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Ronald M. Holmes and Stephen T. Holmes
Sage Publications , London, United Kingdom, 2009 , paperback , 344pp ., £27.99/$47.95 ,
ISBN: 978-1412959988
Over the years, the increase in scholarly attention on offender profiling has established this practice as a thriving field of study. Partly, this may be due to the dedicated efforts of two renowned authorities in the field, Ronald Holmes and Stephen Holmes, who have advanced their leading textbook on the topic, Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool , into the fourth edition. Comprising nearly 20 years of meticulous research, updates, and additions along with decades of collective investigative experience and academic knowledge shared between both authors, the fourth edition features new chapters on notable cases and unique crimes, reflects high profile crimes in today's society, and provides guidance on education in the area of profiling. Overall, this book arms the reader with a clear understanding of the main principles and practices involved in offender profiling, beginning with the history and key concepts in the first five chapters.
Setting the stage - literally - Chapter 1 describes the popular culture behind this intriguing practice, reviewing legendary crime television series, films, documentaries and career memoirs by former FBI agents, all of which have glamorised this method and thus galvanised the public's curiosity. The authors then differentiate two contrasting approaches - inductive and deductive - and identify the goals of profiling, to provide socio-psychological information on offenders and effective interviewing strategies. Creatively, Chapter 2 evaluates profiling in fantasy and fact by highlighting contributions from crime fiction. For example, the Sherlock Holmes series demonstrates the importance of observation of minute details in crime scenes, and of objectivity in Red Dragon , while The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal analyse the relationship between profiler, offender and crime scene. The remaining sections are devoted to profiling outcomes in relation to Adolf Hitler and other notorious offenders.
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