ABSTRACT
Offender profiling is a technique in which the likely characteristics of an unknown offender are inferred from analysis of their criminal behaviour. It is one of a range of behavioural analysis techniques that can be used to assist police investigations. Others include behavioural crime linkage, the analysis of equivocal deaths, geographic profiling and investigative interview strategy. These activities are collectively known as criminal investigative analysis, a term developed by behavioural scientists at the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Three typologies have been developed specifically for the purposes of profiling arsonists: the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) Motivational Model, the Behavioural Facet Model and the Serial Arsonist Model. The FBI Motivational Model was rationally derived from examination of solved arson cases. The Behavioural Facet Model was theoretically hypothesised a priori and validated through empirical testing and subsequent replication. The Serial Arson Model was empirically derived with no a priori theoretical considerations.
