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By Ronald M. Holmes and Stephen T. Holmes, Second Edition. Sage Publications, London EC2A 4PU, March 1996, 224 pp. Hardback 36.95, ISBN 0-8039-72380-5. Paperback 15.50, ISBN 0-8039-7239-3.
In Profiling Violent Crimes, a wide range of topics is discussed over 13 chapters, including theories of `criminal personality', the rationale for profiling, analysis of crime scenes, the use of computers in profiling, and the profiling of serial murders, rapists, arsonists and paedophiles. There is also a chapter on the importance of obtaining full information and understanding of the victim as a part of the overall profiling exercise. This is seen as a frequently neglected exercise in profiling.
The book is best described as an introductory account of offender profiling. Its primary aim is to describe the basic principles of what the authors refer to as `sociopsychological profiling'. They state that there are three general goals in profiling. First, the `profile should contain basic and sound information...