%0 Journal Article
%T A failure to find empirical support for the homology assumption in criminal profiling
%J Journal of police and criminal psychology
%D 2008
%A Doan, Brandy
%A Snook, Brent
%V 23
%N 2
%P 61-70
%X A fundamental assumption in criminal profiling is that criminals who exhibit similar crime scene actions have similar background characteristics. We tested this so-called homology assumption by first classifying, with pre-existing typologies, a sample of arsons ( N = 87) and robberies ( N = 177) into different crime types and then comparing the background characteristics of criminals who committed the various crime types. Results showed that using pre-existing typologies to classify the crimes into mutually exclusive types was not easily accomplished. Notwithstanding classification difficulties, the homology assumption was violated in 56% of the comparisons of background characteristics between the different arson types and in 67% of the comparisons of background characteristics between the different robbery types. Overall, 73% of the effect sizes for the associations between crime type and background characteristics were low to moderate ( V &lt; .3; d &lt; .2). The implications of these findings for profiling practices are discussed.<p />
%G 
%I Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group
%@ 0882-0783
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11896-008-9026-7