CT Criminal Lawyer

Introduction

Criminal profiling is a crime-fighting tool that has been in use ever since the nineteenth century. The method became popular after attracting a lot of media attention especially in the television industry. There is a need to examine the intricacies involved in this profession, the training required, job expectations and controversies about the issue. By analyzing the latter issues, one can come up with a conclusion on whether criminal profiling is a viable tool in criminal investigations. (Campbell, 2004)

Key Concepts and contributions

There are many groups identified with the criminal profiling subspecialty, however, the most notable amongst them is the FBI. While many people assume that members of the latter organization were the key creators of this professional subspecialty, other historical contributors made criminal profiling what it is today. These individuals were responsible for creating some of the common techniques used in the investigative process. The most notable name in the field was Thomas Bond. Bond was a surgeon who lived in the decade 1880. At that time, a serial rapist known as Jack the ripper had terrorized his city. Bond established some routines to identify the rapist and these routines are still applicable today. The surgeon tried to reconstruct the crime scene through use of materials available there. Through the reconstruction, he realized that the sheets used to wrap a victim had too much blood on one side thus concluding that the rapist used this to wrap the victim. Additionally, he analyzed the nature of the wound on the victims and realized that there was a pattern. Bond established the concept of behavioral analysis in criminal profiling. This involves linking a certain criminal pattern to a specific individual after analyzing a number of crimes. (Winerman, 2004)

Another notable figure in criminal profiling is the psychiatrist Walter Langer. Langer was hired during the Second World War when the world was deeply disturbed by Adolph Hitler. His clients wanted him to demystify this dictator. The psychiatrist was able to establish Hitler’s motivation and even predicted what would happen if Hitler lost the war or was captured. Langer set the precedence for what is now identified as war profiling. A similar concept was used during the Vietnam and Gulf wars.

Lastly, psychiatrist James Brussels is also another important historical figure. At this time, New York City had been terrorized by a bomber for eight years on end. This criminal would plant bombs in strategic locations and detonate them. He used information from letters, photos and other description to come up with a very accurate profile of the bomber. As  matter of fact, the accuracy of this profile is still unmatched today. Brussels established that the criminal would be living with his mother, had paranoia and lived in Connecticut. These predictions were quite true and they allowed the police to catch him. (Crime Library, 2007)

Roles and training

Criminal profiling (also known as criminal investigative analysis, investigative psychology) is a professional subspecialty in the field of criminal investigation. It is a combination of two important principles; investigative science and psychology. Criminal investigators need to determine the physical and psychological traits of criminals or suspects and criminal profiling is the tool used to achieve this. Here, profilers perform an analysis of the crime scene, information obtained from witnesses or from victims in order to come up with an accurate description of the assailant. There are a number of physical attributes commonly used in criminal profiling and they include;

Race
Sex
Residential or personal location
Marital status etc

On the other hand, some of the traits used in psychological analysis of criminals include; their personality attributes, psychological tendencies and behavioral aspects. Criminal profiling is a very interesting field of study because it involves collaboration between two professions, that is, criminologists or law enforcers who normally deal with the intricacies of particular case and psychologists who use deductive techniques to gain information about a particular suspect or to track a criminal on the run. (Kocsis, 2006)

Criminal profiling may be taken as a subsection of another course such as psychology. Forensic psychology falls under the former mentioned course and provides graduates with a chance of merging criminal justice system principles with mental health concepts. Forensic psychologists may be employed in the criminal justice system to provide court testimonies, help out law enforcers, do psychological profiling and also social services. Many court cases utilize forensic psychologist as expert witnesses. They may be used to establish some facts about the characteristics of a suspect. On the other hand, forensic psychologists may be used in conducting risk assessment. Besides this, they may create profiles of perpetrators in the criminology department. These are some of the areas of application of this subspecialty.

