Criminal Investigative Analysis

Criminal investigative analysis, also known as criminal profiling, is a technique used by law enforcement agencies to identify the characteristics of an unknown criminal offender based on data collected in the course of the investigation as well as evidence left at the crime scene. Criminal investigative analysis is typically used in serial crime cases, such as murders or rapes, where there are patterns and common characteristics that can be used to identify the criminal. The technique has been used since the 19^th century¹, but it gained popularity in the 1970s after the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) started using it to solve high-profile cases. According to the FBI, criminal investigative analysis has helped solve more than 6,000 cases since its inception². Criminal investigative analysis has also been popularized in movies and TV shows such as “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Mindhunter”³. In this blog post, we will explore criminal investigative analysis and how it can be enhanced with new technological capabilities.

What is Criminal Investigative Analysis?

The primary objective of criminal investigative analysis is to provide a psychological and behavioral assessment of the offender, drawing insights from evidence at crime scenes and observed patterns in their criminal behavior. This multidisciplinary analytical procedure involves organizing and analyzing data, aiding investigators in cases of serial crimes where patterns emerge over multiple incidents. It also helps in narrowing down a potential list of suspects, based on patterns and evidence revealed during the investigation process.

Practitioners may differ in methodologies and terminology, yet they share a common goal of analyzing data to develop a profile of an unknown offender.

Attributes of an offender profile may include:

• Antisocial personality traits
• Psychopathologies
• Behavioral patterns
• Demographic variables: age, geographic location, family status, etc.

[Source: APA Monitor on Psychology, 2004]

The Need for Criminal Investigative Analysis

Criminal investigative analysis is critical in solving many crimes, especially complex or hard-to-solve cases. Without the aid of criminal investigative analysis, investigations are less efficient, exhaust more resources, and are characterized by a scattershot approach to pursuing leads. The absence of a systematic and behavioral assessment approach often results in a time-consuming investigative process, where law enforcement navigates a myriad of potential leads without the targeted insights that criminal investigative analysis can provide.

How Do Law Enforcement Agencies Typically Use Criminal Investigative Analysis?

Criminal investigative analysis is often used in cases involving serial crimes where patterns and behaviors may emerge over multiple incidents, including the following:

1. Serial Murder: Repeatedly committing murder over a period of time, often with a similar modus operandi.
2. Serial Sexual Assault: Committing multiple acts of sexual assault against different victims.
3. Serial Arson: Setting multiple fires intentionally over a period of time.
4. Serial Burglary: Repeatedly breaking into homes or businesses to steal property.
5. Serial Robbery: Committing multiple robberies, often targeting similar locations or types of victims.
6. Serial Fraud: Engaging in repeated acts of deception to obtain money or property.
7. Serial Kidnapping: Abducting multiple individuals over time.
8. Serial Stalking: Persistently following or harassing multiple victims.
9. Serial Vandalism: Repeatedly damaging property, often with a specific target or theme.

Profilers use their expertise to assist investigators in prioritizing leads, understanding the offender’s mindset, and developing strategies for apprehension. They rely on their experience, knowledge of criminal behavior, and a careful analysis of available data to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies.

Prominent Cases Where Criminal Investigative Analysis Was Used 

Criminal investigative analysis, commonly known as criminal profiling, has played a crucial role in solving numerous high-profile cases around the world. Here are a few notable examples: 

1. In Italy, the infamous “Monster of Florence” case involved a series of brutal murders between 1968 and 1985. Criminal profilers worked alongside investigators to narrow down the suspect pool by analyzing the behavioral patterns and psychological traits of the killer. This collaborative effort eventually led to the arrest of Pietro Pacciani and his alleged accomplices. Although the case remains controversial, the use of profiling was instrumental in guiding the investigation. 

2. In Australia, the Claremont Serial Killer case saw the murders of three young women in the 1990s. The case went unsolved for over two decades until advancements in forensic DNA analysis and criminal profiling led to the arrest and conviction of Bradley Robert Edwards in 2020. Profilers helped to establish a psychological profile of the killer, which, combined with new forensic evidence, brought closure to the victims’ families. 

3. In the US, the “Mad Bomber” of New York, George Metesky, was captured by authorities, thanks to the help of criminal investigative analysis. Between 1940 and 1957, Metesky planted more than 30 bombs around New York City, causing significant damage and injuring many people. Despite the extensive efforts of the police, Metesky remained elusive. In a desperate bid to catch the bomber, the police turned to Dr. James Brussel, a psychiatrist who specialized in criminal profiling. By meticulously analyzing crime scene photos and the bomber’s letters, Dr. Brussel created a detailed psychological profile of the perpetrator. This profile included specific predictions about the bomber’s personality, habits, and even his physical appearance. Remarkably, Dr. Brussel’s profile led the police directly to Metesky, who was subsequently arrested and confessed to his crimes^.. 

4. Another significant case in the US where criminal profiling played a crucial role was the capture of Ted Bundy, one of America’s most infamous serial killers. Bundy’s killing spree spanned several years and multiple states, making it challenging for law enforcement to track him down. In 1978, FBI profilers used their understanding of Bundy’s psychological makeup and his patterns of behavior to place him on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. By analyzing his methods, victim selection, and movements, the FBI was able to predict his next moves and disseminate this information to the public. This strategic profiling and public awareness campaign ultimately led to Bundy’s capture in February 1978. 

