ECRI Home : Geographic Profiling : What is Geographic Profiling?

Geographic profiling is an investigative methodology that uses the locations of a connected series of crimes to determine the most probable area of offender residence. It is generally applied in cases of serial murder, rape, arson, and robbery, though it can be used in single crimes (auto theft, burglary bombing, etc.) that involve multiple scenes or other significant geographic characteristics.

The basis of geographic profiling is the link between geographic crime site information and the known propensities of serial criminals in their selection of a target victim and location. The system produces a map of the most probable location of the criminal’s centre of activity, which in most cases is the offender’s residence. When linked with additional information relating to the crime incidents, and with additional data sources, such as motor vehicles databases and suspect databases, geographic profiling has been proven to have a profound impact on the effectiveness of a police investigation.

Geographic profiling can be used as the basis for several investigative strategies, including suspect and tip prioritization, address-based searches of police record systems, patrol saturation and surveillance, neighbourhood canvasses and searches, DNA screening prioritization, Department of Motor Vehicle searches, postal/zip code prioritization and information request mail-outs. It is important to stress that geographic profiling does not solve cases, but rather provides a method for managing the large volume of information typically generated in major crime investigations. It should be regarded as one of several tools available to detectives, and is best employed in conjunction with other police methods. Geographic crime patterns are clues that, when properly decoded, can be used to point in the direction of the offender.

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