Offender Profiling Explained by Police Chief at UKZN Conference

BY: .

The role of offender profiling in the investigation of crime by the South African Police Service (SAPS) was the focus of a keynote address given at UKZN by a high profile police officer.

The Head of SAPS Investigative Psychology Section (IPS), Brigadier Gerard Labuschagne, was speaking at the School of Applied Human Science’s annual Postgraduate Conference at the Howard College theatre.

Labuschagne made special reference to offender profiling in a contemporary academic setting in relation to the history of offender profiling, the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship (ICIAF) and how profiling was done in the SAPS.

‘The term Offender Profiling (OP) has been used, abused and mystified by academics, the public and law enforcement over the years, hence the mind-set to criminal psychology needs to change. What started out as an investigative tool became a field of expertise yet no one seemed to notice,’ said Labuschagne.

‘Criticism about the process of compiling an OP became criticism about the field for lacking a scientific basis and being based on guesswork and hunches but it should be noted that experience is unwritten research too.’

He said a succession plan was in place in the SAPS to ensure that informative offender profiling was carried out in all crime investigations.

‘As the IPS, we assist in the investigation of psychologically motivated crimes such as serial murders, terrorism, paedophilia, rape and domestic violence. In these cases it is the crime for the perpetrator that is the reward. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the suspect is mentally ill but we look at the method of the crime. If we don’t do a proper OP, then it could lead to consequences because time equals more victims.’

Labuschagne pointed out that academia could play a vital role in the risk assessment profiling of those that are eligible for parole.

‘Academics can contribute to the field by conducting meaningful, practical research to broaden the understanding of these concepts.’

Melissa Mungroo