Deck 4: Criminal Profiling

Question 1

What is the significance of the MacDonald case?

A) MacDonald's arrest was the result of criminal profiling.
B) Criminal profiling helped overturn his conviction.
C) MacDonald did not match the profile for the type of crime he was accused of committing.
D) Physical evidence was inconclusive but profiling data helped convict MacDonald.

Answer 1

MacDonald did not match the profile for the type of crime he was accused of committing.

Question 2

What are unique,personal aspects of a criminal act,often the reflection of a need to express violent fantasies,a reflection of?

A) a criminal's signature
B) a criminal's sociological makeup
C) a criminal's modus operandi
D) a criminal's demographics

Answer 2

a criminal's signature

Question 3

Which of the following would Holmes and Holmes (1996)most likely recognize as a good crime for criminal profiling?

A) cheque forgery
B) bank robbery
C) kidnapping
D) serial arson

Answer 3

serial arson

Question 4

What percentage of murderers who have committed sexually oriented homicides report having been sexually abused as children?

A) 10 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 75 percent

Question 5

Of the following,who was described by Walter Langer as being unable "to develop an intimate relationship with others that sustained adversity because he saw others as untrustworthy"?

A) Julius Caesar
B) Josef Stalin
C) Adolf Hitler
D) Saddam Hussein

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a reason criminal profiling sometimes is considered separate from forensic psychology?

A) Training in criminal profiling has historically been controlled by law enforcement.
B) There are more jobs than applicants to fill the positions.
C) Most profilers have not done graduate work in psychology.
D) Even experienced profilers acknowledge that profiling is more art than science.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes a killer who has murdered on at least two separate occasions,with no cooling-off periods between homicides?

A) mass murderer
B) serial murderer
C) spree murderer
D) family murderer

Question 8

Because physical qualities and demographics are also important in identifying criminals,which term do some investigators prefer to use in relation to profiling?

A) psychic profile
B) holistic profile
C) sociopsychological profile
D) hierarchical profile

Question 9

Which of the following best matches the profile of an arsonist?

A) a middle-aged white male,most likely homosexual
B) a young black male with an history of family violence
C) a young white male;a loner with a history of problems
D) a young female out for revenge against a male acquaintance

Question 10

According to Ressler,Burgess,and Douglas,approximately what percentage of murderers have IQ scores above 120?

A) 10 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 30 percent
D) 50 percent

Question 11

Robert R.Hazelwood (1993)interviewed 41 men who had each committed rape at least 10 times.How many of the men reported being sexually abused as children?

A) 1
B) 6
C) 17
D) 31

Question 12

Which of the following was characteristic of many of the Unabomber's targets?

A) They had been nominated for the Nobel prize.
B) They had been featured in articles in The New York Times.
C) They came from universities in the Southeast.
D) They were former classmates of Theodore Kaczynski.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a step taken in generating a criminal profile?

A) a comprehensive study of crime and the types of people who commit that crime
B) a detailed analysis of the crime scene
C) in-depth examination of the background of the victim
D) formulation of predictions of the sites for future crimes

Question 14

The case of the "Mad Bomber" is an example of which of the following?

A) sociological profiling
B) economic profiling
C) crime scene profiling
D) psychological profiling

Question 15

According to the FBI,approximately how many serial killers have been identified since 1970?

A) 25
B) 50
C) 100
D) 200

Question 16

At which of the following psychoanalytic stages did James A Brussel (1968)believe New York's "Mad Bomber" to be fixated?

A) oral
B) anal
C) Oedipal
D) latency

Question 17

According to Micheels (1991),what is humanity's costliest type of violence next to war?

A) homicide
B) suicide
C) rape
D) arson

Question 18

How is Charles Whitman,the Texas Tower shooter,best described?

A) mass murderer
B) serial murderer
C) spree murderer
D) family murderer

Question 19

Ted Bundy planned his abductions,carefully selected his victims,and used verbal manipulation to gain their trust.He murdered on many separate occasions,with cooling-off periods between homicides.Which of the following best describes him?

A) organized spree murderer
B) disorganized spree murderer
C) organized serial murderer
D) disorganized serial murderer

Question 20

What was the final result of action taken against Captain Jeffrey MacDonald for the murders of his family?

A) He was acquitted in both military and civilian court.
B) He was convicted in military court and acquitted in civilian court.
C) He was convicted in both military and civilian courts.
D) He was acquitted in military court and convicted in civilian court.

Question 21

"Signature" refers to the method in which a crime was carried out.

Question 22

Criminal profiling was instrumental in the arrest of the Unabomber.

Question 23

Who certifies a death as natural,accidental,suicidal,or homicidal?

A) licensed mortician
B) forensic detective
C) medical examiner
D) criminal profiler

Question 24

The information about Sherlock Holmes' deductive skills highlights which of the following points regarding criminal profiling?

A) Criminal profiling techniques did not exist until the 21st century.
B) Criminal profiling techniques are not acknowledged in fictitious crime novels.
C) Sherlock Holmes novels are the only literary works to acknowledge criminal profiling techniques.
D) Criminal profiling is referenced in both historic and modern-day literary works.

