Investigating spatial behaviour: An application of space analysis to criminal investigations

Geographical profiling (GP) is an investigative methodology which uses the crime-related scenes of crimininal series to determine the area in which the offender might live or conducts relevant activities (e.g.,work and exercise).The idea underlyng GP is that the offender tends to use familiar places and his own spatial representations to carry out criminal activities. This methodology is often applied on serial crimes such as rapes, homicides and fire setters , but also on single crimes involving more than a place and it is based on the connection between the geographic information , the knowledge of the victim and crime frame. The analyst uses tools and digital representations visualised as maps in which it is attempt to indicate where it is more probable that the offender lives and can be used by investigators to reduce the searching areas, select investigative strategies such as assign priority on a list of suspects , implement a search based on addresses , patrolling an so on. The aim is to reconstruct the cognitive map of the offender , to study the distance variable in its explorative strategies and mobility. In this study , we will present simulation data on real cases to asses whether the output map could be a useful tool in crime investigations. Results are discussed in the light of cognitive mapping and crime pattern approaches.