Gregory Saville:

"This book is a breakthrough for the science of crime and prevention and for the criminological enterprise – both academic and practitioner. Osborne has made a contribution of considerable weight. This is a book you should read."

Qualitative Crime Pattern Identification

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

These were the serial crimes I tracked when I was a crime analyst at the local level of policing:


Bank Robberies

Bar Related

Bootleg Goods

Cab/Taxi Driver Victims

Car Break-ins

Carjackings

Cemeteries

Commercial Crime

Construction Related

Counterfeit Money

Delivery Robberies

Disguises

Drugged/Intoxicated Victims

Elderly Victims

Fast Food Restaurant Related

Fraud/Scams

Gangs

Garage Burglaries

Gas Station Related

Graffiti

Handicapped Victims

Hate Crimes

Home Invasions

Homicides

Hotel/Motel Related

Juvenile Victims

Metal Theft

Parking Lot Related

Prostitution

Public Transportation Crimes

Purse Snatching

Religious Building Related

Repeat Offenders

Restaurant Related

Ruse Burglaries

School Related

Sex Crimes with Unknown Assailants

Shootings

Stolen Firearms

Theft from Coin Machines

Theft of Antiques/Collectibles

Theft of ATVs/Boats/Recreational Vehicles

Theft of Cigarettes

Theft of Computers

Theft of GPS Units

Theft of Jewelry

Theft of Pets/Animals

Vacant Dwelling Related

Vandalism

Weapon Possession

Monday, November 13, 2023

Knowledge & Skills

 One example out of ten in the Knowledge & Skills Chapter 18:

 Artistic Abilities:

  • Art Forgery/Counterfeiting: Skills in painting, sculpture, graphics design, or other artistic mediums to create forgeries of art or counterfeit money.

Something to be aware of!

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Identity and Travel Document Fraud

Interpol can assist you in investigations involving identity and travel document fraud. Check their resources out at this link.

Frome the site:

Thousands of different identity and travel documents exist worldwide so it can be a challenging task to spot the real thing. Our technical solutions allow member countries to conduct first-line cross-checks against our databases and reference resources at airports, sea ports and border crossings. 

The SLTD database (travel and identity documents) contains records of travel documents that have been reported as lost, stolen, stolen blank and revoked.

FIELDS provides visual information on the key markers that can indicate a counterfeit or forged document.

EdisonTD is a reference tool that contains images of genuine travel and identity documents.

DISCS is a database containing certificates of civil status such as birth, marriage, death, identity and citizenship.

Monday, November 6, 2023

WHO might be a business

In the who, what, where, when, how, and why of a case, WHO might not be a person, but, rather, a business. Of course, people who are engaged in illegality in the business may be investigated and prosecuted, too, but the business itself can be target of an investigation. You can develop a target profile for a business you are investigating.

from the College of Policing (England & Wales)  Intelligence Products:

Criminal business profiles aim to detail how criminal operations/businesses operate. A criminal business can be described in the same way as a legitimate business. The only difference is that with a criminal business there is always a victim. This technique breaks down the criminal process into stages, focusing on key elements of the business process. This helps identify the key stages that cannot be achieved without completing another, thereby indicating areas for disruption. It should also highlight weaknesses in systems or procedures that are being exploited and identify intelligence gaps and new lines of enquiry.

A flow chart is a useful tool in a criminal business profile and can be used to show business and financial processes. Crime script analysis serves as a useful analytical tool to support this process. This product is often used in conjunction with market and subject analysis to provide a comprehensive picture of criminal activity and the people involved.

ICLG USA Business Crimes Law and Regulations 2021 is available at this link. It provides a good summary regarding what laws apply to businesses and potential illegal activities.

From the FBI's White-Collar Crime page, located at this link.

"Reportedly coined in 1939, the term white-collar crime is now synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals. These crimes are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and are not dependent on the application or threat of physical force or violence. The motivation behind these crimes is financial—to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services or to secure a personal or business advantage."

Friday, November 3, 2023

Marine Ports and Organized Crime

Even if your jurisdiction has no nexus to marine ports, understanding how ports facilitate organized crime activity is good to know. How might your jurisdictions' crime have a connection? 

Organized Crime Research Brief no. 25 - Marine Ports and Organized Crime is available at this link.

Seaport Vulnerability to Criminal Networks: A Mixed Method Approach to Measuring Criminological Vulnerability in the Top 30 U.S. Container Ports is a research paper available at this link.

The book Elements of Crime Patterns presents variables that can be combined for thinking about such links.

Consider: What was the Robber Wearing?

The suspect description in a robbery can be useful in linking crimes into a possible pattern. Sometimes the suspect wears the same items ove...