CASE PROFILE/assemble a profile
Order Description
Final Practical Exercise:

The final profiling paper requires that you assemble a profile using the case files provided. The case files is located in the Practical Scenarios folder (listed below). What is required is that you approach the files as a consultant and produce a report (see example below) that will assist police in their investigation. The report that you submit should evidence the basic constructs that we have read about in class and also provide some supported insight into the case that you have been presented. You will use the “sample” document below as a guide to develop the basic case facts, your analysis, and conclusions (APA style 6th supported) that you have drawn. The report should follow basic essay style (intro, body, and conclusion; no abstract required) and should evidence as many techniques as you are able to derive from the case file (organized/disorganized, geographic profiling, crime scene analysis, method of operation, possible signature, victimology, etc). The essay/report represents your opportunity to demonstrate and apply the concepts that we have reviewed in class to a practical exercise.
One note: Choose one case or the other. You are not required to engage in both.

The profile report should conform to APA 6th style (see example provided below). Although the sample report does not include this element, your report will. This is a collegiate exercise and I would like to see application of the research that you have engaged in to support your basic analysis, insights, and recommendations. The report should be composed in a 3-5 page standard format. You can exceed this total number of pages, but model reports will conform to these parameters.

The report will require that you deliberate the information and consider whether you will adopt an inductive or deductive approach in formatting your report (please see the example provided below). It is possible to use a mixed method approach (I’m not opposed to this and many profilers end up doing this). What is critical to the report is that you engage in some useful deliberation of the information and materials provided. Your report should evidence not only your understanding of profiling concepts, but also the applied use of the same. Also, your deliberations should produce some unique insights to the case that will lend to the police investigation (please see the example provided). Once again, this is your opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned and apply it to a real life scenario.

The vast majority of students find this exercise to be quite enjoyable. In the end, I don’t expect you to be experts, but what I generally find is that use of the textbooks, basic concepts, and PowerPoint materials allow you to create a robust profile. You’ll have to engage in some dedicated analysis and also revisit the readings and ancillaries when you construct the report. This is not something that you’re going to put together in a day or a few hours at the last minute. The projects that do not support themselves with applied learning reveal themselves quite openly and receive much lower scores. What is key is that you invest the time and effort that is associated to a final paper/project in any upper division class.

Student should include ample reference materials. In all assignments and papers, students should utilize the assigned textbooks to demonstrate application and understanding. In addition, there are numerous research articles that are available to you, which were utilized in Unit 7 of the course. Finally, there are sufficient web resources (academic and subject matter expert) that you can also make use of. In total, papers should include 6 references at a minimum in APA style 6th. One additional note, do not reincorporate/include picture files or ancillaries into your reports. They are not a necessary element for this paper/project and will not be considered in the submission’s assessment.

Finally, if you use the inductive approach you are allowed to augment the information provided (please see supporting documents). Also, as the profiler you must discriminate the information provided and decide what is relevant and what is not. This requires you to engage in some deliberate thought in using information filters. The report should include a minimum of 6 references to include the course textbooks. Use of the internet to locate the articles is acceptable. Use of the internet to try to find the actual cases and engage in not allowed in any circumstance AND will be detected when the paper are submitted to Turnitin.com.

I will grade these projects according to the associated rubric:

Above Standard (90-100 points): addresses all available components of the profiling report. Report is robust and includes multiple insights and application of the deductive/inductive construct(s). Proper APA style is evidenced and major points of analysis are supported. Student demonstrated applied understanding of all relevant and applicable profiling concepts and research in the profiling report. Reference set exceeds minimum required. Profile clearly demonstrates the student’s understanding and applied research.

Meets standard (75-85 points): addresses all components of profiling report, but lacks some depth and clarity (application). APA style is evidenced, but is not correct for formatting. Student provides some analysis of the case file, but it is not as detailed as the Above Standard categorization. Constructs and concepts are evidenced, but lack some of the depth and clarity associated to the Above Standard category. Reference set meets the minimum required and are suitable to the case file and reporting document. Student’s description, observations, and analysis are only marginally supported by the applied APA style references.

Below Standard (50-70 points): addresses the majority, but not all of the concepts available to the case file. APA style is either not evidenced or fatally flawed in application. Student speaks to profiling concepts, but clarity and depth of understanding is lacking. Reference set is limited in number and relevance.
Not Relevant (0-49): Submissions that do not meet the above stated requirement fields may be a scored as little as zero (0) by being either noncompliant to the assignment’s instruction set or simply lacking in applied knowledge and evidence of the student’s understanding of the applied concepts that are concentric to this course.

Resources:

How to Write a Profiling Report. (Links to an external site.)

