Relationship Between Sexual Crime

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL INTRUSIVENESS
OF A SEXUAL CRIME AND THE USE OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES IN
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
BY
BRIANNA CASHELL SATTERTHWAITE
A dissertation submitted
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Psychology in Forensic Psychology
Alliant International University
College of Arts and Sciences
Fresno Campus
2004
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300 North Zeeb Road
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
FRESNO CAMPUS
The dissertation of Brianna Cashell Satterthwaite, "The
Relationship Between Physical Intrusiveness of a Sexual
Crime and the Use of Psychological Techniques in Criminal
Investigations," approved by Jane Younglove, MS, JD, has
been accepted and approved by the Faculty of the College of
Arts and Sciences, Fresno Campus, in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Psychology in
Forensic Psychology.
Dissertation Chairperson:
May 19, 2004
JD, Director
Xj6rensic^f Program
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would first like to thank Jane Younglove, MS, JD, for
her work both as my chairperson and as the director of the
department that has provided me with the education I sought.
Her help and dedication as a chairperson have been integral
to the completion of not only this dissertation but of this
degree in its entirety. Her lighthearted manner made each
hurdle attainable, and her involvement in my education
brought a voice to victims who are so often forgotten.
I would also like to thank Eric Hickey, PhD, for his
contribution, not only to this dissertation but to my
education as well. He brought a sense of decency and humor
to otherwise indecent topics and helped this work remain
interesting, valued, and necessary.
This dissertation and its statistical soundness would
not have been possible without the help of two people:
Sioban O'Toole, PhD, and Rachel Latter, PhD. Their
understanding of statistics, willingness to take time and
explain why, and support of a student who understood far
less than they did was invaluable.
My parents have been, and continue to be, more
supportive and encouraging than I could ever have asked for.
Their perspective has always been on the greater goal, which
has helped me stay focused and determined to finish— even
when all I wanted to do was relax and take a break. The
advice they have continually given has always been to
persevere now and reap the benefits that are to come. This
has sustained me through long days and even longer nights of
studying and being away from them this final internship
year. Without their constant support and love, this day
would not have been possible.
Thank you to the wonderful friends I made on this
journey. Without the select few of you, the Thursday nights
and a favorite local spot, I may have finished my
dissertation sooner, but I would not have had the wonderful
memories that made this time in my life so cherished.
Finally, and so importantly, I must express my
immeasurable gratitude to my fiance, Brian. His admiration,
love, encouragement, and dedication have given me the
strength to accomplish what were once my goals and are now
our goals. He tempered long nights of studying, months
apart for internship, a cross-country move, and my continued
stress with a smile, a hug, and constant reassurance. His
belief in me and my abilities to accomplish this goal has
been unwavering and is a constant source of motivation for
me to take the advice of my parents and persevere. Brian,
thank you for taking this adventure with m e — I love you.
vi
ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION
The Relationship Between Physical Intrusiveness
of a Sexual Crime and the Use of
Psychological Techniques in
Criminal Investigations
by
Brianna Cashell Satterthwaite
College of Arts and Sciences, Fresno Campus
Jane Younglove, MS, JD
Dissertation Chairperson
2004
This study examined the relationship between the
physical intrusiveness of a sexual crime and the use of
psychological versus traditional methods of investigation.
The law enforcement detectives (N = 67) were surveyed from
both rural and urban jurisdictions in California and
Wisconsin. They were assessed using a Likert-type frequency
questionnaire to establish which techniques were most often
used on 10 different sexual crimes. The sexual crimes were
later grouped by the distinction of low, medium, or high
VX1
levels of physical intrusiveness, and hypotheses were made
regarding each group.
The analysis supported two of the three stated
hypotheses. When crimes were designated in the low group
for physical intrusiveness, more psychological techniques
were utilized. It had been originally postulated that
m edi u m levels of physical intrusiveness would also rely more
heavily on psychological techniques; however, that did not
hold true. The analyses reported that when the crime was in
the m e d i u m or high group of physical intrusiveness,
traditional techniques were more likely to be used than
psyc h o l o g i c a l .
More notable was the relatively consistent use of
psychological techniques across all three levels of
intrusiveness. Implications of these findings and for
further research were discussed.
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S......................................... iii
ABSTRACT OF THE DISS E R T A T I O N.......................... V
LIST OF T A B L E S ........................................... x
LIST OF F I G U R E S .......................................... xi
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION.................................... 1
2. LITERATURE R E V I E W .............................. 10
Nature of Sexual C r i m e s .................... 10
Criminal P r o f i l i n g .......................... 22
Personality Theories and Criminal

B e h a v i o r ................................... 32
Alternative Investigative M e t h o d s ......... 50
Traditional Investigational M e t h o d s ....... 68
Physical Intrusiveness...................... 72
Dearth of Infor m a t i o n ....................... 73
3. M E T H O D ........................................... 76
Individual C o n s t r u c t s ....................... 76
Psychological and Traditional

Investigative M e t h o d s .................... 77
Sexual C r i m e s ................................ 78
ix
Chapter Page
H y p o t h e s e s ................................... 78
Par t i c i p a n t s ................................. 79
M a t e r i a l s .................................... 80
P r o c e d u r e s ................................... 81
4. R E S U L T S .......................................... 83
Hy p o t h e s e s ................................... 83
Preliminary A n a l y s i s ........................ 83
MANOVA R e s u l t s ............................... 84
Summary of R e s u l t s .......................... 97
5. D I S C U S S I O N ...................................... 100
Hy p o t h e s e s ................................... 100
Summary F i n d i n g s ............................ 100
Implications................................. 102
L i m i t a t i o n s.................................. 105
Further R e s e a r c h ............................ 106
R E F E R E N C E S ............................................... 108
A P P E N D I C E S ............................................... 113
A. INTRUSIVENESS H I E R A R C H Y ........................ 114
B. CONSENT F O R M .................................... 116
C. S U R V E Y ........................................... 118
X
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Chi-Squared Results for Demographic D a t a ...... 85
2. Jurisdiction Distribution of P a r t i cipants 86
3. Race Distribution of P a r t i cipants.............. 87
4. Gender Distribution of P a r t i cipants............ 88
5. Years as a Detective Distribution of

Par t i c i p a n t s ................................... 89
6. Age Distribution of Par t i c i p a n t s............... 90
7. Summary of Means for Investigational

Ca t e g o r i e s ...................................... 93
8. Multivariate T e s t s ............................... 95
9. Tests of Within-Subjects E f f e c t s ............... 96
10. Tests of Within-Subjects Cont r a s t s............. 98
x i
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1 . Graphed means for investigational c a t e g o r i e s 99
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Members of law enforcement have characteristically been
wary of civilians entering their field, especially when it
pertains to altering the officer's job description or adding
new personnel. However, the idea of using psychological
techniques in law enforcement is not new; many detective are
said to have used methods such as criminal profiling,
forensic hypnosis, and cognitive interviews without defining
them as psychological constructs (Cook & Hinman, 1999).
The fact that a designated psychological construct is
not only being used but currently labeled as such is a
testament to the growing acceptance of psychology within law
enforcement agencies. The methodological change that
occurred was to allow outside professionals inside the
agency to conduct these procedures from a more clinical or
research basis. The restructuring that allowed outside
professionals into the agency has grown into a field that
continues to gain further acceptance within law enforcement
and psychology (Cook & Hinman, 1999).
2
Forensic psychology has raised awareness that the
fields of law and psychology are far more intricately linked
and interwoven than may have ever been thought possible.
Using psychological techniques, such as criminal profiling,
forensic hypnosis, and cognitive interviews, to assist in
the criminal investigation procedure is one way that
illustrates the growing alliance between law and psychology.
Techniques such as these used to be beyond the scope of the
detectives as well as generally trained psychologists. The
changes within both fields, though, have opened new doors
for both sets of professionals who are interested in various
approaches to criminal investigation.
The methodological change in criminal investigation is
a byproduct of greater change within the field of law
enforcement; the view of psychology as well as the increased
willingness to include civilians represents greater
acceptance within the agency. The field of psychology has
evolved as well to encompass a more law-oriented
perspective: forensic psychology. The increased
involvement of nonphysical evidence in criminal
investigations is growing toward becoming a more accepted
method of investigating crimes, but it has not yet reached
3
full acceptance. The approach that some law enforcement
agencies have used to gather nonphysical evidence is via
psychological methods, such as those listed previously
(criminal profiling, forensic hypnosis, cognitive
interviews, and the use of psychics) to gain information
that may be helpful to the investigation. The problem
exists in the delay between the inception of a case and the
involvement of psychological constructs and m e t h o d s . Such
alternative procedures have been found to be helpful within
investigations, but the introduction of psychologists into
cases is still seen as a last-ditch effort.
The fields of law and psychology have been merging for
the past 2 decades, and one superior example of this melding
is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) unit designed
as Behavioral Sciences. This unit (also referred to as the
Investigative Support Unit) of the FBI was designed to
improve the administration, effectiveness, and the law
enforcement community's understanding of crime. It was not
intended as solely a federal endeavor; its mission was to
enhance the federal agent's training, but also to improve
other state and local law enforcement agencies as well.
Course topics, such as crime analysis, gangs, gang behavior,
4
and applied criminal psychology, along with research, are
used during the training portion of the Behavioral Sciences
Unit (B S U ). This training program is used to mold officers
into agents who have a wider span of knowledge that could
aid in understanding the behavioral and social underpinnings
of criminal activity (FBI Academy, 1996).
The BSU is a testament of the credence the Bureau has
given to accepting psychologists into law enforcement. The
FBI designated an entire unit toward finding and utilizing
new and alternative ways in which to investigate and solve
crimes— studying the offender's behavior and motivation (FBI
Academy, 1996). This particular emphasis on the criminal's
motivation and behavioral clues led to the term that is
commonly known as p r o f i l i n g . The profiling of a criminal's
patterns is an effort to gather information, both
psychological and demographic, about potential suspects.
The psychological outline is made by looking into the
physical and nonphysical clues that are left behind at a
crime scene, as well as through witness and victim
statements. The profile is not intended to name the
perpetrator but rather to give a set of guidelines, such as
socioeconomic status, proximity of the offender's home to
5
the crime, the nature and frequency of past contacts with
law enforcement, potential relationship to the victim, and
possibly postevent actions that could be helpful to the law
enforcement agency in successfully closing the case.
In the early days when the BSU was being established,
the Unit designed a study to research the similar traits
found in those incarcerated for serious sexual murders.
These data led the team to continue researching serial
rapists, child molesters, and sexual sadists to gather other
similarities that may be present among such inmates. This
study was immensely helpful in laying the groundwork for the
FBI's training program for law enforcement officers and
agents from a behavioral science approach to the
investigation of crimes (Cook & Hinman, 1999).
Profiling of suspects in criminal cases is not peculiar
to the BSU or the FBI in general. In England, the help of
Dr. David Canter and his profiling of a series of rapes and
murders in Yorkshire in the early 1980s led to the arrest of
the perpetrator responsible for the crimes (Canter, 1994).
Although profiling is not standard practice among law
enforcement, since the time of its origination, profiling of
criminal acts has become less obscure and in some cases
6
recognized as a beneficial investigative tool to agencies on
a state and local level (Egger, 1999).
Criminal profiling is not the only way in which
behavioral sciences such as psychology have entered into the
investigation process. Forensic hypnosis is another
technique that has allowed the influence of psychology to
aid in the investigation procedure. This specific type of
hypnosis differs from the more standard form of hypnosis
because of the designated goal of gaining information about
a specific time and place— the crime. Guidelines were put
in place for both legal and psychological benefits; the
regulations imposed help to maintain a uniformity of the
process as well as keep the procedure as legal and ethically
bound as possible. The only persons allows to be hypnotized
for forensic purposes are witnesses and victims of the
incident in question; potential suspects are not allowed to
be involved with hypnosis for discovery purposes. These
guidelines are also in place to control the utilization of
information gained through hypnosis in court. In the
courtroom, the only way evidence obtained through forensic
hypnosis can be introduced is as corroborative testimony,
not as discovery evidence.
7
Finally, there are regulations to secure the integrity
of the practice, which state that a psychologist or
psychiatrist trained in hypnosis is the only person allowed
to facilitate forensic hypnosis (Neihaus, 1998). This is to
decrease the influence of dual relationships between
investigating officers who may be trained in hypnosis and
the witnesses they intend to use.
Fro m the criticisms of the forensic hypnosis practice
emerged the cognitive interview. The University of
California, Los Angeles Psychology Department and the
director of the Behavioral Science Services for the Los
Angeles Police Department designed the cognitive interview
to be a viable alternative to the suggestive state of
hypnosis. The interviewer asks specific information of the
interviewee pertaining to the incident in question. The
interviewer asks that the interviewee answer questions from
a variety of vantage points, such as from across the street
from h i s 1 original position, as the victim or witness would
^ h e male pronoun is used throughout the study as most