These examples demonstrate the significant impact of criminal investigative analysis in solving complex cases across the globe. Profiling not only aids in identifying suspects but also provides valuable insights into their behavior, helping law enforcement agencies to prevent future crimes 

Understanding the Difference Between Tactical Crime Analysis and Criminal Investigative Analysis 

When it comes to law enforcement, both tactical crime analysis and criminal investigative analysis play crucial roles, but they serve different purposes and operate on distinct levels. 

Tactical Crime Analysis focuses on the immediate and short-term needs of law enforcement. It involves analyzing police data to identify patterns, trends, and hotspots of criminal activity. This type of analysis is action-oriented and aims to support patrol and investigative units by providing timely information that can be used to deploy resources effectively and prevent imminent crimes. For example, tactical crime analysts might identify a series of burglaries occurring in a specific neighborhood and recommend increased patrols in that area to deter further incidents. 

On the other hand, Criminal Investigative Analysis (often referred to as criminal profiling) is more focused on understanding the behaviors and motivations of offenders. This type of analysis is used to develop profiles of unknown suspects based on the evidence from crime scenes. It involves a deep dive into the psychological and behavioral patterns of criminals to predict their next moves and help investigators narrow down their suspect lists. Criminal investigative analysis is particularly useful in cases involving serial crimes, where understanding the offender’s modus operandi and signature behaviors can be critical to solving the case. 

In summary, while tactical crime analysis is about immediate action and resource allocation to prevent and respond to crimes, criminal investigative analysis is about understanding the deeper psychological aspects of criminal behavior to aid in long-term investigations. 

The Criminal Investigative Analysis Process

Criminal investigative analysis plays a crucial role across the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution phases of the criminal justice process. During the investigation phase, profilers analyze all available data to uncover patterns or links between victims or between criminal incidents, predict the personality traits and behaviors of unknown perpetrators, and formulate strategies for apprehension. In the apprehension phase, profiling is instrumental in predicting locations, determining search warrant criteria, and anticipating the reactions of an unidentified serial criminal upon capture. In the prosecution phase, criminal profilers serve as expert witnesses in court, utilizing investigative data to establish connections between crimes and link alleged perpetrators to a series of offenses.

Key Elements of Criminal Investigative Analysis

• Victimology: Investigating the characteristics of victims to unravel potential connections with the offender and unveil any discernible patterns or links in victim selection.

• Geographical Profiling: Analyzing crime locations to unearth potential patterns, facilitating a more targeted approach in investigative endeavors.

• Time Analysis: Examining the temporal aspects of crimes to identify any recurring patterns or regularities in the offender’s conduct.

• Offender Characteristics: Formulating a detailed profile encompassing demographic information, potential motives, and other traits that can assist in narrowing down potential suspects.

• Examination of Crime Scenes: Scrutinizing crime scenes to pinpoint patterns, modus operandi (MO), and unique signatures that can provide valuable insights into the offender’s behavior.

• Behavioral Profiling: Crafting a comprehensive profile of the probable offender by analyzing behavioral traits, psychological characteristics, and motivations inferred from the crime scene details and available data.

How Can Investigative Analytics Accelerate Criminal Investigative Analysis?

Investigative Investigative analytics solutions are important tools that can assist investigators in accelerating criminal investigative analysis and help to uncover insights that would be difficult to attain through manual analysis.  Investigative analytics solutions enable analysts and investigators to process and analyze large volumes of data from multiple sources and draw out actionable insights for investigations. Two capabilities in particular that can assist investigators:

• Processing and correlating data enables organizations to ingest their disparate and siloed data sets, aggregate them into a unified data pool, and align the data into a uniform format that can be easily queried. This allows investigators to analyze data from a wide variety of both structured and unstructured data sources, including criminal records, police reports, social media, and video footage, in one unified view.    
• Visualization tools, such as timeline analysis, visual link analysis, and geospatial maps, can help investigators uncover connections and patterns from the available evidence, which they would otherwise have trouble finding.

Use Cases Where Investigative Analytics Can Help in Criminal Investigative Analysis

Criminal investigative analysis relies on analyzing investigation data in order to draw insights regarding the perpetrator of a crime. Investigative analytics solutions can be used to accelerate the process of criminal investigative analysis by:

• Finding hidden relations and connections between multiple victims in a case or investigation by using visual link analysis, timeline analysis, and geospatial analysis.
• Surfacing similar incidents or crimes in other jurisdictions that may be related to the investigation, by processing and correlating from diverse sources, making it easier to analyze data from other jurisdictions and agencies.
• Narrowing down the list of suspects by helping to determine which suspects to investigate. These tools can help to establish whether or not the suspect is connected to the time, place, and people involved in the crime.

Once a suspect or multiple suspects have been identified, investigative analytics can help to investigate them and determine whether the suspect worked with one or more accomplice(s) by analyzing their movement patterns, financial transactions, who they are communicating with, analyzing any suspicious behavior.

Click here to meet our experts and learn more about how law enforcement can use investigative analytics to accelerate investigations.

Sources:

1. https://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/criminal
2. https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/criminal-investigative-analysis-practitioner-perspectives-part-one-of-four
3. https://journalistsresource.org/criminal-justice/violent-media-real-world-behavior-historical-data-recent-trends/
4. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_526