ABSTRACT
There is no universally accepted definition of offender profiling (Gudjonsson and Copson 1997). The term is given to a collection of various scientific and psychological theories and techniques that attempt to draw inferences about an offender's characteristics by examining the behaviour exhibited in a crime scene. The contents of an offender profile may, however, vary. Ault and Reese (1980) provide a list of what components may be included:
The perpetrator's ethnicity.
The perpetrator's gender.
Age range.
Marital status.
General employment.
Reaction to questioning by police.
Degree of sexual maturity.
Whether the individual will offend again.
The possibility that he or she has committed a similar previous offence.
Previous convictions.