sex crimes are committed by males.
8
have seen the act, or as the perpetrator would have seen the
act. The interviewer also asks for details, such as gait,
voice intonation or accent, posture, or body language of the
perpetrator to help trigger the interviewee's memory in a
new way (Neihaus, 1998). This technique was designed to
negate the suggestive state of hypnosis in an effort to be
more concrete.
The fact that techniques such as profiling, forensic
hypnosis, and the cognitive interview are being used within
federal law enforcement agencies is a demonstration of their
value and utility (FBI Academy, 1996). Yet the problem of
psychological evidence being used in local criminal
investigations persists. These techniques are not widely
accepted or utilized to the extent that they have been found
to be helpful (Davis, 1999; Egger, 1999). The FBI devoted
an entire unit to techniques that are not deemed to be
traditional methods of investigation. They created training
programs and aligned with organizations to further the
research and practice of nontraditional t e c h n i q u e s .
However, the psychological constructs that were gathered and
used, the personnel, and the techniques needed to accomplish
these methods were not widely regarded as valid, accurate,
9
necessary, or worth the cost/benefit involved (Davis, 1999;
E g g e r , 1999 ).
What are the most frequently used psychological
techniques? Why does the amount of information that is
readily accessible to validate the inclusion of these
alternative methods not increase the use of such techniques?
The question of what alternative techniques are or are not
accepted has yet to be fully answered. The Federal Bureau
of Investigation and numerous studies and practices,
including a select few state and local law enforcement
agencies, have found alternative psychological methods to be
beneficial (Canter, 1994; Cook & Hinman, 1999; Davis, 1999;
Egger, 1999; Hatcher, Mohandie, Turner, & Gelles, 1998); yet
they are still not widely used or accepted in the field of
law enforcement. So the question remains: Which type of
sexual crime investigations rely on psychological evidence
more than others?
This research addresses these questions in relation to
various sexual crimes; specifically, whether local law
enforcement investigators rely more heavily on psychological
evidence with the crimes that yield less physical evidence.
10
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Nature of Sexual Crimes
Sexual crimes are crimes such as rape, molestation, or
sexual assault that involve illegal or coerced sexual
activity. There are a number of different types of sexual
crimes that stem from varius motivations and include varying
levels of intrusiveness. Pedophilia, or the sexual abuse of
children by an adult (O'Grady, 2001), rape, attempted rape
of minors or adults, voyeurism, and all forms of molestation
(McElroy et al., 1999) account for just a portion of what
constitutes a sexual crime.
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) defined
the sexual crime of rape as, "forced sexual intercourse in
which the victim may be either male or female and the
offender may be of a different sex or the same sex as the
victim. Victims must be at least 12 years old; victims less
than age 12 are excluded from all estimates" (Greenfeld,
1997, p. 31). This definition is utilized for the purposes
of collecting data on a national basis for the U.S.
Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. This
11
definition differs slightly from that of the Uniform Crime
Reports (UCR), which is a dataset of all crimes reported in
the United States and is annually compiled and disseminated
through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The
UCR's definition of rape consists of, "carnal knowledge of a
female [italics added] forcibly and against her will.
Assaults or attempts to commit rape by force or threat of
force are also included" (Greenfeld, 1997, p. 31). Finally,
the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) defined
rape in a way that encompasses both the UCR's and the NCVS's
definitions by stating that rape is
carnal knowledge of a person forcibly and/or against

that person's will; or not forcibly or against the
person's will where the victim is incapable of giving
consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her
temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
This offense includes both male and female victims and
threats and attempts. (Greenfeld, 1997, p. 31)
These three quotes highlight the details that change the
perspective of the crime of rape; the UCR does not include
males or same-sex rape, NCVS does not include the inability
to consent, while the NIBRS definition is all encompassing.
The three examples of rape definitions emphasize the
different perspectives that even federal agencies have on
sexual crimes. The final definition by the NIBRS offers the
12
closest definition to that of the Penal Code Handbook of
California (2001), which states that the crime of rape (Cal.
Penal Code § 261) is constituted under seven separate
circumstances: those incapable of consenting, those against
a person's will through force or duress, those under the
influence of a substance that prevents a person from
resisting, if the person is unconscious, under the threat of
retaliation, or under the guise of a spouse.
The Penal Code Handbook of California (2001) defines
other sexual crimes as well. Sexual assault of a child is
defined as any copulation (anal or oral) with any means of
force to obtain sexual gratification as well as the
conspiracy to assault (Cal. Penal Code § 288).
Exhibitionism is defined as anyone who "exposes his person
or the private parts thereof in a public place or in any
place where there are present other persons to be offended
or annoyed thereby" (Panel Code § 314, p. 110). Child
pornography is described by the sale or distribution of
obscene matter that includes persons under the age of 18
(Panel Code § 311.1 & 311.3). Typically the violent
offender is male as is true with organized offenders.
13
Reporting Sexual Crimes
Investigations into sexual crimes depend on the crime
having been reported. According to Finklehor, Wolak, and
Berliner (2001), attempted rape only accounts for 19% of
reported c r i m e s . This supports the notion that sexual
assault attempts, where the violence is less severe, usually
do not result in police r e p o r t s . Among the rapes that were
reported, the likelihood of the reporting increased when a
weapon was used or the victim sustained an injury (Finklehor
et a l ., 2001).
Juveniles report comparatively more sexual crimes than
do adults, but this may be confounded by the fact that
adults stereotypically do not report sexual crimes at the
same rate they report other crimes (Finklehor et al., 2001).
In a national sample cited in Finklehor et al., juveniles
are noted to have reported only 3% of the sexual
victimizations that they incurred.
Sexual Crimes and

Victim Choice
Next, it is important to examine the victim as a
variable in the crime. Guay, Proulx, Cusson, and Ouimet
(2001) posed a research question relative to longitudinal
14
victim constancy. This study attempted to determine if the
type of victim would remain stable over time and across
various sexual p r e d a t o r s . The researchers found that with
child molesters, the victims routinely remain children.
This is not particularly the case relative to sexual
aggressors against adult women. This population remains
relatively opportunistic in their crimes and therefore
cannot be classified as a static category of offender.
Although the specific sort of sexual crime committed may
vary w ith some offenders, the classification of sexual
offender is the key term that remains stable throughout most
of their criminal lives. The variability in the nature of
crimes could be attributed to the lack of impulse control
that is a hallmark with criminal p o pulations. Guay et a l .
(2001) supported the notion of victim variability when the
researchers reported that many paraphilic offenders claim a
number of such acts to their repertoire of sexual crimes,
such as exhibitionism and voyeurism.
Another result found in the Guay et al. (2001) study is
that offenders who choose familiar victims as their first
victim tend to remain constant at a rate of nearly 92% in
the choice of further familiar victims. It is also noted in
15
the study the offenders' propensity to stay with familiar
victims through their third and fourth victimization as
well.
An even less stable cohort of offenders is made up of
those who target pubescent v i c t i m s . This deviation of
victim type could be accounted for by the fact that a
pubescent victim may have been chosen in place of the
preferred adult or child victim, thus reducing the
likelihood of choosing another pubertal victim if an
opportunity with the victim of choice presents itself.
Another hypothesis for this departure from victim stability
is that hebephiliacs, or those who target pubertal victims,
may not be representative of a separate category of
offenders and, therefore, their digression from consistency
is not accounted for by the statistics of victim-choice
stability (Guay et al., 2001).
Whether the offender knows the victim is another facet
of victim choice. It is commonly said that a sexual crime
between intimate partners is not perceived as egregious as
when the victim is involved in a stranger attack. The
outcome of the investigation and litigation is more
stringent when the victim claims that the assault occurred
16
by a stranger. "Reports of rape by strangers are
investigated more thoroughly than reports of rape by a
person known to the victim" (Spohn & Holleran, 2001,
p . 655 ) .
This statement supports the fact that dependent upon
the circumstances of the sexual assault, which include the
victim-offender relationship, a victim will be treated
differently and possibly afforded different services based
on such contextual differences. Spohn and Holleran (2001)
reported that female victims of sexual assault are more
heavily scrutinized if the perpetrator is known to them;
their behavior, their character, and their victims' roles in
the subsumed relationship are all examined more heavily than
if the perpetrator was a stranger to the victim.
Trends in Victim/Offender
Gender
Changes in demographics of offenders and victims have
occurred over the years. The stereotype of sexual assault
victims and offenders is that of male perpetrators and
female victims (Guay et al., 2001). This trend has been
challenged by one particular study to include men as the
victims of sexual assault in nearly equal proportion to
17
women (Larimer, Lydum, Anderson, & Turner, 1999). Larimer
et al. (1999) reported that upwards of 15% of college-age
men had been the victims of rape by a female. It has also
been noted that almost 40% of men have been the v i ctim of
some form of unwanted sexual aggression. As a testament to
the change in perspective of sexually based crimes and the
victim-perpetrator dyad, the definition of crimes such as
rape has been refined over the years to include gender-
neutralized terms, such as victim and perpetrator, rather
than male and female (Penal Code Handbook, 2001).
Sexual Crimes and Mental

Illness
Factors such as mental health come into question when
dealing with sex offenders. In the study by McElroy et al.
(1999), the researchers found that there was an increased
comorbidity rate of sexual offenders with Axis I disorders
(83%), substance abuse disorders (83%), mood disorders
(61%), and paraphilias (58%). Such statistics reinforce the
necessity of mental health clinicians in the punitive system
because the individuals who are being sentenced for sex
crimes are more often than not suffering from another mental
illness that confounds their crime.
18
Motivations for Sexual

Crimes
Motivation to commit a sexual crime varies between
offender and offense (Guay et al., 2001). Therefore, it is
difficult to state which motivation is the predominate
factor in the commission of a crime. The decision, or lack
thereof, to commit a crime is not always divisible by
motivations.
In reference to the question, "Why do offenders commit
sexual crimes?" the cognitions that go into such a decision
were evaluated in a study by Hatch-Maillette, Scalora, Huss,
and Baumgartner (2001). This study was an effort to examine
whether the cognitions for a child molester differ from
other sexual offenders and from nonsexually based offenders.
The authors reported that consistent with all criminal acts,
the offender is not likely to be thinking in terms of long
term goals. Common to both sexual and nonsexual offenses is
that the offender lacks empathy for the victim and is able
to minimize his responsibility in the victimization of the
individual. Such faulty cognitions may be a result of
maladaptive thought processes, an unnecessarily high sense
of entitlement, the offender's misinterpretation of social
19
norms, or the ability to compartmentalize the act from other
aspects of the self (Hatch-Maillette et al., 2001).
Some motivations may have the appearance of a
compulsion; in this case the offender may have a need for
intimacy that could not otherwise be filled and therefore
the needs of the offender supersede those of the victim,
within the pathology of the offender. Such faulty
cognitions are often present before, during, and after the
assault to reduce any dystonic feelings the offender may be
having regarding his act. There is some debate over whether
pedophilia is qualitatively different from other nonsexually
based crimes due to the addictive, compulsive, and somehow
escapist view that is held regarding such acts (Hatch-
Maillette et al., 2001).
Sexual Crimes and

Recidivism Rates
Trends and statistical changes cannot fully be examined
without addressing recidivism rates. In general, the rate
of recidivism for sexual criminals is modest compared to the
rate of general criminal recidivism (Langstrom & Grann,
2000). The average base rate for criminal recidivism in
general was reported to be near 37%; the rate of recidivism
20
for sex offenders was around 13%, according to the meta-
analysis noted by Langstrom and Grann (2000). Some
problematic variables that have accounted for an increased
rate of recidivism among youthful offenders (37% in one
noted study) include poor social skills, school behavior
p r o b l e m s , and t r u a n c y .
In Langstrom and Grann's (2000) study that focused on
young offenders, 20% of their sample reoffended within the
60 months this study examined. Langstrom and Grann (2000)
concluded that the factors associated with general criminal
recidivism were disparate to those factors associated with
sexual criminal recidivism. Factors most closely associated
with sexual recidivism rates included prior sexual offenses,
difficulty with social skills, male victims, or multiple
victims in the index offense, though this is contradicted by
other literature cited by these authors (Langstrom & Grann,
2000).
Langstrom and Grann (2000) noted that psychopathy held
a certain amount of predictive ability of sexual recidivism,
but such a position had not been replicated in research thus
far. The aforementioned authors also stated that sexual
deviance and failure to complete treatment are the strongest
21
measures of sexual recidivism while citing literature that
contradicts their own findings, which stated variables such
as "prior sex offense, stranger, nonrelative, or male
victim" did not correlate strongly with sexual reoffending
(p. 868).
Sexual Crimes for

