To begin, this discussion is based off the research paper written by Craig Bennell that studies the importance and utility of offender profiling. Some researchers have argued that profiles are often so ambiguous that they can fit a large number of suspects. This decreases its usefulness as a prioritization tool. It is also possible that investigators may also creatively reinterpret the statements the statements of offender profiles in order to make them fit a number of different suspects. The current study proposed that, like the participants in the early Barnum studies, individuals may reinterpret an offender profile to fit various, distinct suspects. Participants for this study were recruited at a police agency. The participants were assigned to two groups, and they all received the same profile, and they rated the profile on a 10-point scale.
It is hypothesized that the police officers will also reinterpret the offender profile to fit various suspects, like the participants of the Barnum Studies. Even though the genuine and bogus suspect descriptions were very different, the two groups of participants provided very similar ratings of profiling accuracy, specifity, and usefulness. These very similar …show more content…
However, profiles could be useful in theory for prioritizing suspects. These results also indicate that offender profiling may not be as reliable a prioritization tool as previously believed. It is possible that an offender profile may be used as a “confirmation tool” with regard to an officer’s suspicion of a particular suspect. This can also be called, tunnel vision. From taking an Advanced Investigations class, it taught me that some officers will suffer from tunnel vision when taking a suspect into consideration. If an officer suspects someone of committing a crime, they often make up or favor information that confirms their beliefs about that person being
It is hypothesized that the police officers will also reinterpret the offender profile to fit various suspects, like the participants of the Barnum Studies. Even though the genuine and bogus suspect descriptions were very different, the two groups of participants provided very similar ratings of profiling accuracy, specifity, and usefulness. These very similar …show more content…
However, profiles could be useful in theory for prioritizing suspects. These results also indicate that offender profiling may not be as reliable a prioritization tool as previously believed. It is possible that an offender profile may be used as a “confirmation tool” with regard to an officer’s suspicion of a particular suspect. This can also be called, tunnel vision. From taking an Advanced Investigations class, it taught me that some officers will suffer from tunnel vision when taking a suspect into consideration. If an officer suspects someone of committing a crime, they often make up or favor information that confirms their beliefs about that person being