Forensic Victimology and Crime Scene Analysis

Overview

• Forensic victimology is the study of victims for aiding criminal profiling and crime scene analysis.
• It helps in identifying offender profile characteristics, aiding police in crime classification and suspect identification.

Crime Classification Manual (CCM)

• Developed by investigative analysts at the FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia.
• Authors: Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, and Ressler (2006).
• Expands traditional crime categories.
• Helps classify crimes by defining characteristics: victim, crime scene, and victim-offender interaction.

Role of Victimology

• Essential for understanding the complete history of the victim.
• Evaluates why a particular person was targeted for violent crime, leading to understanding the motive.
• Turvey and Petherick (2008) define forensic victimology as the scientific study of victims to address investigative and forensic issues.

Functions of Forensic Victimology

• Skeptical investigation of facts, thorough evidence examination.
• Provides balance against victim idealization or demonization.
• Acts as a filter for deception, false reporting, and identifies relevant victim information.
• Objective, dispassionate scientific examination.

Investigative Criminal Profiling

• A strategy to narrow down suspects and generate educated guesses about perpetrators.
• Involves collecting leads and profiling criminal behavior, patterns, trends, and tendencies.
• Especially useful for criminals with identifiable psychopathology.
• Crime scene reflects the offender’s behavior and personality.

Crime Scene Analysis

• Victimology is crucial for determining motive.
• Victim risk levels assessed by lifestyle and situation.
• Lifestyle risk: age, size, race, marital status, etc.
• Situational risk: location and activities during the crime.

Crime Scene Assessment

• Four scenes:
  1. Initial Contact Scene: First contact between victim and offender.
  2. Assault Scene: Where the assault (physical/sexual) occurs.
  3. Death Scene: Where the victim's death occurs.
  4. Body Location Scene: Where the body is found.
• Scenes can be at the same or different locations, assessed for victim and offender risk levels.

Case Study: Mary Kelly and Jack the Ripper

• Mary Kelly was murdered by Jack the Ripper in 1888 in London, gaining significant recognition.
• Analyzed through the four crime scene possibilities.

Cold Case Analysis

• Defined by NIJ as cases with exhausted investigative leads.
• Often become cold due to lack of resources.
• Impact: Angers survivors, leaves society at risk.
• NIJ’s DNA grant programs aid in solving cold cases by helping states/locals in identifying, reviewing, and analyzing violent crime cold cases.