Assessment and evaluation

The process of criminal profiling has changed a lot since its humble beginnings in the nineteenth century. There are a number of procedures used in the field, however, most profilers (including the Federal Bureau of Investigation) agree that it is best done through four major phases;

Antecedent
Manner and method
Body disposal phase
Post offense behavior

The antecedent phase is the first step in criminal profiling. Here, investigators or criminologists normally try to read through the mind of the offender. They try establishing the reasons behind the offense, the motives for choosing a particular location or day. The manner-and-method phase involves an analysis or description of the method used in committing the crime. For instance, the profilers may establish that the suspect used a knife or he used a gun. This stage allows investigators to create a link between the technical aspects of the crime and the motive behind the crime. The third phase; Body disposal, involves an analysis of how the offender got rid of the body if the crime under investigation is a murder. There are instances when criminals dispose bodies in a particular area or where they decide to use several locations. The post offense phase involves analyzing the criminal’s behavior after committing the crime. Sometimes, the criminal may choose to contact the police directly through mail or through phone calls. Alternatively, some criminals chose to involve a third party such as the media. All these sources can be instrumental in determining a criminal’s future move. (Campbell, 2004)

Criminologists assert that these four phases lead to two categories of criminals i.e. the organized and the disorganized criminals. However, there have been numerous disagreements about the validity of such an approach.

Psychologists assert that almost all types of criminals depict a certain level of organization. For instance, the manner of body disposal or the way the assailant attacks his victims in case of a murder indicates that the criminal was organized. Psychologists believe that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s methods have no scientific basis. This is because the FBI normally rely on behavioral patterns established in the past. Most FBI investigators rely on their experience in the force instead of examining empirical evidence specific to each reported crime. Psychologists have conducted a lot of research in criminal profiling of rape cases. They assert that each crime has peculiar characteristics that cannot be applied in other crimes. Consequently, psychologists believe that criminal profiling in arson should not be related to criminal profiling in robbery or burglary. Each crime should be investigated by conducting numerous case studies and then a dependable pattern established. (Dan, 2005)

Areas of research and reference

There are relatively few criminal profiling jobs in the country. Some experts estimate it at less than one hundred per year. Additionally, there are very few graduate programs that offer such training. As a result, most profilers are Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents rather than psychologists yet the latter profession is a key area here.

The reason why criminal profiling jobs are quite few is that the method cannot be applied to in all crime scenarios. As matter of fact, the method is best suited to serial bombing and arson attacks. Additionally, it is possible that profiling can result in inclusion of wrong profiles. Additionally, the method does not employ the use of research. This means that there are fewer participants used or there is very little experimentation employed. This is probably the reason why most criminal profiling cases fail in identification of assailants. Statistics show that only two point seven percent of criminal profiling cases actually lead to actual identification of the offender.

The methods used in criminal profiling have been the object of debate over the past years. For instance, criminologists are particularly fond of the irrelevant and relevant test. Here, suspects are subjected to some questioning procedures where they are expected to tackles issues related to the crime (through the relevant questions) and answer innocuous questions (denoted by the irrelevant questions). This method is one of the most widely used in the profession. However, there are some underlying assumptions, the approach assumes that criminals will give emotional responses when asked questions relevant to the crime while innocent suspects will not denote emotional responses. Additionally, the approach assumes that irrelevant questions will not create any form of response from the suspects. However, this is not always true as some individuals may react to relevant questions even when they are not guilty of the crime.(Crime Library, 2007)

Another common method utilized in criminal profiling is the polygraph test. This test makes the assumption that criminals who respond to questions honestly, will indicate this through physical responses. However, some criminals may suppress any form of physical activity, some criminals also have the ability to suppress their physiological responses hence resulting in inclusive or inaccurate results.

The field of criminal profiling has also generated some controversies about FBI methods and scientific empirical methods. In response to these controversies, some psychologist have decided to conduct research for the FBI such as PHD holder Anthony Pinizotto. He is doing some work on the relationship between sexual offenses and burglaries. His group is trying to form a link between crime scenes that started out as robberies and then because sexual assaults. The Group’s book is called ‘Sex Offender La report’ and is due for publishing soon. (Crime Library, 2007)

Conclusion

Criminal profiling is a crime fighting tool that employs behavioral and psychical trait to profile suspects. Some investigations have led to identification of suspects. However, there are times when this may not succeed. The field has solicited a lot of controversy due to the tactics utilized. However, some researchers such as Dr. Pinizotto of the FBI are working on these differences through research programs.

