Date of Conferral

8-14-2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Eric Hickey

Abstract

Profiling is a vital process in criminal investigations that facilitates not only the proper identification of offenders in the fight against crime but also the quick apprehension of said individuals. Finding viable techniques to investigate criminal activity has been a significant focus of research on crime and related fields. The objective of this qualitative study was to examine the primary techniques involved in geographic profiling, crime scene profiling, suspect-based profiling, psychological profiling, and psychological autopsies in order to assist academics and professionals in the profiling field as well as law enforcement and criminal justice officials in identifying and apprehending offenders of violent crime. The theoretical foundation employed was social learning theory developed by Albert Bandura. A purposeful sample of 10 participants with diverse profiling and law enforcement background were interviewed. Interview transcripts were analyzed following Braun and Clark’s six-step coding procedure. Seven themes emerged from this analysis: (a) the importance of establishing protocols and rigorous methodology, (b) understanding determinants of criminality, (c) quantifying criminality to build models, (d) profiling requires a multidisciplinary approach, (e) rigorous crime scene analysis is necessary, (f) profiling plays a central role in threat mitigation, (g) and deep reading of case files is necessary. These seven themes revealed patterns in the techniques utilized by profilers, which can be a future benefit to both law enforcement and criminal justice professionals in creating a legally defensible and operational profile

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