Summary
The main aim of the research discussed in this chapter is to compare the characteristics of offenses and victims with those of offenders. Information was extracted from police files concerning 345 burglars and 310 violent offenders in Nottinghamshire, England. The most important observable features of offenders were sex, ethnicity, age, height, build, hair color, hair length, and facial hair. Combinations of these features were used to construct offender profiles. Offense features and victim features were compared with offender features. There were many significant regularities. Offense profiles based on location, site, time, and day were compared with offender profiles based on address, age, sex, and ethnicity. Address–age–sex victim profiles were compared with address–age–sex–ethnicity offender profiles. In addition, the extent to which offenders tended to repeat similar types of offenses and victims was studied. A computerized offender profiling system is recommended, based on criminological theories and empirical data about statistical regularities linking the characteristics of offenders, offenses, and victims.
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Farrington, D.P., Lambert, S. (2008). Predicting Offender Profiles From Offense and Victim Characteristics. In: Kocsis, R.N. (eds) Criminal Profiling. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-146-2_7
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