Reference:

Crime Library (2007): Criminal Profiling; retrieved from http://www.crimelibrary.com/about/authors/petherick/index.html accessed on 21st January 2008

Campbell, H. (2004): Leading Investigators Take you inside the criminal mind; Rout ledge publishers

Winerman Lea (2004): Criminal Profiling: the reality behind the myth; Monitor on Psychology vol. 35, no.7

Kocsis, R.N. (2006): Criminal Profiling – Principles and Practice. Totowa, Humana Press

Dan, K. (2005): The Art of Profiling; Melbourne Publishers

Originally published here.

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George W. Bush’s executive branch has taken it upon itself to rewrite the laws of the land by arbitrarily revising guidelines and simply choosing not to enforce some laws. Through the appointment of a pro-corporate judiciary, the administration also seeks to expose people to a whole new class of dangerous medical equipment and pharmaceuticals without any possibility of recompense simply because the FDA signed off on a mass of fabricated data ghostwritten by corporate executives and published under the name of unscrupulous scientists. And what has gone on in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) with the revision of the Hours of Service (HoS) rules is no exception, and has probably been responsible for a dramatic increase in fatal truck accidents since the new rules went into effect in 2003. In 2002, Connecticut saw a record low number of fatal crashes involving large trucks, the product of a slow decline since 1991. However, since then the annual number of fatal crashes has nearly doubled, with 32 fatal crashes in 2006 (2007 data is “not available”), according to FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System. What makes this story even more alarming is that the rules are illegal. They were found in two separate court cases to be violations of established procedure and to represent an unreasonable danger to other motorists. HoS Background The HoS rule was established in 1937 in response to fears that fatigued truckers might be dangerous drivers. This fear was apparently well-founded, because even today, driver fatigue is cited as a significant factor in 30-40 % of all heavy truck crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The original rule was that drivers could not drive more than 10 hours a day, and must have at least 8 hours of rest between driving shifts, and could not drive more than 60 hours in a week. The new guidelines, written in response to heavy lobbying pressure by a number of trucking lobbyist groups, allow drivers to drive for 11 hours after 10 hours of rest, with no restriction based on 24-hour days. Ostensibly, these new rules maintain that there has been no increase in the allowable maximum hours driven in 7 days, still technically limited to 60. However, the rules allow a driver to reset his weekly clock by resting for 34 hours, which effectively means that a driver can fit in as many as 77 hours of driving in 7 days, and 88 in 8 days. Furthermore, the rules do not restrict drivers from using their so-called “rest hours” to perform other work such as loading and unloading trucks. Disputed Rules In response to the new rules, the organization Public Citizen brought a case against the FMCSA in opposition to the changes. This case was heard and decided in 2004 by the United States Appellate Court in Washington, D.C, with the court deciding that the FMCSA’s decision-making process has been “arbitrary and capricious” because it rejected the results of its own report that stressed the need for drivers to have a 24-hour day cycle to minimize fatigue and should have a weekend of between 32-56 hours each week, including two consecutive periods from 12 am to 6 am (when most fatigue-related crashes occur). The court also reminded the FMCSA of the charge in its founding document, which states that the agency”Shall consider the assignment and maintenance of safety as its highest priority, recognizing the clear intent, encouragement, and dedication of Congress to the furtherance of the highest degree of safety in motor carrier transportation.” In other words, safety is the FMCSA’s job. Not the promotion of interstate commerce. Not the protection of small truckers against larger trucking companies. Not keeping transportation costs low. The FMCSA was established to make trucking safe. Then the FMCSA issued new rules in 2005 which were almost exactly identical to the 2003 rules, and again they were taken to court. In support of its new rules, the same as the old rules, the FMCSA issued a regulatory impact analysis concluding that the economic costs of tightening the rules outweighed the safety benefits. Then in July 2007, the court struck down the new rules, again reminding the agency that its job is safety. However, the court allowed the dangerous rules to stay in effect during the process of appeals. Now, the rules remain in effect, and we continue to see a rise in fatal crashes as a result. What You Can Do Trucking companies are happy to make money any way they can, and seem unconcerned if it is blood money. With the illegal rules still in effect, it seems that it will take legislative action to stop the runaway actions of the executive branch, which means that it can be years before we see relief, if ever. You can encourage the process by contacting your Congressmen. In the meantime, the only way to make trucking companies take responsibility for the danger they pose to other drivers is to make it unprofitable to endanger people. If they have to pay dearly for every life, they will no longer be able to write off deaths on their balance sheets.

