Profiling

The term profiling refers to many areas of forensic science. For example, female inmate profiles have been developed by examining the lives and crimes of incarcerated women at Central California Women's Facility, in Chowchilla. Others have explored the world of credit card fraud and the types of people who repeatedly engage in such crimes. Victimologists profile the types of criminals who target the elderly and develop typologies of victim-offender relationships. Today, profiling has also become a tool used widely in criminal investigations. Profiling is developing as a science but continues to receive mixed reviews. Some professionals have been skeptical of the utility of profiling, particularly the psychologically based approach. Psychological profiling has yet to function as a “magic wand” to solve serial crimes, but it ...