<p> An elusive solution has been found, to a serious problem that has plagued the criminal justice response to domestic violence for decades: The need for a validated method that will significantly raise unacceptably low rates of prosecution and conviction. Rates of domestic violence prosecution hover at about 30% for non-arrest cases. Using empirical data this study validated a best practices method (BPM) for DV investigation, by police. Rates of prosecution increase about 60% if photographs are obtained, 68% if more than one witness is listed in the report, 94% if an arrest is made, 87% if an emergency protective order (EPO) is obtained, and 284% if more than one charge is listed. Conviction increases about 78% for arrest, 102% for an EPO, and 142% for more than one charge. Survival analysis shows odds drop off rapidly for both outcomes if the report is not submitted to the prosecutor within 10 days. Rates of use of the BPM are used to determine Probability Scores (P Scores), so that routinely low effort (RLE) and routinely greater effort (RGE) officers can be separated and compared. Prosecutors reject RLE investigations 370% more often. The rate of decline of female DV recidivism, as a function of age, was measured to be about 2.56% per year between ages 22-61. For males it is about 3.13% per year from ages 28-60. This finding brings claims of re-education and treatment programs into question, if they have not controlled for the natural decline of recidivism potential as a function of age. This work demonstrates the manner in which a problem-solving criminology can be operationalized. </p>

This research examines the content and process involved in developing criminal profiles. To assess the material typically included in profiles and the way that the conclusions are developed, a qualitative analysis of the content of profiles was undertaken. This included, among other things, the characteristics offered, their prevalence, and the most common characteristics by profiling method. A further quantitative study was undertaken employing Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) which revealed three general themes in the advice given. These included Crime Scene, Internal Offender and Offender Characteristic facets, each of which was comprised of features suggestive of that facet. For example, the Crime Scene facet typically described offender actions and their interpretation at the physical location of the criminal event, such as staging and methods of control.The study employed a sample of 49 profilers reflective of the four main schools of thought; Criminal Investigative Analysis (CIA), Investigative Psychology (IP), Diagnostic Evaluations (DE) and Behavioural Evidence Analysis (BEA). CIA profiles were greatest in number with a sample size of 19. There were 14 BEA profiles and 8 each of DE and IP profiles. Together, there were in excess of 3000 individual variables ranging from age, sex and race to employment, geography, mental illness and risk.Results indicate that the vast majority of profilers employ either research or personal belief in forming their opinions, and that physical evidence is used the least in justifying a profiler’s opinion. However, when considering the individual methods, BEA placed the greatest reliance on physical evidence and its interpretation according with the forensic science philosophy of the method. CIA, the method used by the FBI, produced the most characteristics of the sample at 312 across 19 profiles, followed by BEA at 166 characteristics across 14 profiles. IP and DE profiles, with a sample size of eight each, had 90 and 61 characteristics respectively.Beyond these findings, the implication of the research will be discussed and some future direction for this research and the field in general will be provided. These areas include education, training, the scientific method and professionalisation. This thesis will also canvass the issue of whether profiling is an art or a science with particular reference to the research results and the existing literature that has bothered to address this issue.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology of the School of Education, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2889. Adviser: Thomas L. Sexton. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 9, 2008).

Thèse (M.Serv.Soc.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2008. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 1 février 2007). In ProQuest dissertations and theses. Publié aussi en version papier.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Counseling and Educational Psychology Dept., 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 12, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-12, Section: A, page: 4586. Adviser: Thomas L. Sexton.

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