Originally published here.

If you have lost someone you love in a fatal trucking accident, contact the experienced trucking accident lawyers at Trantolo & Trantolo LLC today for a free consultation.

Occasionally we are going to go back to the ongoing series to illustrate decisions made by individuals with funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories that engage in activities that seem to be so outrageous or just stupid that other members of the industry should be aware of and learn from them. Because of the interest expressed by readers to previous columns on this subject, it is the author’s intention to continue to provide readers from time to time with information about incidents of this type in the industry. Recently, the Connecticut Supreme Court approved a decision of that state’s Funeral Board that the author believes falls within this area. A licensed embalmer and funeral home he operated in Connecticut were severely punished by the Connecticut Board of Examiners of Embalmers and Funeral Directors (“board”) and the decision was first upheld by a trial court and then affirmed by the Supreme Court of Connecticut on April 21, 2009. Both the embalmers license and the inspection certificate (operating permit) for the funeral home were permanently revoked by the Board. In addition the Board imposed a $50,000 fine on the embalmer. The Supreme Court case is titled Moraski v Connecticut Board of Examiners of Embalmers and Funeral Directors and the decision can be found at 291 conn. 242.WL 982243 (2009). Obviously this is a tremendously bad result for the embalmer and his funeral home. The question is what did he do to earn such punishment? When the Connecticut Supreme Court reviewed the trial court determination it discussed the evidence the Board used in making its determination. The opinion is very descriptive and quotes statements made by the embalmer to customers that used words that cannot be repeated by the author in this column. The opinion also describes other violations covered in the opinion can be summarized as follows:

1. The embalmer and funeral home insisted that in connection with several funerals that they paid in cash for their services.

2. The embalmer failed to provide statutorily required price lists.

3. The embalmer failed to timely obtain removal, transit and burial permits.

4. The embalmer failed to timely file a death certificate.

5. The embalmer failed to timely cremate remains.

6. The embalmer and funeral home failed to release remains in a timely manner in an effort to force the decedents’ families to pay for their services.

7. The embalmer and funeral home disobeyed a court order.

8. The embalmer and funeral home improperly stored human remains.

9. The embalmer used abusive language toward family members and employees of other funeral homes.

The author reviewed the evidence stated by the Court and it seems clear that the Court had a basis for determining the embalmer and the funeral home did not comply with the laws of Connecticut. The author suggests that every member of the industry should consider reviewing the opinion of the Supreme Court of Connecticut as it illustrates conduct that should be avoided. This column is going to end in a similar way to previous columns on this subject because these statements will apply. When you make a mistake deal with it then. Do not cover it up, because the situation is usually discovered. Contact a family when necessary. Examine the alternatives before proceeding. Sometimes the cost of a lawsuit or responding to a complaint is more than it costs to deal with a situation even if you feel the consumer is being unreasonable. Monitor your employees and make sure they understand it is important to deal with problems, not cover them up. Monitor the other members of the industry that you deal with and If you see something that is questionable do something about it. Report it to the authorities or a licensing board and make sure that appropriate action is taken. The title to the article is self explanatory. The situation described above clearly comes with the scope of the title.

If you or a family member have any further questions or concerns with respect to cremation, cremation services, cremation costs or a direct cremation please feel free to contact Cremation Options toll free 24 hours daily at 1-877-989-9090.

Originally published here.

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