Profit
Facets of sexually based crimes that must be addressed
are the crimes that are done for profit. This
classification of sexually based crimes has turned into a
global problem (Bell, 2001). Trafficking women out of and
into countries for the purposes of prostitution,
domestication, the production of pornography, and other sex
industry acts is the replication of 17th-century slave
trade. This act is based on fraud and coercion to lure the
women away from their families and into a culturally
dissimilar country where their resources for independence
are completely severed. These cases carry a special federal
and international crime flavor because they are crossing
both state and country l i n e s . The exploitation of women
into the pseudo-slave trade life is said to have reached
almost 500,000 women in the European Union, most
22
specifically the former socialist countries of Eastern
Europe (Bell, 2001). This crime is not specific to adult
women; children are among the victims in this trafficking as
well. At least 5% to 10% of the women and girls trafficked
from Europe are said to be under the age of 18, making this
a crime against a child as well. Such transactions are the
result of various organized crime rings, gangs, brothel
owners, and even some financially sound pimps (Bell, 2001).
n the late 1940s, the United Nations (UN) designed an
international committee against the exploitation and
prostitution of others. This was an effort to eradicate the
problem of sexual trafficking and prostitution. Similar
committees were formed in 1979, 1989, and in 2000, more
specifically dedicated to children and organized crime
(Bell, 2001). Such crimes are designated under the
California Penal Code § 266 (2001) as crimes punishable by
prison, jail, and fines.
Criminal Profiling
To begin looking at the relationship between psychology
and criminal investigations, the widely publicized aspect of
criminal profiling must be addressed. What began as a
professional lunch between Dr. David Canter and two
23
detectives in the London area to discuss the use of
behavioral sciences within the law enforcement venue
eventually led to groundbreaking changes in the way cases
lacking physical evidence are handled, precincts are run,
and the career choices of many psychologists. In Canter's
work, Criminal Shadow (1994), he recounted the step-by-step
process by which he became involved as a criminal profiler
or criminal investigative analyst. He began his story by
describing the fact that although numerous hours of
detective work had gone into the Yorkshire rapes and
murders, which had infested the London area in the 1980s,
little could be drawn as to who was responsible for the
crimes. Through his own careful interpretation of the
criminal's psychological clues and the willingness of the
departments to give him such leeway, he was able to aid in
the accurate arrest of the criminal who had haunted the
city's streets (Canter, 1994).
Canter stated that he began to try to understand the
Yorkshire case on the train ride home one day, using only
the information from the daily newspaper. This venture was
reportedly only for his personal interest, but it led Canter
to be invited to work with the local police precincts
24
involved in the Yorkshire murders and rapes to help them
establish a working profile of the possible offender
(Canter, 1994). He pointed out in Criminal Shadows that "a
systematic, scientific understanding of criminal behavior is
increasingly central" to the changes that are taking place
within law enforcement and in the society that perpetuates
the offenses (p. 16). With this in mind, he set out with
two appointed detectives to begin piecing together what they
could about the criminal, his motives, and habits in a
successful attempt to better understand where the police
should concentrate their efforts.
Canter approached the crimes through data collection.
He compiled data regarding where the crimes took place, the
methods survivors had reported of the offender's routine,
and what he knew about general psychological aspects of
crime and victimology. Through this database, he was able
to systematically propose a sketch of possible offender
types that may have perpetrated such crimes (Canter, 1994).
Although he aided in a successful capture of the perpetrator
of the Yorkshire crimes, this is only one man's approach to
utilizing alternative forensic methods in crime scene
i nv estigation.
25
Similar methods of investigation are used within the
FBI. The FBI calls the act of deducing information from the
crime scene through a psychological perspective as criminal
prof i l i n g and defines the term as "an investigative
technique by which to identify the major personality and
behavioral characteristics of the offender based upon
analysis of the crimes he or she has committed" (Douglass &
Burgess, 1986, p. 9). According to Kocsis, Irwin, Hayes,
and Nunn (2000), the major role of a psychological profiler
is to compile information regarding the offender's
"personality traits, behavioral tendencies and demographic
characteristics" (p. 311).
The FBI intentionally began research in the 1970s; some
sources report 1972 as the beginning of research conducted
by the Bureau, whereas other sources report dates as late as
1977 for the start (Cook & Hinman, 1999; Davis, 1999). The
research at hand dealt with the interview and collateral
data review of individuals already incarcerated for serial
sexual m u r d e r s . This particular body of research was unique
in that it studied the perpetrators of such crimes from a
purely criminal law enforcement stance instead of a clinical
stance as had other previous s t u d i e s .
26
The original study was expanded to include serial
rapists 1 year later with studies on sexual sadism and child
molestation to follow (Cook & Hinman, 1999). Such
information was later compiled and used primarily for
instruction to those individuals who were to professionally
come in contact with such criminals. The research was seen
as a foundation for later profiling research and training of
officers. This information on motives, behaviors, and
characteristics of offenders was used to train over 30 state
and local police investigators on the process of criminal
investigative analysis (Cook & Hinman, 1999). Such training
involved classes on rape, homicide, sexual exploitation,
abnormal psychology, and other related topics to familiarize
the officers with these aspects that may have been beyond
their scope of practice prior to such training. After the
classroom training was complete, the investigators worked
for nearly 9 months to practice and develop the skills they
would need to fulfill the position of criminal investigative
analyst (Cook & Hinman, 1999).
A commonly used term for profiling is criminal
investigative analysis and was used interchangeably with
criminal profiling. The constructs and methods of criminal
27
investigative analysis have not been widely used or accepted
practices of law enforcement investigations in the more
traditional sense of the term (Davis, 1999). Although these
techniques have not become a standard criminal investigation
procedure within all departments, psychological profiling as
an empirical tool has become a proven asset to various law
enforcement departments. It enables the force to assign a
measure of hope that may not have been present prior to
engaging in this alternative investigative tool of criminal
investigative analysis (Davis, 1993; Egger, 1999).
Research has shown there to be numerous benefits of
incorporating a behavioral science aspect to criminal
investigations. Cook and Hinman (1999) stated that
profiling crimes can help "focus the investigation on more
likely types of offenders . . . suggest proactive strategies
. . . investigative strategies . . . trial strategies and
direct intervention in ongoing crimes" (p. 242). Other
research showed few general differences between the
profiler's accuracy and the accuracy of psychologists,
police offices, and psychics. Once more, sensitive measures
were used to examine these results; the profilers
28
outperformed the other category that had been collapsed into
the category of nonprofilers (Kocsis et al., 2000).
These suggestions sound valid, but one of the main
problems that faces the widespread acceptance of such
investigative tools is the inherent distrust of those who
are not sworn members of law enforcement. The emergence of
outside personnel in a criminal investigation is a difficult
concept for some officers to grasp. Many psychologists to
date have not been trained in the criminal justice milieu,
which may increase the level of apprehension officers feel
toward mental health workers (Hatcher, Mohandie, Turner, &
Gelles, 1998). For these reasons and possibly more, the
majority of individuals who have been trained in criminal
investigative analysis tend to be law enforcement officers
and not mental health workers (Cook & Hinman, 1999).
Certain crimes and certain perpetrators may lend
themselves to more easily being profiled than others. In
sexual assault cases, the lack of physical evidence and eye
witnesses can make finding corroborating evidence difficult.
Such cases rest primarily on the victim and what he or she
can provide in terms of proof that the incident occurred and
any data that will help create a suspect list (Spohn &
29
Holleran, 2001). What the investigators are looking for in
the crime scene is the offender's personality type to emerge
from the evidence.
It was stated by Canter (1994) that "as well as . . .
material traces, he also leaves psychological traces, tell
tale patterns of behavior that indicate the sort of person
he is" (p. 5). This leads the investigator to evaluate not
only physical evidence, such as the victim's body and the
physical aspects of evidence, but also the patterns,
complexities, nuances, and underlying meanings of the act
and the involved environment. Jackson and Bekerian (1997)
narrowed this point by stating that offenses such as arson
and sexually motivated crimes would benefit more from the
aid of offender profiling due to the characterological
inferences that are fundamental to crimes such as these.
Criminal profiling is only suitable when there is the
possibility that a behavior was due to the offender's
personality and psychopathology, such as in ritualistic
behavior, torture, staging of the body, or other such
physical evidence.
Many have observed such esoteric qualities of human
beings from centuries ago; Shakespeare had Julius Caesar
30
stating that long and lean men were to be considered more
dangerous than a rotund man (Canter, 1994). Sheldon
demonstrated a similar notion to human observation and crime
when he stated that the mesomorph body type that tends to be
muscular and lean was better equipped and suited for
criminal activity (Wrightsman, Nietzel, & Fortune, 1998).
Other accounts of profiling appear throughout history.
Numerous profiles of possible Jack the Rippers were
developed over a century ago. During World War II, officers
tried to develop profiles of possible war criminals, and Dr.
James Brussels successfully profiled New York's Mad Bomber
in the 1950s (Canter, 1994).
It has not just been psychologists and psychiatrists
who have used techniques such as these for investigative
purposes. Law enforcement investigators use their sense of
criminal understanding to help them solve cases as well.
The tenet of mental health professionals entering into the
forensic realm simply suggests that the expertise of theory
and research on the side of mental health be combined with
the experience of the investigators. The fact that it was
not formerly used by law enforcement officers does not mean
that it was not a method of criminal investigative analysis.
31
The distinction lies in the background of the criminal
investigative analyzer— whereas it once was a specifically
trained law enforcement officer, it has shifted to include
various mental health professionals as well (Cook & Hinman,
1999).
There are two distinct sides to criminal investigative
analysis: the art and the science of the technique. Cook
and Hinman (1999) proposed that the art of profiling rests
in the investigator's experience, while the science of it
rests with knowledge and application of forensic science
with the empirical behavioral research. These two distinct
sides of the technique allow those squarely on the side of
art to be skeptical of the science end of the spectrum.
What validates the empirical research side is the fact that
a specific process is in place and is followed each time a
new case is analyzed.
Since the time of burgeoning profiling, far more
empirical processes have emerged. The ideal process that is
supported by the FBI is as follows: "(a) profiling inputs,
(b) decision process model, (c) crime assessment,
(d) profile, (e) investigation, and (f) apprehension" (Cook
& Hinman, 1999, p. 234). With this process in effect, the
32
information should yield identifying factors of the
perpetrator, such as sex, race, type of employment, criminal
history, and related pertinent hypotheses regarding the case
at hand. It is noted that a dearth of empirical studies
exist to prove any sort of validity or reliability of such
techniques. While being mindful of the lack of information,
some skeptics conceded that the efforts would be tolerated
due to their efficacy overall (Cook & Hinman, 1999). Ault,
Hazelwood, and Reboussin (1994) stated, in response to such
criticisms of criminal investigative analysis, that the
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime's (NCAVC)
18-year history has been dedicated to assisting agencies in
closing violent criminal cases, and they continue to be
utilized based on their efficacy rate, whether or not those
results have been published. Ault et al. (1994) also
suggested that a way to quantify the success of such
techniques used would be to match psychological and physical
profiles produced prior to apprehension of the perpetrator
with the actual perpetrator postapprehension.
Personality Theories and Criminal Behavior
The underlying premise that is associated with all
types of criminal profiling is that one's personality is so
33
distinct and so fixed within oneself that it will emerge
even in, or especially while in, the commission of a crime.
To further appreciate what those who construct offender
profiles are actually doing is to more fully comprehend
various personality theories and how they contribute to the
understanding of the potential offenders.
Personality can be defined as "relatively enduring
characteristics of individuals over time and space;
characteristics which in their entirety are unique to the
individual and . . . [are] reflected in an individual's
thought patterns, attitudes, and behavior" (Boon, 1997,
pp. 43-44). Although each person involved may have
different ways to go about gathering the psychological data,
compiling the information, and assimilating it into a
specific theory, the basic tenet for using personality
theory as a key indicator of perpetrators runs throughout
the disparate methods. It is somewhat unimportant whether
the orientation that one follows is psychological,
sociological, or social learning. The inferences found by
the psychological traces left behind should be able to paint
a general picture of the offender's personality make-up.
This is not to say that a personality theory is the map that
34
will lead to the offender's door, but it is a basis for
understanding more intimate details of the offender. With
the understanding of a personality theory, those involved
may be able to narrow their scope of investigation, handle
the interrogation procedure more effectively, and find links
between the offense in question and previous crimes that had
yet to be paralleled to the current case.
To understand offender profiling (or criminal
investigative analysis) and its utility is to appreciate
that certain aspects of a person are static, and their most
basic ways of functioning in the world will remain constant.
This lays the foundation for the further exploration into
different theories of personality and how professionals must
be firmly rooted in their theoretical beliefs to fully
explore the crime that occurred and the offender who
committed the crime.
Psychoanalytic theory played a fundamental role in the
burgeoning field of psychology. It continued its thrust
into the field of personality theory with Sigmund Freud and
his notion of the id, ego, and superego as determinants of
human behavior, cognition, and emotion (Hall, Lindzey, &
Campbell, 1997). The pretense that one's conscious is
35
similar to an iceberg with the tip above the water
representing the conscious and the mass that remained unseen
as the subconscious or unconscious processes was a seminal
notion that fueled Freud's contribution in the realm of
personality theory. According to Freud, the id is a basic,
primal, instinctual drive toward preserving life; the id
strives for homeostasis by relieving tension and returning
the body and mind to a homeostatic state. This contributed
to the pleasure principle of the id, which aims at avoiding
pain and gaining pleasure (Hall et al., 1997).
Beyond the id is the ego, which responds to the id's
drives with a realistic approach; if the need is hunger, the
ego helps the person to find food in a socially acceptable
manner to relieve the tension that the food need created.
This process is where humans can employ higher order
processing and use realistic methods to gain whatever it is
that caused the homeostatic imbalance (Hall et al., 1997).
The final component of Freud's construction is the
superego. This process has been referred to as the "moral
arm of personality" (Hall et al., 1997, p. 37). Where the
ego searches for what is realistic, the superego searches
for what is ideal or perfect (Hall et al., 1997). The
36
superego tends to be the last process to be gained
developmentally, so it is understandable that if there is a
developmental milestone that is not attainted
psychologically, this may be the process to suffer that
loss. If a loss of superego occurs it may result in an
inability to restrain the impulses of the id or ethically
regulate the instinctual need for homeostasis that the ego
requires (Wrightsman et al., 1998). This is most prominent
of a problem in violent crimes where a need or an impulse
was not regulated on a socially or morally appropriate
basis.
Elements of childhood that cause psychological tension
and anxiety in adulthood are of supreme importance in the
psychoanalytic perspective on crime (Hall et al., 1997). It
is hypothesized that the personality of an individual is one
that develops over time and through experiences but is
firmly rooted somewhere around the age of 5. Because it is
formulated so early in one's life, it is safe to assume that
personality is fundamentally shaped by those with the
closest contact at that age— parents or caregivers. If that
system of order is not instilled and rewarded as children,
deficits will occur that will shape the mediation of life in
37
the years that follow. Freud believed that these deficits
would lead the person to utilize defensive mechanisms as a
means to replace the order in life that was never fully
gained in the first place (Hall et al., 1997).
According to the psychoanalytic theory of crime, the
criminal was in constant search of the gratification that
others receive from love, trust, and nurturance (Wrightsman
et al., 1998). Since such gratification was never obtained
during the criminal's childhood, there is a constant
yearning for the void to be filled with anything that will
assuage the anxiety created by that void. An early notion
in psychodynamic theory was that criminals want punishment
to help alleviate feelings of guilt. This guilt was said to
originate from conflicted, incestuous feelings from the
oedipal period (Wrightsman et al., 1998).
Another way to interpret the acts of a criminal from a
psychological perspective is that the criminal is not
functioning under the same principles of reality as is the
rest of the population (Wrightsman et al., 1998). This is
to say that the ego has failed to regulate the needs and
drives of the id in an effort toward delayed gratification.
When this occurs, the individual is no longer morally and
38
socially oriented but only drive oriented, which may result
in impulsive or criminal behavior.
The diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)
would fit under the umbrella of psychological theories of
crime; unlawful acts that are due to a personality disorder
marked by blatant disregard for others, failure to conform
to social norms, impulsivity and irresponsibility, and a
general lack of remorse (American Psychological Association
[APA], 2000). With this in mind, it was assumed that the
criminal engages in deviant patterns of thinking when posed
with life choices (Wrightsman et al., 1998). Although the
thought patterns of criminals are argued to be logical, they
are flawed and consistently irresponsible, which is the
basis for their acting out. This particular side of the
psychological theory of crime was quite controversial in
that it rejected sociological, social learning, and
psychodynamic theories of crime and had a distinct flavor of
biological predetermination. Wrightsman et al. (1998)
believed that criminals begin to make deviant choices from
an early age, and those patterns are thus difficult to
alter.
39
Similar theories about the effects of ASPD state that
there is a lack of cortical structures in the brain that
regulate executive functioning, and thus the criminal mind
is less likely to inhibit impulsive behavior. Theories also
postulate that ASPD results from hypoarousal at a resting
state so the individual begins to increasingly act out in an
effort to gain a sense of stimulation that is not otherwise
attainable through law-abiding means (Wrightsman et a l .,
1998).
Understanding the id, ego, and superego does not
explain away a crime or a criminal's motivation. It can,
however, lay the groundwork for understanding where the
person deviated from the rest of the law-abiding population.
Another theoretical orientation of the criminal
personality emerged from the constraints of psychoanalytic
theory: social learning theory. The fundamental link with
all of the social learning theories is the tenet that the
behaviors are learned through relationships over time.
Alfred Adler embraced the influence of society and culture
on the development of personality as a basic aspect of this
theory. Under this theory, "social interest and a striving
for superiority became two of the most substantial
40
conceptual pillars" (Hall et al., 1997, p. 124). Striving
for dominance is as important as the need for control in a
criminal's commission of a crime, and social learning theory
maintains that this is due to a fundamental need based in
culture and society. Adler proposed that the self is unique
and is constantly trying to gratify itself through
meaningful experiences; if the self is not able to attain
this level of meaning from experiences in the world, it will
try to create meaningful experiences to fill the void left
by society (Hall et al., 1997).
From the social learning point of view, the influence
that personality can have on actions may be more clear and
less abstract than the other, more esoteric, theories; it
can be shown how society can impact one's personality and
how that impact can then be turned around onto society again
in the commission of a crime. Adler believed that a sense
of inferiority of the self led individuals to overcompensate
in another area to either improve the self in a positive
direction or to lead the self into more destructive avenues
as a result of the tension caused by the feelings of
inferiority. The way that these feelings manifest
themselves can be very different, depending on the ways that
41
the inferiority was fostered as a child, either from being
pampered, coddled, or rejected as a child. With this view
in mind, the commission of a crime can be seen as a way to
overcompensate for a number of inferiorities that were
fostered as a young child and how reactionary it is to
retaliate on the society that pushed the problem onto the
individual (Hall et al., 1997).
Social learning theories postulate that an individual
learns to either move with or against society, and the
fundamental relationships that should be formed at a young
age are just the beginning of the problem. A subset known
as control theory states that there needs to be an
appropriate sense of sociological influence from the outside
world to inhibit deviant behaviors; if the individual did
not receive a foundation of societal norms from his
immediate caregivers, he will not be able later to regulate
behaviors on the same continuum as a law-abiding individual
(Wrightsman et al., 1998).
Other social learning theories support the notion that
criminal behavior is somehow reinforced in a c r i m i n a l 's
life, thus making the effort to stop engaging in criminal
behavior an illogical choice for the criminal. This theory
42
was adapted from classical and operant conditioning research
on learning. Throughout the criminal's life, his actions
are either punished or reinforced to a pathological level,
and the result is a skewed sense of what is socially and
morally acceptable (Wrightsman et al., 1998). Even if the
caregivers did not engage in criminological activities
themselves, their punishment and reinforcement of their
children's acts may result in a crime-oriented person.
Other clinicians who subscribe to the social learning theory
may have different elements they bring to the theory, but
the premise remains; humans are social creatures and,
through interactions with others, personality structures are
molded and shaped.
The final theory to be examined for this review states
that the criminal personality is shaped through culture:
sociological theory. This theory rests on the assumption
that the individual is reacting to social constraints and
inequalities that are so deeply interwoven into his culture
that it may seem beyond the individual's control (Wrightsman
et al., 1998). The main pretense is that no matter the
socioeconomic status, the individual will want for similar
goals as others in different socioeconomic statuses. For
43
some, the struggle caused by the discrepancy between wanting
and having causes tension that is seemingly only alleviated
through crime. This theory states that the person may feel
pressured to have what others do and therefore may turn to
illegal activities in an effort to obtain a higher
socioeconomic status (Wrightsman et al., 1998). The main
issue at combating crime that stems from such structural
limitations is that the individual is rewarded for his
efforts and, in essence, gains some aspect of greater
socioeconomic status even if it is only within his limited
social setting rather than on a more global scale. From
this standpoint, the diagnosis of ASPD could also grow out
of such a theory of criminal personality. The goals and
norms that are reinforced through an antisocial personality
structure would be supported by a culture that may feel that
individuals deserve a different status no matter what the
means are to obtaining it.
The previous theories have focused on the origins of a
criminal personality structure. What has yet to be answered
is how these structures can be used through criminal
profiling to gain information and knowledge about the
offender through the physical act of violence that occurred.
44
Locking an offender into a certain type is based on a
few key categories that have been found to encompass a
majority of perpetrators across offenses. The first
distinction is whether an organized or disorganized offender
committed the crime. Another, less common, type is the
mixed offender who displays characteristics of both an
organized and a disorganized offender (Geberth, 1996).
The organized offender may plan his crime, target an
individual (if that is the nature of his offense), and may
not leave behind many obvious physical clues due to the
extent of planning that went into the crime (Wrightsman,
2001). This offender may go to extraordinary lengths to
target an individual he does not know personally and conceal
the i n d i v i d u a l 's identity so the victim cannot describe the
offender. Again, due to the immense planning and details
accounted for by the perpetrator, the clues that could lead
to an arrest may primarily be psychological: how the
offender treated the victim, what the offender said to the
victim during the assault (if the victim is alive), or the
sequence of events that may be similar to other crimes not
yet related to the offense in question (Wrightsman, 2001).
45
The crime scene of an organized offender may relate to
the personality of the offender in many overt as well as
subtle ways. For instance, the amount of control the
offender exerts over the victim may parallel the lack of
control the offender felt while growing up (Geberth, 1996).
In some way this exercise of complete control may be in
retaliation to the domineering parental figures of the
offender's childhood. The body or other evidence may be
transported or hidden, which could be attributed to the
organized offender's level of social responsibility usually
shown in his everyday life. This offender is usually
initially gregarious but, upon further examination, the
offender may be self-centered and care only for himself.
At first thought, the offender may be socially competent and
have an above-average repertoire of social skills. The
extent of the planning and deliberating of details may
reflect his average to above-average intelligence level as
well as so-called street smarts (Geberth, 196). These
street smarts, social competence, and the initial outgoing
nature of the offender have become standard defenses for him
to go unnoticed in life. This technique, along with his
46
detailed planning abilities, allows him to escape scrutiny
longer than would a disorganized offender.
These techniques are essentially all part of his plan
and are somewhat fail-proof due to his level of intelligence
and forethought. As noted in Geberth (1996), this offender
will be proud of his ability to defy the law and to escape
being caught. The offender cannot tolerate this false
construct of superiority being challenged and, if it is, he
will likely react with explosive violence (Geberth, 1996).
With the organized offender, the offense may be
symbolically linked to his life. The amount of planning and
deliberating that goes into the crime, the need to retaliate
against the family of origin, and the level of intelligence
may support such offenses as symbolic rape, torture, or
murder (Geberth, 196).
Other demographic factors include the offender's race
and age, which are usually similar to those of the victim.
The average organized offender usually is married or in some
sort of committed relationship, with a middle-class
socioeconomic status. These particulars enable the
perpetrator to go through life with little scrutiny and
allows for the monetary means to act out the crimes. This
47
person may have escaped previous mental health encounters
but may have an extensive legal history, including domestic
violence, arrests that include impulsivity such as driving
under the influence, as well as a string of other strong-arm
cases. This person does not derive his motivation from
psychotic mental illness; the particulars of the personality
set-up lends the organized offender to be motivated from a
psychopathic framework (Geberth, 1996). This may be due to
the offender's inner rage that is not exposed on a daily
basis and may show a pattern of being violent with one
gender in particular. Many of these assaults could be
serious due to the likelihood that the offender is in good
physical shape. The organized offender may have a history
with the military but usually will be working in a labor-
intensive job where his physical strength is validated and
maintained (Geberth, 1996).
The disorganized offender is one who would not plan the
offense to the degree of an organized offender. Spontaneity
is paramount to the disorganized offender because this
offender typically lacks the mental capacity to plan
elaborate, convoluted schemes; therefore, he relies on the
surprise of the attack as a key ingredient. Due to this
48
lack of planning and forethought, the crime may occur near
the offender's residence or on a regularly traveled route.
This sense of insecurity about the boldness of the crime may
generally lead the disorganized offender to choose victims
by chance rather than targeting a particular individual.
This fact lends to a more impulsive type of person who is
unable to delay the gratification of the assault until he
can plan it better. Unjustified violence may result from
