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Geographical profiling obscene phone calls - A case study

Ebberline, Jessica LU (2008) In Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 5(1). p.93-105
Abstract
Studies on geographical profiling have typically focused on crimes with physical crime sites. This study focused on crimes with no physical crimes sites (i.e., no physical contact occurred between the victim and offender). A single offender made obscene phone calls (OPC) to 86 children during the years 1999-2000 in the south of Sweden. The locations in which obscene phone calls were received were analysed in a geographical profiling system (Dragnet) to see whether it could provide a map which showed the most likely area the offender would reside in. The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not geographical software such as Dragnet can be of use for investigators of crimes with no physical crime locations. The result showed that... (More)
Studies on geographical profiling have typically focused on crimes with physical crime sites. This study focused on crimes with no physical crimes sites (i.e., no physical contact occurred between the victim and offender). A single offender made obscene phone calls (OPC) to 86 children during the years 1999-2000 in the south of Sweden. The locations in which obscene phone calls were received were analysed in a geographical profiling system (Dragnet) to see whether it could provide a map which showed the most likely area the offender would reside in. The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not geographical software such as Dragnet can be of use for investigators of crimes with no physical crime locations. The result showed that the offender in this case had his home close to the region assigned the highest probability of containing home or base, which indicates that Dragnet can provide maps which can narrow down the search areas for the police in cases without physical crime locations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
children, Dragnet, Geographical profiling, obscene phone calls
in
Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling
volume
5
issue
1
pages
93 - 105
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
ISSN
1544-4767
DOI
10.1002/jip.80
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f6338971-68ba-472a-ab3c-f8366ea9d251 (old id 1277244)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:17:49
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:05:58
@article{f6338971-68ba-472a-ab3c-f8366ea9d251,
  abstract     = {{Studies on geographical profiling have typically focused on crimes with physical crime sites. This study focused on crimes with no physical crimes sites (i.e., no physical contact occurred between the victim and offender). A single offender made obscene phone calls (OPC) to 86 children during the years 1999-2000 in the south of Sweden. The locations in which obscene phone calls were received were analysed in a geographical profiling system (Dragnet) to see whether it could provide a map which showed the most likely area the offender would reside in. The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not geographical software such as Dragnet can be of use for investigators of crimes with no physical crime locations. The result showed that the offender in this case had his home close to the region assigned the highest probability of containing home or base, which indicates that Dragnet can provide maps which can narrow down the search areas for the police in cases without physical crime locations.}},
  author       = {{Ebberline, Jessica}},
  issn         = {{1544-4767}},
  keywords     = {{children; Dragnet; Geographical profiling; obscene phone calls}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{93--105}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling}},
  title        = {{Geographical profiling obscene phone calls - A case study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jip.80}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/jip.80}},
  volume       = {{5}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}