“Deductive Criminal Profiling: Comparing Applied Methodologies Between Inductive and Deductive Criminal Profiling Techniques” (Links to an external site.)

APA 6th(1).zip
Link (Links to an external site.)
Minimize Video

Case #2
This case involves the sexual homicide of a homeless African-American male who was found beaten, sexually mutilated, and covered with garbage in the dumpster enclosure where he regularly slept—on a bank property across the street from the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. He was at first unidentified, so authorities logged in his body as John “Palms” Doe because of where he found. His real name was (withheld), and he was a convicted rapist.
On July 8, 2001, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers responded to a report of a dead body behind a dumpster on West Flamingo Road in Las Vegas, Nevada. Police later identified the body as that of the victim. An autopsy revealed extensive wounds inflicted by sharp and blunt objects. The coroner testified that the victim’s demise preceded discovery of the body by ten to eighteen hours, and that at least some of the documented blunt force injuries were consistent with an assault with a baseball bat or with a fall against a cement curb. However, the coroner identified several broken teeth, abrasions to the head, and a series of depressed and non-depressed skull injuries to the front, side and back of the head.
The coroner’s testimony strongly implied that at least some of the blunt trauma was exclusively attributable to an assault. The coroner also documented that the victim’s penis was amputated at the base, and noted a slash wound between the victim’s buttocks from above his anus, through and into the rectum, ending at the posterior aspect of the scrotum. These wounds were sustained post-mortem. Finally, the coroner attributed the victim’s demise to a laceration of one of his carotid arteries.
According to LVMPD Forensic Laboratory Report of Examination, Biology/DNA, by criminalist Kristina Paulette on September 5, 2006, she tested “Item KP1D—Pubic hair brushing.” STR DNA results confirmed a mixed DNA Sample.
LVMPD detectives admit that they had bagged evidence from the scene in piles and then sorted through those bags back at the lab, discarding most of it without making any record that it ever existed. Only some of the evidence was recorded and officially “collected” for processing.

Photo Log:
Picture 1:
An aerial view shows that the bank property and the adjacent apartment complex. The bank is the building in the lower left region of the photo, and the dumpster is located at the top end of the long car-cover area on the left side of the parking lot. The pool at the apartment complex is clearly visible, as are many of the apartment buildings.
Picture 2:
Police crime scene photos show how crime scene investigators improvised a light source at the scene to assist with processing efforts—the headlights of a police cruiser.
Picture 3:
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers responded to a report of a dead body behind a dumpster on West Flamingo Road in Las Vegas, Nevada. They found the body beneath a pile of garbage.
Picture 4:
According to the report by a footwear pattern expert the bloody footwear impressions at crime scene, on cardboard beneath the trash and on concrete leading away from the body.
Picture 5:
Crime scene investigator’s pull back the plastic wrapped around victim’s midsection to reveal the evidence beneath, as well as some of his injuries. According to Coroner’s investigator “The decedent’s penis had been cut off, but the testicles remained. There were what appeared to be white paper towels stuffed in the open wound in this area.” The penis was recovered at the scene near the body beneath the trash.
Picture 6:
The seat cover and the interior left door panel of the victim’s vehicle “yielded weak positive presumptive tests for the presence of blood in one area of each item. Human blood could not be confirmed from either item. Human DNA was not detected in extracts prepared from swabbings collected from both items.”
Picture 7:
Sharp-force stab injuries to the victim’s body
Picture 8:
Genitals and rectum were mutilated with multiple sharp-force injuries.

REFERENCES
REQUIRED
• Holmes, R. & Holmes, T. (2009). Profiling Violent Crimes (4th Ed). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications
• Hicks, S. & Sales, B. (2006). Criminal Profiling: Developing an Effective Science and Practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

https://web.archive.org/web/20140403044514/https://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/profiling/geographic/1.html

https://www.investigativepsych.com/encounteranddeath.pdf

OPTIONAL
• American Psychological Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed). Washington, D.C: American Psychological Association.
• McShane, M.D. & Williams, F.P. (2008). A thesis resource guide for criminology and criminal justice. Pearson Prentice Hall.
• Winfree, L. & Abadinsky, H. (2003) Understanding Crime: Theory & Practice (2nd ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Liska, A. & Messner, S. (1999). Perspectives on Crime and Deviance (3rd ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Kocsis, R. (2006). Criminal Profiling: Principles and Practice. Totowa, N.J.: Humana Press.
• Petherick, W. (2005). The Science of Criminal Profiling.
• Rossmo, K (1999) Geographic Profiling. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press
• Siegel, L. (2007). Criminology-The Core. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Walsh, A. & Ellis, L. (2007). Criminology-An Interdisciplinary Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