the impulsive nature of the offender and his crime. This
offender is marked by the extreme lack of meaningful
interpersonal relationships. He is usually considered a
loner and may live with a relative due to the lack of
financial stability he can produce as well as the lack of
friends. Beyond being considered a loner, the disorganized
offender may be seen as odd, weird, or eccentric and, due to
this social criticism, he may withdraw further into himself
and more fully internalize the hurt, fear, and anger that
such isolation can induce (Geberth, 1996).
The previously mentioned insecurity may be the result
of social inadequacies, a possible physical ailment, family
of origin problems, or a general instability in the home
that produces a sense of anxiety over one's level of
49
mastery. Such a lack of confidence is classically what
leads the offender to practice sexual acts postmortem; the
possiblity of rejection is null after the point of death,
which may give the offender the sense of confidence that he
lacked with a responsive individual. There may be a sense
of chaos at the scene of the crime or in how the victim
(again, if alive) described the attack (Geberth, 1996).
With this type of offender, the crime scene may yield more
physical clues, such as a weapon or a piece of clothing, due
to the offender's blitz-like, haphazard approach to the
attack (Wrightsman, 2001). Ritualistic behaviors may be
seen at the crime of the disorganized offender, possibly in
an attempt to form some structure to the act as a whole, but
due to the psychopathology the structure is still deviant.
Generally, this offender's motivation is derived from a
psychotic, bizarre state of mind rather than that of a
sociopath (Geberth, 1996).
Demographically, the disorganized offender is younger
(16 to late 30s), which can be associated with the increased
level of impulsivity. Again, most offenders have been
classified as males and generally tend to be of a similar
race as the victim. This offender may be single, and as a
50
result of a lackluster educational career, may wor k in an
unskilled job, if he works at all. This leaves the offender
in the lower to middle-class socioeconomic range and thus
limits the resources available to him to complete the crime,
such as a car or an apartment of his own. If any mental
health history is available, this offender may have been
treated for depression or schizoid tendencies due to his
lack of mastery and the inability to form meaningful
relationships as exhibited by the random, explosive attack
that is usually the disorganized offender's hallmark. In
line with the schizoid tendencies, the individual's arrest
record may show that he has been involved in voyeurism,
fetish thefts, or exhibitionism, which all involve a
detached sense of involvement with the victim (Geberth,
1996).
Alternative Investigative Methods
Forensic Hypnosis
The first psychological approach to a criminal
investigation is forensic hypnosis. This technique
distinguishes itself from standard hypnosis in two ways:
There is a defined goal of the process, and the referring
51
agency becomes the true client (Neihaus, 1998). Hypnotism
to refresh a victim's or witness's memory dates back over
100 years but has only recently become more widely accepted
in the forensic setting (Scheflin, Spiegel, & Spiegel,
1999). Martin Reiser formed the Law Enforcement Hypnosis
Institute (LEHI) in the mid-1970s, so police officers could
be trained in forensic hypnosis. Since its inception,
police departments throughout the United States have adopted
similar training programs for their officers (Wrightsman,
2001 ).
The hypnotist is trying to bring the client back to the
particular day and time of an offense in an effort to
refresh the client's memory to the point of divulging
helpful information. This usually is the result of a last-
ditch effort on the part of the defense or prosecution for
the trial process or of the police during the investigation
(Neihaus, 1998). It is recognized that hypnosis is not a
miracle, but more of a prompt for the client to remember
details that may have consciously been deemed superficial
and therefore blocked out. Scheflin et al. (1999) stated
that the use of hypnosis in cases where the victim or
witness is not emotionally traumatized has become more
52
common in police departments. In cases where the situation
that is targeted is emotionally traumatizing, hypnosis is
understood to aid in retrieving the memory by safely putting
the client back in the particular emotional state that was
originally experienced at the time of the incident (Scheflin
et a l ., 1999).
Hypnosis had previously been scoffed at in legal arenas
until the United States Supreme Court ruled that evidence
found within the session of hypnosis could be deemed
admissible. Through the decision in Rock v. Arkansas
(1987), the testimony of one whose memory had been refreshed
through hypnosis could be admitted to the court, but it was
still necessary to back such information up with
corroborating evidence (Neihaus, 1998; Scheflin et al.,
1999). McConkey and Sheehan (1995) agreed with the
statement that a state of hypnosis does not ensure the
validity of the statements given in the session, and
information obtained relevant to the case at hand should be
corroborated with other evidence available.
Guidelines have been imposed throughout the forensic
realm regarding the use of hypnosis. Only witnesses should
be evaluated through hypnosis, thus leaving out the
53
acceptability of hypnotizing suspects in an effort to gain
confessions of guilt. A case that outlines the problems
faced when hypnotizing a suspect involves a woman who was
suspected of shooting her children. Under hypnosis she
divulged information about a wig, a face-mask, and a set of
cover-alls that were worn by the alleged killer. She later
recanted that statement by saying that it had been an alter
ego of hers who committed the crime. Without any other
corroborating evidence, the police obtained a search warrant
for her home and found the above-mentioned items, which
matched the woman to the shooting. When this evidence was
brought into court, all testimonies and items of physical
evidence were deemed inadmissible because "the prosecution
had not been up front with [the] information" (Neihaus,
1998, p. 87).
This clearly illustrates the problems one could face
when involving a suspect, or in this case, a defendant in
hypnotism for forensic purposes. This rule is also
important because it is understood that lying can occur
under hypnosis. The chance of a client lying under hypnosis
is greater when there are personal fears at stake, which is
more the case with a suspect rather than with a witness.
54
Some have the misconception that one who is under the spell
of hypnosis completely forfeits one's volitional capacities.
This is incorrect based on the principles of hypnosis, which
are "freedom from fear, willingness, and confidence in the
hypnotist" (Neihaus, 1998, p. 86). According to these
factors of hypnosis, one is still able to comprehend what is
happening around him and is able to answer in a volitional
capacity, which could include the choice to lie if his fear
of the consequences called for it (McConkey & Sheehan, 1995;
Neihaus, 1998).
Based on a case where an adult recovered memories of
childhood sexual abuse by an aunt and uncle (Borawick v.
Shay, 1995), the court set forth procedural requirements
that established the admissibility of forensic hypnosis in
court. The guidelines were as follows: (a) A psychologist
or psychiatrist who is trained in hypnotism must facilitate
the session, and he or she must be able to quality as an
expert to the court's standards; (b) the person conducting
the hypnotism session should be independent of either the
prosecution or defense; (c) all information prior to the
hypnotic state must be recorded in its entirety; (d) as much
information about the incident the person can remember prior
55
to hypnosis must be recorded to establish what was pre- and
posthypnotically remembered; (e) all interactions between
the hypnotist and client should be recorded; and
(f) only the client and the hypnotist should be present in
the room, even during the prehypnotism information gathering
interview (Borawick v. Shay, 1995).
These guidelines set out by the court do not fall in
accordance with all the regulations forensic hypnotists
share to ensure a nonbiased outcome of the session. One
such regulation is that the professional should obtain
limited case knowledge prior to the session. This is due to
the naturally suggestive nature of the state of hypnosis.
The less knowledge of the details of the case helps to
ensure that leading and suggestion will not factor into the
client's responses and memories (McConkey & Sheehan, 1995;
Neihaus, 1998). This is in opposition to Borawick v. Shay
(1995) ruling that the hypnotist must gather as much
information prior to the session to establish which facts
were remembered pre- and posthypnotically. This discrepancy
may cause difficulty for the hypnotist to know on which rule
to rely; however, without gathering adequate prehypnotic
56
data, the session may not be deemed to meet the standards
set out in Borawick v. Shay (1995).
Cognitive Interview
Another psychologically based technique is the
cognitive interview. As stated previously, there is no
guarantee that a hypnosis session will reveal the
information needed to help in the case at hand. An
alternative to the forensic hypnosis process is called the
cognitive interview technique (Cl). Neihaus (1998) stated
that this technique was established by Martin Reiser,
director of Behavioral Science Services within the Los
Angeles Police Department and the University of California,
Los Angeles, Psychology Department in 1984. Yet it is also
noted in numerous other works (Milne & Bull, 1999;
Wrightsman, 2001; Wrightsman et al., 1998) that Fisher and
Geiselman were the cofounders of the cognitive interview
technique. This technique involves a nine-step process that
eliminates the induction and relaxation stages of hypnosis
(Neihaus, 1998).
Explicit memory systems are utilized and manipulated
through the cognitive interview using four mnemonic devices
peculiar to explicit memory. When an individual is
57
consciously trying to remember, he is using explicit memory
as opposed to implicit memory, which occurs without the
intention or volition of the individual. The explicit
memory mnemonics used are reinstating the context, such as
physical surroundings as well as emotional or internal
states; reporting everything, even if it seems benign;
recalling events in a different sequence; and finally,
changing the perspective of observation or involvement
(Bekerian & Dennett, 1993).
An enhanced model of Cl developed by Fisher, Geiselman,
and Raymond involved gaining rapport with the interviewee,
giving control to the interviewee, encouraging the witness
to focus on one aspect at a time to enhance retrieval, and
encouraging the interviewee to use imagery to help remember.
These added techniques do not deter from the original form
of Cl; in fact, they have been found to increase the amount
of recall associated with Cl (Milne & Bull, 1999).
The Cl process involves the client in retracing his
thoughts, actions, and feelings during the alleged incident.
The interview is conducted in the present tense of the
incident to allow the clients to mentally replace themselves
within the moment of the crime. Through extensive
58
questioning the interviewer obtains the most information
possible (Neihaus, 1998). By involving emotional states
that were present during the event, the cognitive interview
may aid in the retrieval of events that were present during
the initial encoding (Bekerian & Dennett, 1993). At that
point, the interviewer asks the client to recall the events
in a different order, which leads the client to think
differently about the details rather than just telling the
story he has memorized by this point (Neihaus, 1998). This
mnemonic is intended to evoke new information because the
event is being described in a different manner (Bekerian &
Dennett, 1993). Once this has successfully been completed,
the interviewer requests that the client recall the events
once again, but from another perspective— across the street
from where he actually was standing or possibly from the
perspective of one of the victims of the incident.
The next step is to focus on the descriptions of the
persons involved, using physical descriptions but in a
manner that is different from average descriptions. The
interviewer requests that the client remember if the suspect
reminds him of anyone and why; the client addresses the
suspect's mannerisms, such as his walk, posture, facial
59
expressions, accents, and so on, all in an effort to acquire
the best information in quality and quantity the client can
give. If a name was given during the incident that cannot
be recalled, the interviewer may also take the client
through the alphabet, asking the client to think of names
that start with each letter of the alphabet and to stop at
any names that strike a chord with the client (Neihaus,
1998). Bekerian and Dennett (1993) stated that this change
in perspective or cognitive shift would "influence the
retrieval of implicit cues that promote to recall of new
information" (p. 277). Simply said, any shift in cognition
will aid in unique memory retrieval.
A number of studies have been used to test the
effectiveness of the Cl — both the original and the enhanced
version (Milne & Bull, 1999). In each of the five studies
mentioned, the Cl outperformed a standard interview as would
be conducted during a police investigation. In the study
conducted to determine the value of the enhanced cognitive
interview (ECI) over the original Cl, 45% more correct
information was gathered from the ECI than the Cl and 75%
more information was obtained over that of a standard
interrogative interview (Milne & Bull, 1999).
60
These were just a few examples of how detailed the
interview becomes in an effort to gain the most relevant and
descriptive information possible. Cl has been utilized in
many investigations, especially police investigations where
it has been found particularly efficacious (Bekerian &
Dennett, 1993). Particularly in the United Kingdom, the
cognitive interview technique has been integrated into
police recruit training as well as active duty officer
training because of its effectiveness (Kebbell & Wagstaff,
1999).
Memo r y
One predominant issue that is raised when hypnosis of
victims is discussed is the infiltration of trauma on the
memory system. Human memory and recall has been proven to
be a malleable and enigmatic system (Loftus, 1989). There
are three distinct stages of the memory process: encoding,
storing, and retrieval. Encoding is the process by which
information is presented into a memory. Storing of
information is closely related to encoding because how the
memory is stored is dependent upon how the memory was
encoded; if it was a visual or auditory stimulus, the
encoded information will be stored accordingly in the memory
61
system. Finally, to retrieve the information that has been
encoded and stored, the individual must actively scroll
through his memory, as it were, to locate the desired piece
of information (Milne & Bull, 1999).
Many factors go into the encoding of information that
could potentially harm the authenticity of the information
(Milne & Bull, 1999). The state of the victim or witness
during the event contributes to the amount of recall; was
the person intoxicated, angry, crying, or asleep during the
event that is to be recalled? Stress levels were shown to
decrease the quantity of accurate responses but, at the same
time, increase the quality of the responses given. This
supports the notion of hypervigilance on a narrowed scope.
As well as those listed, the amount of violence involved in
the incident and the level of victim or witness involvement
changes the process of encoding on the memory system. All
such infringements on encoding will, in turn, affect the way
memory is stored due to the close relationship the two
processes share (Milne & Bull, 1999).
Factors also exist that infiltrate the retrieval
systems in one's brain. Inferences of what is assumed to be
present may interfere with what truly exists (Milne & Bull,
62
1999). Researchers presented slides of a traffic accident
to participants along with questions pertaining to the
pictures. One week later, the same participants were asked
about the presence of broken glass at the scene; of those
who were questioned with the word smashed, 32% recalled
broken glass. Of those questioned with the word hit, only
16% recalled broken glass. In reality, there was no broken
glass in the original slides, but the verbiage is more
suggestive in one instance than the other, and the response
rates support the notion that suggestibility contributes to
the malleability of the mind (Milne & Bull, 1999).
Other factors, such as cultural stereotypes, norms, and
alliances with particular groups, can all affect a person's
recall of an event. As stated in Milne and Bull (1999),
"memory for events which have personal significance for a
witness or victim can lead to post-hoc rationalizations
which may in turn distort the memory of the . . . event"
(p. 18). The fact that an event that precipitates such
inquiries as a cognitive interview is usually an emotionally
trying experience can factor into the retrieval of
information. The body is geared for fight or flight in
emotional times and not for the encoding of detailed
63
information for later retrieval. Another angle is that the
process of questioning is not always conducive to free
association or a feeling of complete calmness, which can
hinder specifically the retrieval of information, even if it
was encoded and stored properly (Milne & Bull, 1999).
The trauma itself could be dramatic enough that
memories are pushed down into the subconscious. Therapy and
hypnotherapy are designed to be safe places where an
individual is allowed to address memories that were
previously seen as too traumatic to recall in everyday life.
This begs the question of validity of memories that are
spontaneously recalled through hypnosis; this is a question
that many in the field struggle to outline on a continual
basis. Some therapists and hypnotherapists wholeheartedly
believe in the process of recovered memories and would not
doubt their client's honesty. Others cannot be so persuaded
(Loftus, 1993). Loftus (1989) was involved in a study that
found that "misleading postevent information can impair
memory of an original event" (p. 100). This supports the
notion that not all recovered memories are authentic and
that one's memory can be manipulated, but more importantly,
it raises the issue facing a hypnotherapist involved in a
64
forensic case who is presented with such material; what is
one to do with the material both on a therapeutic and a
legal level? These are all issues that one must be mindful
of when entering into a professional relationship under the
pretense of legal action— the scope of work as a consultant
for the police, the prosecution or the defense must always
be forefront in the professional's mind.
Research conducted by Bekerian and Dennett (1993)
supporting the Cl has found that "the cognitive interview
technique (Cl) has proven to be one of the most successful
areas of applied memory research" (p. 275). This body of
research was influential because it recognized the inherent
fragility of the human memory system and incorporated basic
concepts of episodic memory. Through this sound research
structure, the researchers were able to conclude that Cl
yields more correct memories than do other techniques, yet
it does not increase the rate of error. These findings were
tested over a broad range of conditions, such as personal
involvement in the event in question, uniqueness of the
event, and density of the event, which further supports the
solidity of the findings (Bekerian & Dennett, 1993).
65
Psychics
The most heavily criticized nontraditional technique
used in criminal investigations is the use of psychics.
Critics of the involvement of psychics in criminal
investigations have called it "self-serving publicity, self-
delusion, and in some cases outright fraud" (Lyons & Truzzi,
1991, p. 3). The majority of the publicity heard on the
matter of psychics in criminal investigation is negative;
public perception of the phenomena has been molded by the
inundation of self-proclaimed celebrities who can be
associated with these paranormal encounters. As of 1991,
only one police department had officially come out by
writing policy that included the use of psychics in
investigations.
The general feeling police officers have regarding the
use of psychics is that it is a last-ditch effort, and it is
only used when all other venues have been exhausted (Lyons &
Truzzi, 1991). Yet at the same time, law enforcement
officers routinely go back to the scene on a hunch and make
a case-changing discovery or pull their gun defensively when
there may not be any visible danger and end up saving their
own l i v e s . The argument exists that law enforcement
66
officers continually go on a gut feeling while dismissing
the perceptions of a psychic. This psychic-like intuition
is considered an important part in all aspects of the
criminal investigation, whether it is from a designated
psychic or the investigating detective (Kocsis et al.,
2000). In many similar situations, "officers didn't realize
that intuition could be a form of psychic ability" (Randles
& Hough, 201, pp. 165-166).
Psychic phenomena have existed throughout history and
across cultures (Lyons & Truzzi, 1991). Historically, the
armed forces, defense councils, military intelligence, and
governmental agencies have overtly or covertly employed the
use of psychics (Lyons & Truzzi, 1991). It is not a tactic
that many agencies will openly admit; relying on someone
with extrasensory perception is either viewed as cheating in
the form of national defensive strategies or just simply
antiestablishment enough to warrant the need to hide the
fact that it occurs.
Another hurdle to overcome in understanding psychic
phenomena is the United S t a t e s ' general feeling toward
organized religion. This country was supposed to be founded
on the separation of church and state, but that is not
67
usually the case when it comes to how the public would want
its law enforcement to respond to a case. In some sense law
enforcement agencies are among the most conservative
organizations and thus reflect the morals and ideals of the
conservative constituency. This poses a moral problem for
those who view any sort of paranormal experience as satanic
or evil and may contribute to the continued skepticism of
the psychic phenomena. Such skepticism and scrutiny of the
experience may lead those opposed to find information to
support their ideals (Lyons & Truzzi, 1991).
Empirical research has not been supportive of the
phenomenon (Nickell, 1994). One study reported by Nickell
stated that when psychics were tested on their ability to
formulate responses, they performed no better than chance.
Nickell also reported that a follow-up study was conducted
in response to Lyons and Truzzi's (1991) assertion that the
original study was not representative; in the follow-up
study, the control group again performed better than the
selected psychics.
It seems that evidence from empirical research has
dampened the support of the phenomenon. Although
innumerable historical and current anecdotes and the hushed
68
support of various law enforcement agencies exist, the use
of psychics as a viable tool is generally dismissed (Lyons &
Truzzi, 1991) .
The fascinating aspect of these types of investigative
processes is that they are independent of the physical crime
scene and are based solely on the individual's mind's eye.
It is a testament to the capacity of the human mind and the
ability of the facilitators to draw such information out of
the most closely censored hiding places. Because the
evidence presented through such alternative methods of
criminal investigation is not tangible evidence, it may be
more difficult to gain general acceptance of the evidence.
It may be especially difficult to gain acceptance of such
methods in the law enforcement arena due to the foundation
such agencies are built o n — they depend on the concrete
facts necessary to make a case.
Traditional Investigational Methods
Traditional criminal investigation procedures must be
addressed to fully understand the difference from
alternative means, such as criminal profiling, forensic
hypnosis, cognitive interviews, and the use of psychics.
The investigation begins when the information of an offense
69
is made known to the law enforcement agency (Geberth, 1996).
At this point proper documentation is imperative: day,
date, time, and complete details. Once at the scene, the
officer in command of the investigation must familiarize
himself with the parameters of the scene and the proposed
case. This can be done through visual inspection and
conferring with officers already present or any witnesses
who are immediately available. The officer in charge should
orient himself with the boundaries of the crime scene in an
effort to preserve the evidence. Before more individuals
enter and taint the crime scene, photographs should be taken
and as many relevant statements should be obtained. At this
point an investigative strategy must be implemented
according to the details of the case; a rape or homicide
will be dealt with differently than a kidnaping. The
strategies may include door-to-door interviews, interviewing
involved law enforcement personnel and medical staff,
computer tracking, and research gathering as well as
compiling potential offender lists. Duties and assignments
must be delegated throughout the investigation team as to
who is to deal with each aspect of the investigation
process. The victim would be taken to the hospital at this
70
time with proper law enforcement to gather remaining
evidence and statements, if possible (Geberth, 1996).
Disseminating information to all officers involved is
paramount (Geberth, 1996). The officers must be fully aware
of the circumstances at all possible times to ensure proper
handling of the witnesses, suspects, crime scene, and
investigation as a whole. This may pose a problem with
media and onlookers, depending on the area of the crime
scene, but a focused commanding officer would be able to
protect the integrity of the case.
Another important factor that cannot be overlooked in
an investigation is the use of informants (Weston,
Lushbaugh, & Wells, 2000). These informants may be citizens
who come forward to give information about the incident on
their own free will, or they may be people who work
alongside law enforcement on a regular basis. Informants
are sometimes criminals as well but have earned a place of
trust with certain detectives and are called upon when the
detectives feel that the informant would be able to supply a
basic lead for the officer. Other types of informants
besides basic lead informants are those dubbed participant
and covert i n f o rmants. The former is involved directly in
71
gathering evidence to support an arrest. The latter sort of
informant is one that may report his or her own agency on
illegal activities that are only known to involved parties
(Weston et al., 2000).
Interviews and interrogations are commonplace in a
standard investigational model (Kebbell & Wagstaff, 1999).
Any police training received in the area of interviewing and
interrogation is usually conducted through an outside
organization not affiliated with the law enforcement agency
(Sear & Williamson, 1997). These standard approaches
involve a number of open-ended questions that require the
respondent to elaborate on his answers. It was found that
during the average of three open-ended questions, the
respondent was interrupted 11 times (Kebbell & Wagstaff,
1997). This break in concentration creates a difficulty for
the respondent to cognitively shift memory recall systems to
answer a question. The respondent may also conform to
giving shorter answers in anticipation of such interruption
in the future, thus cutting off potentially valuable
information (Kebbell & Wagstaff, 1999).
Another component of the typical interview or
interrogation in a criminal investigation is the use of
72
closed questions. This is referring to the direct questions
that usually can be answered in one sentence, such as, "What
color was the attacker's shirt?" These questions prevent
the respondent from engaging in any sort of free recall, and
less time is generally spent in memory to retrieve the
answer. When using closed questions, the respondent becomes
a passive player in the interview session and that, in turn,
further inhibits detailed memory retrieval. When a sequence
of closed questions is asked in succession, the questions
are more likely to move from visually, to auditory, to
emotionally based. This constant shift in sensory
perception makes it difficult for the individual to
cognitively shift the paradigm in accordance with the pace
of the questions (Kebbell & Wagstaff, 1997).
Physical Intrusiveness
The other key concept to consider in this review of
literature directly relates to the hypothesis of the study:
How is physical intrusiveness related to the use of
psychological techniques when investigating sexually based
crimes?
Physical intrusiveness refers only to the imposition of
one person on another individual's body. This construct
73
rules out the phenomenon of psychological or emotional
intrusiveness, which pertains more to the invasion of the
individual's psyche and emotional well-being. Physical
intrusiveness is peculiar to sexual crimes because it can
occur with extreme intrusion to the victim's body (i.e.,
rape) or with no physical intrusion to the victim's person
(i.e., voyeurism). In many cases the distinction between
the physical and the psychological components of the
construct of intrusiveness can become vague; in some cases
the perception of the offense can heighten how violated the
individual may have felt when the extent of the physical
intrusion was not as great as it was perceived.
Dearth of Information
Due to the lack of empirical research found regarding
the use of psychological techniques in sexually based
criminal investigations, this study examined which
techniques are most widely used while considering the level
of physical intrusiveness as the dependent factor. More
specifically, which sexual crimes can and do benefit from
the inclusion of psychological constructs as a means of
investigation?
74
The hypothesis was formed based on the understanding of
the rigidity of personality and its influence on behaviors.
It follows that personality characteristics, behavioral
analysis, and the like could also be used in investigating
crimes to establish concrete facts to further aid in the
criminal investigation. These techniques could be useful in
creating information in the absence of physical evidence due
to the lower level of physical intrusiveness of the crime.
Therefore, the hypotheses for this study are as
follows:
Hypothesis 1
W hen a crime has a low level of physical intrusiveness,
investigators will rely more heavily on psychological
techniques to investigate the crime.
Hypothesis 2
When a crime has a medium level of physical
intrusiveness, investigators will rely more heavily on
psychological techniques to investigate the crime.
75
Hypothesis 3
When a crime has a high level of physical
intrusiveness, investigators will rely more heavily on
traditional techniques to investigate the crime.
76
Chapter 3
METHOD
Individual Constructs
The survey was made with the help of Detective Cynthia
Dunn, former detective for the San Luis Obispo City Police
Department and current investigator to the San Luis Obispo
County District Attorney's office. The investigational
techniques were comprised of her investigational experience
and training and literature research by this writer.
Participants reported the frequency with which they
utilized the aforementioned investigative techniques when
investigating 10 different sexually based crimes: stranger
rape, acquaintance rape, attempted rape, adult sexual
assault with penetration, adult sexual assault without
penetration, child sexual assault with penetration, child
sexual assault without penetration, exhibitionism,
voyeurism, and viewing child pornography. The frequencies
were reported on a Likert-type scale of the following:
never, seldom, sometimes, frequently, and always. The
individual methods of investigating sexual crimes made up
77
two categories: psychological and traditional, though this
distinction was not made apparent to participants.
Psychological and Traditional

