Geographical profiling (GP) is a method used to determine an offender’s most likely area of residence. GP helps to better understand the spatial behaviour of an offender, by connecting series of crimes in a specific area. Research have shown that the geographic space plays an important part when solving crimes, especially with respect to serial offenders that tend to offend closer to their home. Despite the fact that GP has had some success, the field has received criticism, and speculations regarding its applicability for actual investigations. This thesis seeks to evaluate whether a specific method within GP could have been applied for an actual investigation. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore if it is possible to apply the Circle Theory of Environmental Range to the case of Marcel Lychau Hansen, ‘Amagermanden’, who is a famous Danish serial offender, and whether the theory could have contributed to the investigation at the time. By conducting a case study, the results showed that Hansen was operating as a commuter, and the theory was therefore not able to predict a narrowed area for his residence, since it was not possible to perform the Hypothesis of Environmental Range. However, the study showed that he had several of his daily routines on Amager – and this finding highlights, that considering the geographical factors would have been an important factor for the investigation. The study concludes the theory to be applicable to the case, though it was found limited in how it could have contributed to the investigation, and the geographical profile could not stand alone for this specific investigation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-53535 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Olorenshaw, Luna |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för kriminologi (KR) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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