CASE PROFILE/assemble a profile
Order Description
Final Practical Exercise:

The final profiling paper requires that you assemble a profile using the case files provided. The case files is located in the Practical Scenarios folder (listed below). What is required is that you approach the files as a consultant and produce a report (see example below) that will assist police in their investigation. The report that you submit should evidence the basic constructs that we have read about in class and also provide some supported insight into the case that you have been presented. You will use the “sample” document below as a guide to develop the basic case facts, your analysis, and conclusions (APA style 6th supported) that you have drawn. The report should follow basic essay style (intro, body, and conclusion; no abstract required) and should evidence as many techniques as you are able to derive from the case file (organized/disorganized, geographic profiling, crime scene analysis, method of operation, possible signature, victimology, etc). The essay/report represents your opportunity to demonstrate and apply the concepts that we have reviewed in class to a practical exercise.
One note: Choose one case or the other. You are not required to engage in both.

The profile report should conform to APA 6th style (see example provided below). Although the sample report does not include this element, your report will. This is a collegiate exercise and I would like to see application of the research that you have engaged in to support your basic analysis, insights, and recommendations. The report should be composed in a 3-5 page standard format. You can exceed this total number of pages, but model reports will conform to these parameters.

The report will require that you deliberate the information and consider whether you will adopt an inductive or deductive approach in formatting your report (please see the example provided below). It is possible to use a mixed method approach (I’m not opposed to this and many profilers end up doing this). What is critical to the report is that you engage in some useful deliberation of the information and materials provided. Your report should evidence not only your understanding of profiling concepts, but also the applied use of the same. Also, your deliberations should produce some unique insights to the case that will lend to the police investigation (please see the example provided). Once again, this is your opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned and apply it to a real life scenario.

The vast majority of students find this exercise to be quite enjoyable. In the end, I don’t expect you to be experts, but what I generally find is that use of the textbooks, basic concepts, and PowerPoint materials allow you to create a robust profile. You’ll have to engage in some dedicated analysis and also revisit the readings and ancillaries when you construct the report. This is not something that you’re going to put together in a day or a few hours at the last minute. The projects that do not support themselves with applied learning reveal themselves quite openly and receive much lower scores. What is key is that you invest the time and effort that is associated to a final paper/project in any upper division class.

Student should include ample reference materials. In all assignments and papers, students should utilize the assigned textbooks to demonstrate application and understanding. In addition, there are numerous research articles that are available to you, which were utilized in Unit 7 of the course. Finally, there are sufficient web resources (academic and subject matter expert) that you can also make use of. In total, papers should include 6 references at a minimum in APA style 6th. One additional note, do not reincorporate/include picture files or ancillaries into your reports. They are not a necessary element for this paper/project and will not be considered in the submission’s assessment.

Finally, if you use the inductive approach you are allowed to augment the information provided (please see supporting documents). Also, as the profiler you must discriminate the information provided and decide what is relevant and what is not. This requires you to engage in some deliberate thought in using information filters. The report should include a minimum of 6 references to include the course textbooks. Use of the internet to locate the articles is acceptable. Use of the internet to try to find the actual cases and engage in not allowed in any circumstance AND will be detected when the paper are submitted to Turnitin.com.

I will grade these projects according to the associated rubric:

Above Standard (90-100 points): addresses all available components of the profiling report. Report is robust and includes multiple insights and application of the deductive/inductive construct(s). Proper APA style is evidenced and major points of analysis are supported. Student demonstrated applied understanding of all relevant and applicable profiling concepts and research in the profiling report. Reference set exceeds minimum required. Profile clearly demonstrates the student’s understanding and applied research.

Meets standard (75-85 points): addresses all components of profiling report, but lacks some depth and clarity (application). APA style is evidenced, but is not correct for formatting. Student provides some analysis of the case file, but it is not as detailed as the Above Standard categorization. Constructs and concepts are evidenced, but lack some of the depth and clarity associated to the Above Standard category. Reference set meets the minimum required and are suitable to the case file and reporting document. Student’s description, observations, and analysis are only marginally supported by the applied APA style references.

Below Standard (50-70 points): addresses the majority, but not all of the concepts available to the case file. APA style is either not evidenced or fatally flawed in application. Student speaks to profiling concepts, but clarity and depth of understanding is lacking. Reference set is limited in number and relevance.
Not Relevant (0-49): Submissions that do not meet the above stated requirement fields may be a scored as little as zero (0) by being either noncompliant to the assignment’s instruction set or simply lacking in applied knowledge and evidence of the student’s understanding of the applied concepts that are concentric to this course.

Resources:

How to Write a Profiling Report. (Links to an external site.)