Investigative Methods
Both the psychological and traditional methods of
investigating sexual crimes consisted of techniques gathered
from both the consultation with Investigator Dunn (San Luis
Obispo County District Attorney's office) and literature
reviews of traditional and nontraditional investigative
methods. Psychological techniques are found under the
headings of Suspect Evidence, Interview With Victim, and two
variables under Other Techniques (Pretext Phone Call and
Psychic Consultation). Traditional techniques are found
under the headings of Victim Evidence, Victim at Crime
Scene, and two variables under Other Techniques
(Corroborating Data and Review of 911 tapes). Since all
variables were rated on the same Likert-type scale of Never,
Seldom, S o metimes, Frequently, and Always, the scale was
analyzed numerically with Never = 0, Seldom = 1, Sometimes =
2, Frequently = 3, and Always = 4.
78
Sexual Crimes
The sexual crimes used in this study were made from
reviews of commonly investigated sexual crimes found in the
literature. Based on a pilot study conducted at Alliant
International University among 2nd- and 3rd- year graduate
students, the sexual crimes were separated into three
categories on the basis of physical intrusiveness of the
crime. The categories were as follows: highly physically
intrusive (stranger rape, acquaintance rape, adult sexual
assault with penetration, and child sexual assault with
penetration), moderately physically intrusive (attempted
rape, adult sexual assault without penetration, and child
sexual assault without penetration), and not physically
intrusive (exhibitionism, voyeurism, and viewing child
pornography; see Appendix A ) .
Hypotheses
The assumption of this study was that there is a
difference in the investigational techniques used when
investigating sexual crimes, and it is related to the level
of physical intrusiveness of the crime (high, moderate, or
none). It was assumed that when the crime was moderately
physically intrusive or not physically intrusive, detectives
79
would utilize more psychological investigative techniques,
and when the sexual crime was highly physically intrusive
they would more often use traditional investigative
techniques. The data were analyzed through a dependent
sample multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) using SPSS
software since each person responded to all three groups of
intrusiveness and therefore yielded a mean value for all
three.
Participants
The data for this study were obtained through
interviews with law enforcement officers holding the rank of
detective for at least 1 year to ensure sufficient
experience with criminal investigations. This was the only
qualifier for participants. Descriptive demographic data
were collected on each participant. The interviews were
conducted via mail, telephone, and disseminated through
e-mail. Full confidentiality was retained. Informed
consent was obtained with each participant prior to the
beginning of each interview. The detectives sampled were
from both urban and rural jurisdictions in both Wisconsin
and California. Further descriptions of the participants
80
are addressed under the Preliminary Analysis section of
Chapter 4.
Materials
A consent form was discussed and obtained prior to any
information being shared between the participant and the
interviewer (see Appendix B ) . A statement of
confidentiality and the bounds of such were also discussed
and obtained prior to any information being shared between
the participant and the interviewer.
The survey consisted of a structured questionnaire (see
Appendix C) based upon information gathered in conjunction
with a contact detective not otherwise involved in this
study. The questionnaire consisted of investigative
procedures utilized by detectives who have investigated
sexual crimes. The content of the questionnaire was derived
from the consultation with a contact detective and was
assembled in a checklist form. The independent variable was
based on the level of physical intrusiveness of the sexual
crime. The dependent variable examined was the extent to
which psychological versus traditional investigative
constructs were incorporated into the investigation. This
81
was evaluated based on the answers to the questionnaire for
the specific sexual crimes.
Procedures
The interview was structured and had the following
components: informed consent, confidentiality statement
signed by both the participant and the interviewer,
demographic information gathering, and a data collection
survey. This interview was conducted with privacy regarded
as highly as possible, considering possible department
regulations. Each participant was given a participation
number, and that number was the only identifying information
on the questionnaire.
Once the data were gathered, the responses to the
questionnaire were analyzed in reference to the hypotheses,
which state that the less physically intrusive a sexual
crime, the more heavily the investigator will rely on
psychological techniques to gather suspect information; the
more physically intrusive a sexual crime, the more heavily
the invetigator will rely on traditional techniques to
gather suspect information.
The data were examined using a dependent samples
multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Since each
82
participant yielded a mean for all three levels of physical
intrusiveness, this was the most appropriate analysis.
83
Chapter 4
RESULTS
Hypotheses
It was predicted that the investigational techniques
used by police detectives when investigating sexual crimes
would differ, depending on the level of physical
intrusiveness of the crime. Specifically, it was theorized
that when a sexual crime was in the L o w or Medium Physical
Intrusiveness categories the investigative techniques would
be predominantly psychologically based. However, when the
sexual crime was in the High Physical Intrusiveness
category, it was proposed that the officers would rely more
heavily on traditional investigative methods.
Preliminary Analysis
Chi-square analyses were run to establish if
significant differences existed between the participants
from California and from Wisconsin who made up this sample.
The two sample populations were analyzed and found not to be
significantly different for gender, (4, N = 65) = 2.844, p =
0.241; age, ^2(4, N = 65) = 1.588, p = 0.662; race, x2(4, N
84
= 65) = 5.432, p = 0.245; and jurisdiction, x2(4, N = 65) =
3.439, p = 0.179 (see Table 1). Due to the similarity in
the two states' demographics, combining them into one data
set was appropriate.
The participants consisted of 67 police detectives from
midsize police precincts in both California and Wisconsin.
A total of 85.5% of participants indicated that they were
employed in an urban jurisdiction, whereas 12.9% indicated
that their jurisdiction was rural (see Table 2). The
participants reported their ethnic identity as 86.4%
Caucasian, 6.1% Latin/Hispanic, 3.0% African American, 3.0%
Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1.5% Native American across the
two states combined. The sample was made up of 68.2% men
and 30.3% women, and 41.8% of the participants had been
serving as detectives for up to 5 years (see Tables 3
through 6). The age of the detectives ranged from 26 years
to over 56 years, with a majority of reported ages
(California = 11.9% and Wisconsin = 25.4%) being between 46
and 55 years.
MANOVA Results
The interview data were analyzed using SPSS (version
11.01) through a dependent samples multivariate analysis of
85
Table 1
Chi-Squared Results for Demographic Data
Variable x2 df P
Gender 2.844 2 .241
Age 1.588 3 .662
Race 9.101 4 .059
Years as detective 5.342 4 .254
Type of jurisdiction 3.439 2 .179
86
Table 2
Jurisdiction Distribution of Participants
Type of California Wisconsin
jurisdiction No. % of total No % of total
Urban 23 37.1 30 48.4
Rural 1 1.6 7 11.3
Totals 24 38.7 37 61.3
87
Table 3
Race Distribution of Participants
California Wisconsin
Race No. % of total No. % of total
Caucasian 19 26.8 38 57.6
African American - - 2 3.0
Asian/Pacific
Islander 1 1.5 1 1.5
Native American - - 1 1.5
Latino/Hispanic 4 6.1 - -
Totals 24 36.4 42 63.6
88
Table 4
Gender Distribution of Participants
Gender No. % of total No % of total
Male 20 30.3 25 37.9
Female 5 7.6 15 22.7
Totals 25 37.9 40 60.6
89
Table 5
Years as a Detective Distribution of Participants
Years as a California Wisconsin
detective No. % of total No % of total

