PSY 746 Empirical Profiling Methods

This course will deal with advanced issues relating to the empirical and scientific study, development and evaluation of offender profiling as an applied method for use in police investigations. The main psychological principles upon which offender profiling is based will be outlined, including classification of criminal behavior, and behavioral change and consistency. The course will further build on this by focusing on methodological questions relating to classifying crime scene behaviors, linking behavioral types to offender characteristics and linking serial offenses.