The Name of the Rose and Criminal Profiling: The Benefits of ViCAP and ViCLAS

Abstract

Despite the continued growth in both the research and practice into criminal profiling, three major shortfalls continue to permeate the topic. The first is a lack of coherency in the field which has, as a consequence, led to increasingly discordant and contradictory theorems. In many respects this problem is connotative of the adage comparing apples with oranges. Likewise, the adage the elephant in the room describes the second major shortfall concerning a paucity of research testing the validity (i.e., accuracy) of espoused paradigms. Finally, the adage too many cooks spoil the broth describes the third major shortfall concerning the counterproductive popular interest surrounding the topic. These shortfalls when examined collectively appear to form a self-perpetuating cycle. The use of violent crime databases such as ViCAP and ViCLAS are suggested as potential mechanisms in arresting this cycle by rectifying these factors, which continue to stymie the cogent scientific development of criminal profiling.