o
in
14 20.9 14 20.9
I
6-10 5 7.5 10 14.9
11-15 1 1.5 4 6.0
16-20 1 1.5 8 11.9
20+ 4 6.0 6 9.0
Totals 25 37.3 42 62.7
90
Table 6
A ge Distribution of Participants
Age No. % of total No % of total
26-35 8 11.9 9 13.4
36-45 9 13.4 15 22.4
46-55 8 11.9 17 25.4
55+ - - 1 1.5
Totals 25 37.2 42 62.7
91
variance (MANOVA) because each participant yielded a mean
score for all three category levels of intrusiveness. The
data were used to determine if a difference existed among
the three levels of physical intrusiveness (low, medium, and
high) and the two types of investigational methods
(traditional and psychological), and whether an interaction
existed between the intrusiveness level and method of
investigation.
Descriptive statistics revealed that psychological and
traditional methods of investigation were used at different
rates for the three levels of intrusiveness. This
difference was determined by the means produced from the
Likert-type scale of Never, Seldom, Sometimes, Frequently,
and Always, indicating frequency of use. Psychological
techniques on the L o w Intrusiveness crimes revealed that the
most commonly reported frequency of use reported was
Sometimes on the Likert-type scale. For traditional
techniques on L o w Intrusiveness crimes, the most commonly
reported frequencies of use were Seldom and S o m e t i m e s .
Therefore, on crimes designated as L o w Intrusiveness,
psychological techniques were used more often than were
traditional methods.
92
Crimes that were included in the Medium Intrusiveness
category had an inverse effect. The psychological
techniques on the Medium Intrusiveness crimes were most
commonly reported as Sometimes and Fr e q u e n t l y , whereas the
traditional techniques reflected that the most commonly
reported frequency of use was Frequently. This indicated
that when the crime is in the Medium Intrusiveness category,
traditional methods are more commonly employed.
Finally, when the crime was categorized as Highly
Physically I ntrusive, the techniques were similar to that of
the M e d i u m Physically Intrusive group. On average, the
psychological techniques were reported as being used
Sometimes and Frequently. The traditional techniques were
most commonly reported as Frequently and Always. These
results further support the hypothesis that crimes in the
High Intrusiveness category are most commonly investigated
using traditional techniques (see Table 7).
A significant main effect existed for both the level of
intrusiveness (high, medium, or low), F ( 2, 63) = 96.03, p <
.01, and the investigational techniques used (psychological
or traditional), F(l, 64) = 74.64, p < .01. Additionally,
there was an interaction between the level of intrusiveness
93
Table 7
Summary of Means for Investigational Categories
Variable M SD
Low intrusiveness/psychological
technique 2.26 .81
Low intrusiveness/traditional
technique 1.83 .76
Medi u m intrusiveness/psychological
technique 2.70 .44
Medi u m intrusiveness/traditional
technique 3.39 .44
High intrusiveness/psychological
technique 2.69 .39
High intrusiveness/traditional
technique 3.60 .32
94
and the investigational methods used, F ( 2, 63) = 283.07,
p < .01 (see Table 8).
Under Mauchley's Test of Sphericity, it was found that
the assumption of sphericity had been violated. This was
mitigated through the use of a MANOVA analysis and was
therefore further tested using the Greenhouse-Geisser Test
of Within-Subjects Effects. From the Greenhouse-Geisser
Test it was established that, although sphericity had been
violated, all three levels of physical intrusiveness, F( 2,
63) = 181.08, p < .01, and both investigational techniques,
F( 1, 64) = 74.64, p < .01, were still strongly significant.
Additionally, the interaction between the level of
intrusiveness and the investigational method remained
robustly significant, F ( 2, 63) = 444.43, p < .01 (see Table
9).
When within-subjects contrasts were tested, it was
determined that a significant difference existed between the
Medium and L o w Intrusiveness categories, F(l, 64) = 176.18,
p < .01, and the High and L o w Intrusiveness categories, F(l,
64) = 193.80, p < .01. In addition, there was a significant
contrast between the two types of investigational measures,
F ( 1, 64) = 412.35, p < .01.
95
Table 8
Multivariate Tests
Variable Test Value F df P Eta2
Intrusiveness Wilks's
lambda .247 96.026 2, 63 .000 .753
Method Wilks's
lambda .538 74.642 1, 64 .000 .538
Intrusiveness Wilks's
* Method lambda .100 283.069 2, 63 .000 .900
96
Table 9
Tests of Within-Subjects Effects
Variable Test SS df M2 F P Eta2
Intrusiveness Greenhouse-
Geisser 96.27 1.08 88.90 181.08 .000 .739
Method Greenhouse-
Geisser 14.93 1.00 14.93 74.64 .000 .538
Intrusiveness Greenhouse-
* Method Geisser 32.87 1.39 23.65 444.43 .000 .874
97
Finally, the Test of Between Subjects Effects demonstrated
that a significant difference continued to exist, F(l, 64) =
2,752.42, p < .01 (see Table 10).
Summary of Results
Overall, the significant main effects highlight that a
relationship exists among the three different levels of
physical intrusiveness and the two different methods of
investigational techniques. However, the interaction that
occurred is far more telling as to the direction and nature
of the relationship. This explains that although generally
traditional techniques were relied upon and were utilized at
a higher frequency on Medium and Highly Intrusive crimes,
psychological techniques were more often used with
investigating crimes in the L o w Physical Intrusiveness
category. Furthermore, the use of traditional methods
dramatically increased between L o w and Medium levels of
intrusiveness where the use of psychological techniques
remains fairly stable across all three levels of physical
intrusiveness (see Figure 1). Further discussion of the
results, clinical implications, limitations of the study,
and suggestions for future research are presented in Chapter
5.
98
Table 10
Tests of Within-Subjects Contrasts
Variable Contrast SS df M2 F P Eta2
Intrusiveness Level 2
vs. 1 130.06 1 130.10 111 .2 .000 .734
Level 3
vs. 1 157.40 1 157.40 193.8 .000 .752
Method Linear 4.98 64 4.98 74.64 .000 .538
Intrusiveness Level 2
* Method vs. 1 40.3 1 40.3 412.40 .000 .870
Level 3
vs. 1 56.9 1 56.9 573.6 .000 .900
99
Estimated Marginal Means of MEASURE_1