“Deductive Criminal Profiling: Comparing Applied Methodologies Between Inductive and Deductive Criminal Profiling Techniques” (Links to an external site.)

APA 6th(1).zip
Link (Links to an external site.)
Minimize Video

Case #2
This case involves the sexual homicide of a homeless African-American male who was found beaten, sexually mutilated, and covered with garbage in the dumpster enclosure where he regularly slept—on a bank property across the street from the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. He was at first unidentified, so authorities logged in his body as John “Palms” Doe because of where he found. His real name was (withheld), and he was a convicted rapist.
On July 8, 2001, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers responded to a report of a dead body behind a dumpster on West Flamingo Road in Las Vegas, Nevada. Police later identified the body as that of the victim. An autopsy revealed extensive wounds inflicted by sharp and blunt objects. The coroner testified that the victim’s demise preceded discovery of the body by ten to eighteen hours, and that at least some of the documented blunt force injuries were consistent with an assault with a baseball bat or with a fall against a cement curb. However, the coroner identified several broken teeth, abrasions to the head, and a series of depressed and non-depressed skull injuries to the front, side and back of the head.
The coroner’s testimony strongly implied that at least some of the blunt trauma was exclusively attributable to an assault. The coroner also documented that the victim’s penis was amputated at the base, and noted a slash wound between the victim’s buttocks from above his anus, through and into the rectum, ending at the posterior aspect of the scrotum. These wounds were sustained post-mortem. Finally, the coroner attributed the victim’s demise to a laceration of one of his carotid arteries.
According to LVMPD Forensic Laboratory Report of Examination, Biology/DNA, by criminalist Kristina Paulette on September 5, 2006, she tested “Item KP1D—Pubic hair brushing.” STR DNA results confirmed a mixed DNA Sample.
LVMPD detectives admit that they had bagged evidence from the scene in piles and then sorted through those bags back at the lab, discarding most of it without making any record that it ever existed. Only some of the evidence was recorded and officially “collected” for processing.

Photo Log:
Picture 1:
An aerial view shows that the bank property and the adjacent apartment complex. The bank is the building in the lower left region of the photo, and the dumpster is located at the top end of the long car-cover area on the left side of the parking lot. The pool at the apartment complex is clearly visible, as are many of the apartment buildings.
Picture 2:
Police crime scene photos show how crime scene investigators improvised a light source at the scene to assist with processing efforts—the headlights of a police cruiser.
Picture 3:
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers responded to a report of a dead body behind a dumpster on West Flamingo Road in Las Vegas, Nevada. They found the body beneath a pile of garbage.
Picture 4:
According to the report by a footwear pattern expert the bloody footwear impressions at crime scene, on cardboard beneath the trash and on concrete leading away from the body.
Picture 5:
Crime scene investigator’s pull back the plastic wrapped around victim’s midsection to reveal the evidence beneath, as well as some of his injuries. According to Coroner’s investigator “The decedent’s penis had been cut off, but the testicles remained. There were what appeared to be white paper towels stuffed in the open wound in this area.” The penis was recovered at the scene near the body beneath the trash.
Picture 6:
The seat cover and the interior left door panel of the victim’s vehicle “yielded weak positive presumptive tests for the presence of blood in one area of each item. Human blood could not be confirmed from either item. Human DNA was not detected in extracts prepared from swabbings collected from both items.”
Picture 7:
Sharp-force stab injuries to the victim’s body
Picture 8:
Genitals and rectum were mutilated with multiple sharp-force injuries.

REFERENCES
REQUIRED
• Holmes, R. & Holmes, T. (2009). Profiling Violent Crimes (4th Ed). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications
• Hicks, S. & Sales, B. (2006). Criminal Profiling: Developing an Effective Science and Practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

https://web.archive.org/web/20140403044514/https://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/profiling/geographic/1.html

https://www.investigativepsych.com/encounteranddeath.pdf

OPTIONAL
• American Psychological Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed). Washington, D.C: American Psychological Association.
• McShane, M.D. & Williams, F.P. (2008). A thesis resource guide for criminology and criminal justice. Pearson Prentice Hall.
• Winfree, L. & Abadinsky, H. (2003) Understanding Crime: Theory & Practice (2nd ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Liska, A. & Messner, S. (1999). Perspectives on Crime and Deviance (3rd ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Kocsis, R. (2006). Criminal Profiling: Principles and Practice. Totowa, N.J.: Humana Press.
• Petherick, W. (2005). The Science of Criminal Profiling.
• Rossmo, K (1999) Geographic Profiling. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press
• Siegel, L. (2007). Criminology-The Core. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Walsh, A. & Ellis, L. (2007). Criminology-An Interdisciplinary Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage