice given to the police may potentially
mislead a criminal investigation, resulting in both human and financial costs (Gudjonsson and
Copson, 1997).
It has been suggested that the homology assumption (i.e. the direct link between offender
characteristics and offence behaviour) is too simplistic since it fails to consider the influence of
situational factors on offence behaviour (Alison et al., 2002). Mokros and Alison (2002) state
another possible explanation may be that crime scene behaviours are only moderately related to
offendersdemographic characteristics. Indeed, most offender profiling studies attempting to test
the consistency and homology assumptions have focussed exclusively on the inference of the
offendersdemographic information (Laajasalo, 2007). However, Alison et al. (2002) argue that it
is futile to try to predict demographic features of the offender from crime scene behaviour since
psychological theory would not predict such a link. Focusing on other possible differences
between perpetrators that commit the same type of crime in different ways may prove a more
successful route (Alison et al., 2010; Laajasalo, 2007; Woodworth and Porter, 2000). For
example, some researchers suggest that the offenderspsychopathology may represent a more
promising approach (Häkkänen, 2007; Laajasalo, 2007).
The effect of psychopathology on crime scene behaviour
Investigating relationships between the offenderspsychopathology and crime scene behaviours
may yield more interesting results for offender profiling (Häkkänen and Laajasalo, 2006;
Häkkänen, 2007). Indeed, some studies have reported that individuals with mental disorders
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