4.0
</>
c
TO
<D
CC
c
CD
03
METHOD
■o 2.0.
IW ‘
-f r
LU 1-5
2 3
INTRUSIV
Figure 1. Graphed means for investigational c a t e g o r i e s .
Legend: 1 = low intrusiveness crime, 2 = medium
intrusiveness crime, 3 = high intrusiveness crime, Method 1
= psychological techniques, Method 2 = traditional
techniques, Estimated Marginal Means = participants rating
scale of 0-4.
100
Chapter 5
DISCUSSION
Hypotheses
It was hypothesized that a difference would exist
between the investigational techniques used when
investigating crimes based on the level of physical
intrusiveness. When the crime was Highly Physically
Int r u s i v e , it was hypothesized that the investigational
methods would be more often than not traditional and when
the crime was in the Medium Physically Intrusive or L o w
Physically Intrusive category, psychological methods of
investigation would be relied on more often. Overall, the
data supported two out of three h y p o theses.
Summary Findings
The two sample populations (California and Wisconsin)
were analyzed and found not to be significantly different
for gender, age, race, number of years as a detective, and
jurisdiction, and therefore were analyzed as one data set,
which established the following: When the sexual crime is
in the category designated as L o w Physical Intrusiveness
101
(exhibitionism, voyeurism, and viewing child pornography),
the techniques utilized by sampled detectives were more
often than not psychologically based. This supported the
original hypothesis.
When the sexual crime is in the category designated as
Medium Physical Intrusiveness (attempted rape, adult
molestation without penetration, and child molestation
without penetration), the data indicate that traditional
methods were used more often than psychological m e t h o d s .
This does not support the original hypothesis, however, that
psychological techniques were used at a rate greater than
that of L o w Intrusive c r i m e s . This indicates that even
though psychological methods were not equally utilized when
investigating crimes in the Medium Physical Intrusiveness
category, the techniques were not wholly based on
traditional m e t h o d s .
Finally, when the category of crimes was designated as
High Physical Intrusiveness, traditional methods were the
favored technique by this sample set. This, too, supported
the original hypothesis.
Figure 1 (p. 102) depicts the same findings in another
manner. Specifically, as the categories of crimes change
102
from L o w to Medium levels of physical intrusiveness, the use
of traditional investigational techniques increases sharply.
These traditional techniques continue to increase between
Medium and High levels of physical intrusiveness, but this
is a much more uniform rate than is seen between the
previous two ca t e g o r i e s .
The use of psychological techniques also increases
across the three levels of intrusiveness but at a much more
gradual rate. This is important to highlight because it
underscores the importance of the psychological techniques
in a wide variety of i nvestigations.
Implications
Much of the literature reviewed suggested that
psychological techniques were gaining support among police
departments at a slow rate when they are designated as
psychological techniques. The literature also suggested
that many police departments have adopted some psychological
techniques but do not refer to them in that manner. Many of
the techniques listed in this experiment were therefore
labeled in a manner that is more closely aligned with law
enforcement verbiage than psychological t e r m s . This
suggests that investigators may be more hesitant to utilize
103
means that are not seen as being purely law enforcement
te c h n i q u e s .
What is demonstrated by this study is that
psychological techniques are being utilized by medium-sized
rural and urban departments primarily when investigating a
certain class of sexual crimes: those crimes that involve
low levels of physical intrusiveness to the victim.
This is hypothesized for a number of reasons:
(a) These crimes leave less physical evidence such as DNA
and fingerprints to examine, (b) the crime can occur in a
different setting than can a crime that is highly physically
intrusive, and (c) the information that can be provided by
the v i ctim is qualitatively different due to the physical
distance allowable in crimes with a low level of physical
intrusiveness. Also, it is important to keep in mind that
nonphysical evidence, or evidence gathered through
psychological techniques, is present in even highly
physically intrusive crimes as well. However, due to the
abundance of physical evidence, the nonphysical type of
evidence is usually not highlighted or relied upon to the
same extent.
104
It then is logical why the data also suggest that
psychological techniques are still utilized even when the
crime is considered to be at a medium or high level of
physical intrusiveness. This is important because it
indicates that psychological techniques are not peculiar to
or only helpful in situations where the crime consisted of
low levels of physical intrusiveness. If the reasoning
behind this is due to the fixed nature of personality and
the resulting behaviors, it would follow that similar
results would be found when applied to other areas of
criminal investigations.
The clinical implications of this study are expansive.
This class of investigational methods may not be readily
taught in police academy courses or continuing professional
training seminars. If psychologically based methods are
used across the spectrum of cases, more emphasis should be
placed on appropriately educating law enforcement officers
of the efficacy of such procedures. It is also important to
consider who is responsible for disseminating such
information. Psychologically based information is best
taught by those in the psychological field rather than the
law enforcement field. If the psychological information was
105
taught by a psychologist and then complemented with a law
enforcement structure provided by a law enforcement
official, those being trained could have the best possible
training. This could open up the law enforcement field to
those in the psychological field in a way that has not
previously been an option. It would also benefit the law
enforcement officers to be provided with the knowledge and
understanding of the psychological side of investigations by
the most qualified trainer.
Limitations
The limitations of this study are most notably due to
the sample size. Police departments and their officers most
often w ork in a closed system where those who are not part
of the group are regarded with a great deal of suspicion.
For this and other reasons unknown to the experimenter, many
departments were unwilling to participate in the data
collection process. Those departments who did participate
extended a great deal of support and cooperation in the
process. Of the departments who did participate, all were
from midsized departments and therefore many did not have
large numbers of detectives to participate. If the sample
106
size was larger, the findings would be more robust and more
general i z a b l e .
Another limitation is that the survey administered to
the participants did not encompass all possible
investigative techniques. Rather, it was an attempt to
cover a large scope of practice in a manageable-sized
survey. For this reason, many of the techniques initially
found were condensed into broad categories that addressed
clusters of techniques. If the survey specifically stated a
greater number of techniques the results would be more sound
and compelling.
Further Research
Future research could expand on the already collected
data to examine further interactions that were not assessed
in this study. Other areas for research would be to expand
the present study with larger sample sizes, a greater array
of department sizes, and more investigational techniques as
study variables. This study could also be tailored to a
variety of other types of criminal investigations to
determine if the findings relating to sexually based crimes
are generalizable to other crimes as well. Any or all of
107
these suggestions could improve upon and further the
research findings presented in this study.
Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
108
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109
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113
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
INTRUSIVENESS HIERARCHY
Intrusiveness Hierarchy
I need to ask for help in ranking the level of physical
intrusiveness of various sexual crimes for my dissertation.
If you could help me by filling out this short survey and
returning it to my box, I would appreciate it.
Please rank these sexual crimes in the order of least
physically intrusive (1) to most physically intrusive (10)
to the victim.
Stranger Rape
Exhibitionism
Adult Sexual Assault Without Penetration (Adult on Adult
Voyeurism
Attempted Rape
Adult Sexual Assault With Penetration (Adult on Adult)
Acquaintance Rape
Child Sexual Assault With Penetration (Adult on Child)
Pornography
Child Sexual Assault Without Penetration (Adult on Child)
Thank you and you can return these to my box (#165) when
you're d o n e .
Brianna Satterthwaite
116
APPENDIX B
CONSENT FORM
117
CONSENT FORM
Alliant International University-Fresno
5130 E. Clinton Way, Fresno, CA 93727
Telephone: (559) 456-2777
This study will examine the types of investigative procedures utilized by

