Citation

Safarik ME, Jarvis J, Nussbaum K. Homicide Stud. 2000; 4(3): 294-307.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1088767900004003005

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of criminal investigative analysis is to assist law enforcement in identifying and apprehending violent offenders by identifying important suspect and crime scene characteristcs. The genesis of criminal investigative analysis grew out of micro-level reviews of unusually violent crime cases. Although the descriptive terminology used to identify the process has changed over the years, the process of assessing violent criminal behavior has not. Lack of agreement as to what constitutes criminal investigative analysis has also led some to view the process as more art than science. In an effort to clarify some of these issues, an analysis of cases of serial sexual homicides of elderly women is conducted. Although the sexual homicide of elderly women represents a small percentage of overall homicides in the United States, the authors provide empirical evidence supporting the use of criminal investigative analysis in solving these unusual cases. The FBI regularly consults on various types of violent homicide cases using this methodology and valuable investigative information often is yielded in other cases as well.