Investigative Technology Review and Critique

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1

Investigative Technology Review and Critique

Paulsen , D (2007 , September . Improving Geographic Profiling through Commuter /Marauder Prediction . Police Practice Research , 8 (4 , 347-357

Dr . Derek Paulsen examines geographic profiling methods and technologies . The findings are the result of a research grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ . The purpose of this research is to analyze the accuracy of and suggest methods for increasing the effectiveness of geographic profiling technologies . The research emphasizes the importance of making the distinction between commuter or marauder offenders prior to

geographic profiling . Dr . Paulsen demonstrates that by improving the commuter /marauder prediction early in the process and by conducting more targeted research in the field geographic profiling technology can be more effective and results can be more accurate

Geographic profiling has been used in crime analysis since the early 1990s . It is an investigative methodology that relies on location of connected crimes series as a means of determining the next probable location known as an offender anchor point . According to Dr . Paulsen 20 to 60 percent of crime series are committed by commuters , and geographic profiling is highly inaccurate in predicting these series Therefore , it is important to analyze variables and methods used to classify commuters and marauders prior to geographic profiling . This study analyzed 106 crime series gathered from 25 U .S . jurisdictions This study differed from traditional methods in the use of variables applied to classify offenders as commuter or marauder . Traditional models use residence as primary variable...