Question 25

Typically,a profiler will use the crime scene to generate a hypothesis about the type of person who would commit the crime.

Question 26

Why is the case of the Boston Strangler of interest to forensic psychologists?

A) Profiling predictions proved that there were actually two killers.
B) The psychiatric profile was almost completely inaccurate.
C) The psychiatric profile for the case helped track down a serial killer in New York,as well.
D) It was the first time psychiatric profiling had been used.

Question 27

What is the main purpose of geographic profiling?

A) to allow law enforcement to determine where the next victim will likely live
B) to allow law enforcement to focus the investigative efforts on certain regions
C) to allow law enforcement to determine where the offender works
D) to allow law enforcement to identify where the next crime scene will likely occur

Question 28

In 1989,U.S.federal agents stopped 600 people matching the profile of a drug courier.How many were arrested?

A) 10
B) 50
C) 200
D) 300

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of an organized serial murderer?

A) a plan
B) use of restraints
C) gaining control by manipulation or threat
D) keeping the body

Question 30

Which of the following does NOT match Vernon Geberth's (1990)evaluation of an organized offender?

A) significantly older than victim
B) owns a middle-class automobile
C) married or living with a partner
D) high birth-order status

Question 31

According to Murphy and Peters (1992),the vast majority of sexually victimized children do not become offenders as adults.

Question 32

Psychological profiling gave the FBI several warning signs that David Koresh was suicidal.

Question 33

An analysis by the Secret Service has shown that over half of all assassins show symptoms of mental illness.

Question 34

What are two recent profiling advancements in Canada?

A) VICAP and VICLAS
B) VICAP and geographic profiling
C) VICLAS and geographic profiling
D) geographic profiling and psychological autopsies

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a disorganized serial murderer?

A) leaves the weapon at the crime scene
B) repositions the dead body
C) performs sexual acts with live victims
D) tries to depersonalize the body

Question 36

The most typical embezzler is a 26-year-old,married white woman with a high-school education.

Question 37

What did Dr.Brent Snook introduce to Canada?

A) the concept of criminal profiling
B) the Reid Model of Interrogation
C) the PEACE model of interviewing
D) ViCLAS

Question 38

According to the NASH classification,which of the following is NOT one of the traditional modes in which death is reported?

A) accident
B) suicide
C) unnatural
D) homicide

Question 39

In 1995,U.S.special prosecutor Kenneth Starr reopened some aspects of the investigations of Vincent Foster's death.What were his conclusions,reported in 1997?

A) Foster had been drugged.
B) Foster had indeed committed suicide.
C) Foster had been murdered and his body had been moved.
D) Starr drew no conclusions regarding the mode of death.

Question 40

Jerrold M.Post's personality profile of Saddam Hussein revealed that he was impulsive,psychologically unstable,and often delusional.

Question 41

The majority opinion regarding the murders of 13 women in Boston from 1962 to 1964 was that a single perpetrator had committed all 13 murders.

Question 42

Distinguish among three approaches to criminal profiling.

Question 43

Distinguish between an M.O.and a signature.

Question 44

What is involved in a criminal profile?

Question 45

A crime scene with evidence of unhurried,systematic abuse is indicative of an offender who is likely to continue this pattern of victimization in the future.

Question 46

Is criminal profiling an art,a science,or a combination of both?

Question 47

Distinguish between an organized and a disorganized murderer in relation to profiling.

Question 48

Describe the acts of the Unabomber and the FBI's role in capturing him.

Question 49

"Drawing inferences is a central part of criminal profiling." Do you agree? Why?

Question 50

An offender's signature is needed to successfully accomplish a crime.

Question 51

What are some incorrect stereotypes about the nature of criminals who commit certain types of crimes (for example,political assassinations or embezzlement)?

Question 52

Describe the "Mad Bomber" case.

Question 53

A study conducted by Pinizzotto and Finkel (1990)found no significant difference in the predictions made by professional profilers and those made by nonprofilers such as college students.

Question 54

What is geographic profiling?

Question 55

Describe procedures used by the police and the FBI in criminal profiling.

Question 56

What are some frequent motives for arson?

Question 57

The NASH classification (natural causes,accident,suicide,homicide)refers to the cause of death.

Question 58

Describe the analyses of the MMPI profiles of various types of offenders.

Question 59

What are some steps and outcomes in a crime scene analysis?

Question 60

According to FBI analyses,a person with abnormal behaviour patterns becomes more ritualized in his or her actions over time.

Question 61

Distinguish between the types of cases in which criminal profiling is more likely or less likely to be effective.

Question 62

Using the Boston Strangler or David Koresh case,explain how criminal profiles might misinform criminal investigations.

Question 63

What is the difference between cause of death and mode of death?

Question 64

Outline the research findings addressing whether professional profilers create more accurate profiles than other professional groups and laypeople.

Question 65

How effective is criminal profiling?

Question 66

What is the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System?

Question 67

What are some of the reasons that expert testimony is unlikely to be admitted by courts in Canada?

Question 68

Why is a psychological autopsy done?