law enforcement detectives. Your participation in this study will be lim ited to a
survey in which investigation techniques will be assessed.
By checking the box below, you will have agreed to participate fully and
have allowed the interviewer, Brianna C. Satterthwaite, to gather demographic,
rank and investigative inform ation on yourself. Please be aw are that this data
will be kept confidential and that the researcher will follow the American
Psychological Association Ethical Standards including those for Research with
H um an Subjects.
You m ay w ithdraw from this study at any time and will suffer no penalty
if you choose to w ithdraw . If you suffer any ill effects as a result of your
participation, please inform the researcher or the research office. If you feel the
need to talk w ith someone regarding thoughts or feelings related to the questions
asked of you, please let the researcher know and you will be assisted. If
necessary, you will be referred to a therapist. However, neither the researcher
nor Alliant International University-Fresno will accrue the cost.
If you have any questions or concerns about the conduct of the research
you m ay reach me at 608-260-8840. You m ay also contact the Research Office at
Alliant International University 559-456-2777 ext. 2231. Thank you for agreeing
to take part in this research study.
I 11 agree to participate in the above described survey
118
APPENDIX C
SURVEY
119
SEXUAL CRIMES DISSERTATION SURVEY
I am w orking on my doctorate in Forensic Psychology at Alliant International

University in Fresno, California. The following survey is for my doctoral
dissertation which focuses on the different w ays in which sexual crimes are
investigated. I w ould like to get inform ation regarding standard investigative
practices of detectives who investigate (or have investigated) sexually based
crimes. This is in no way intended to comprom ise the integrity of officer's w ork
and has been m ade as vague as possible to avoid such problems. This w ork will
rem ain in the academic field and will be used for the completion of my doctoral
degree. The survey should take about 10 m inutes to complete. Thank you for
your participation and help w ith m y doctoral dissertation.
Directions for filling out the survey: Please read and check the consent box on the
consent form before proceeding. Next, please fill out the brief dem ographic
page. To complete the survey, please check the box on the left side that best
corresponds w ith frequency of the techniques you (the officer) use from the list
on the right side. Each page has a different sexual crime listed at the top of the
page.
***Please DO NOT denote any identifiable inform ation such as name or badge
number.
120
Thank you for your time in filling out this survey. A few simple demographic
questions are required before we begin.
Gender: □ M □ F Race/Ethnicity: I | Caucasian

I | African American
Age: □ 18-25 I I A sian/ Pacific
□ 26-35 Islander
□ 36-45 I I Native American
□ 46-55 I I L atin/H ispanic
□ 56 +
Years as Detective: □ 0-5 Type of Jurisdiction:! I Urban

□ 6-10 □ Rural
□ 11-15
□ 16-20
□ 20+
*NOTE: All crimes are considered to have adult perpetrators and victims unless
otherwise stated.
121
Please Check All That Apply for the Crime of: STRANGER RAPE
N e v e r S e l d o m S o m e t i m e s Fre q u e n t l y A l w a y s (Adult Perpetrator/Adult Victim)
Victim Evidence
□ □ □ □ □ Examine Victim's Clothing
□ □ □ □ □ Victim and Scene Photographs
□ □ □ □ □ W ood's Lamp
□ □ □ □ □ Sexual Assault Exam @ Hospital
□ □ □ □ ■ □ DNA Analysis
□ □ □ □ □ Fingerprint Analysis
□ □ □ □ □ Fresh Com plaint Witness Interview
Suspect Evidence
□ □ □ □ □ O rganization of Act
□ □ □ □ □ M otivation of Assault
(Power, Anger or Excitation)
□ □ □ □ □ Accessibility to scene
□ □ □ □ Suspect/V ictim Relationship
□ □ □ □ □ Interview / Interrogation
□ □ □ □ □ Behavioral Analysis
□ □ □ □ □ Matching Characteristics of Offense
□ □ □ □ □ W ith Other Known Offenders
□ □ □ □ □ With Other Unsolved Cases
Victim @ Crime Scene

□ □ □ □ □ Condition of Victim's Clothing
□ □ □ □ □ Physical M anipulation of Victim
□ □ □ □ □ Crime Scene Paraphernalia
□ □ □ □ □ Physical Condition of the Victim
Interview with Victim

□ □ □ □ □ Reenactment of Crime
□ □ □ □ □ From Memory
□ □ □ □ □ Using Senses
□ □ □ □ □ W ith Visualization Techniques
□ □ □ □ □ Forensic Hypnosis
Other Techniques
□ □ □ □ □ Corroborating Data
□ □ □ □ □ Review of 911 tape(s)
□ □ □ □ □ Pre-Text Phone Call
□ □ □ □ □ Psychic Consultation
122
Please Check All That Apply for the Crime of: ACQUAINTANCE RAPE
Never Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always ( A dult Perpetrator/Adult Victim)
V ictim Evidence
□ □ □ □ □ DNA Analysis
Suspect Evidence
□ □ □ □ □ S uspect/ Victim Relationship
□ □ □ □ □ M atching Characteristics of Offense
□ □ □ □ . □ W ith Other Unsolved Cases
V ictim @ Crime Scene

□ □ □ □ □ Crim e Scene Paraphernalia
Interview w ith Victim

□ □ □ □ □ Reenactm ent of Crime
O ther Techniques
□ □ □ □ □ C orroborating Data
123
Q Q Q Q O Psychic Consultation
Please Check All That Apply for the Crime of: ATTEMPTED RAPE
Never Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always ( Adult Perpetrator/Adult Victim)
Victim Evidence
Suspect Evidence
□ □ □ □ □ Suspect/V ictim Relationship
□ □ □ □ □ W ith Other Unsolved Cases

□ □ □ □ □ C ondition of Victim's Clothing

Other Techniques
124

Please Check All That A pply for the Crime of: ADULT SEXUAL ASSAULT
W ITH PENETRATION
Never Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always ( Adult Perpetrator/ A d u l t Victim)
Victim Evidence
□ □ □ □ □ Fresh Com plaint W itness Interview
Suspect Evidence
□ □ □ □ Organization of Act
□ □ □ . □ □ M atching Characteristics of Offense
□ □ □ □ □ W ith O ther Known Offenders
□ □ □ □ □ W ith O ther Unsolved Cases


□ □ □ □ □ From M emory
O ther Techniques
125
Please Check All That Apply for the Crime of: ADULT SEXUAL ASSAULT
W ITHOUT PENETRATION
Never Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always ( Adult Perpetrator/Adult Victim)
V ictim Evidence
Suspect Evidence
□ □ □ □ □ Organization of Act
Victim @ Crim e Scene


126
O ther Techniques
Please Check All That Apply for the Crime of: CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT
W ITH PENETRATION
Never Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always ( A d u l t Perpetrator/Child Victim)
V ictim Evidence
□ -□ □ □ □ Fingerprint Analysis
Suspect Evidence
□ □ . □ □ □ W ith O ther Known Offenders

n □ □ □ □ Condition of Victim's Clothing

127
Other Techniques
n □ □ □ □ Psychic Consultation
Please Check All That Apply for the Crime of: CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT
WITHOUT PENETRATION
'Jever Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always ( Adult Perpetrator/Child Victim)
Victim Evidence
Suspect Evidence


128
O ther Techniques
□ n □ □ □ C orroborating Data
Review of 911 tape(s)
□ □ □ □ □
Please Check All That A pply for the Crime of: EXHIBITIONISM
Never Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always (A d u l t Perpetrator/Adult Victim)
Victim Evidence
□ □ □ □ W ood's Lamp
Suspect Evidence


129
Other Techniques
Please Check All That Apply for the Crime of: VOYEURISM
Vever Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always (Adult Perpetrator/Adult Victim)
Victim Evidence
Suspect Evidence

130
Other Techniques
□ □ □ □ □ C orroborating Data
Please Check All That Apply for the Crime of: CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Never Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always ( Adult Perpetrator/Child Victim)
v it urn Evidence
Victim cviuence
□ -n □ □ □ Examine Victim's Clothing
Victim and Scene Photographs
□ □ □ □ □
Suspect Evidence

□ □ n □ □ Crime Scene Paraphernalia
131

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL INTRUSIVENESS

OF A SEXUAL CRIME AND THE USE OF

BRIANNA CASHELL SATTERTHWAITE

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Psychology in Forensic Psychology

Alliant International University

College of Arts and Sciences

ProQuest Information and Learning Company

The dissertation of Brianna Cashell Satterthwaite, "The

Relationship Between Physical Intrusiveness of a Sexual

Crime and the Use of Psychological Techniques in Criminal

Investigations," approved by Jane Younglove, MS, JD, has

been accepted and approved by the Faculty of the College of

Arts and Sciences, Fresno Campus, in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Psychology in

May 19, 2004

I would first like to thank Jane Younglove, MS, JD, for

her work both as my chairperson and as the director of the

department that has provided me with the education I sought.

Her help and dedication as a chairperson have been integral

to the completion of not only this dissertation but of this

degree in its entirety. Her lighthearted manner made each

hurdle attainable, and her involvement in my education

brought a voice to victims who are so often forgotten.

I would also like to thank Eric Hickey, PhD, for his

contribution, not only to this dissertation but to my

education as well. He brought a sense of decency and humor

to otherwise indecent topics and helped this work remain

interesting, valued, and necessary.

This dissertation and its statistical soundness would

not have been possible without the help of two people:

Sioban O'Toole, PhD, and Rachel Latter, PhD. Their

understanding of statistics, willingness to take time and

explain why, and support of a student who understood far

less than they did was invaluable.

supportive and encouraging than I could ever have asked for.

Their perspective has always been on the greater goal, which

has helped me stay focused and determined to finish— even

when all I wanted to do was relax and take a break. The

advice they have continually given has always been to

has sustained me through long days and even longer nights of

studying and being away from them this final internship

year. Without their constant support and love, this day

would not have been possible.

Thank you to the wonderful friends I made on this

journey. Without the select few of you, the Thursday nights

and a favorite local spot, I may have finished my

dissertation sooner, but I would not have had the wonderful

memories that made this time in my life so cherished.

Finally, and so importantly, I must express my

immeasurable gratitude to my fiance, Brian. His admiration,

love, encouragement, and dedication have given me the

strength to accomplish what were once my goals and are now

our goals. He tempered long nights of studying, months

apart for internship, a cross-country move, and my continued

belief in me and my abilities to accomplish this goal has

been unwavering and is a constant source of motivation for

me to take the advice of my parents and persevere. Brian,

thank you for taking this adventure with m e — I love you.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

The Relationship Between Physical Intrusiveness

of a Sexual Crime and the Use of

Brianna Cashell Satterthwaite

College of Arts and Sciences, Fresno Campus