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Geographic Profiling

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Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Overview

Geographic profiling is a criminal investigative methodology for analyzing the locations of a connected series of crime to determine the most probable area of offender residence. Its major function is suspect prioritization in investigations of serial crime. The technique is based on the theories, concepts, and principles of environmental criminology. Crime pattern, routine activity, and rational choice theories provide the foundation for understanding the target patterns and hunting behavior of criminal predators.

These theories suggest a method for describing the mathematical relationship between offender travel and likelihood of offending. This relationship can be described by a buffered distance-decay function that looks in cross-section rather like a volcano with a caldera. The function is encoded in a computer algorithm. Geographic profiling uses specialized crime-mapping software based on this algorithm to determine the most probable area of offender residence from the...

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Recommended Reading and References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminal Justice, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX, USA

    D. Kim Rossmo

Authors
  1. D. Kim Rossmo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Kim Rossmo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  2. VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  3. Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    David Weisburd

  4. Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel

    David Weisburd

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Rossmo, D.K. (2014). Geographic Profiling. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_678

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_678

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5689-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5690-2

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