Comparative Case Analysis (CCA), typically conducted by crime analysts, uses crime scene behaviours to try to identify series of crimes committed by the same offender. Accurate identification of series of offences allows the police to pool resources and evidence, thereby boosting the potential to identify and apprehend the offender. This paper discusses the results of a survey of a sample of crime analysts working in two UK police forces about their views and experiences of CCA. The results focus on how CCA is conducted, what evidence and information is considered, and how useful CCA is to criminal investigation. Suggestions for how CCA might be developed further are also included.
BabbieE. (1990). Survey research methods (2nd ed.). California: Wadsworth.
2.
BatemanA. L.SalfatiC. G. (2007). An examination of behavioral consistency using individual behaviours or groups of behaviours in serial homicide. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 25, 527–544.
3.
BeaverK. M. (2010). The promises and pitfalls of forensic evidence in unsolved crimes. Criminology & Public Policy, 9, 405–410.
4.
BennellC.BloomfieldS.SnookB.TaylorP.BarnesC. (2010). Linkage analysis in cases of serial burglary: Comparing the performance of university students, police professions and a logistic regression model. Psychology, Crime & Law, 16, 507–524.
5.
BennellC.JonesN. J. (2005). Between a ROC and a hard place: A method for linking serial burglaries by modus operandi. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 2, 23–41.
6.
BennellC.JonesN. J.MelnykT. (2009). Addressing problems with traditional crime linking methods using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 14, 293–310.
7.
CanterD.LarkinP. (1993). The environmental range of serial rapists. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13, 63–69.
8.
ClarkeR. V.EckJ. (2003). Become a problem solving crime analyst in 55 small steps. London: Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science.
9.
ColeS. A. (2010). Forensic identification evidence: Utility without infallibility. Criminology & Public Policy, 9, 375–379.
10.
de VausD. A. (1996). Surveys in social research (4th ed.). London: UCL Press.
11.
EwartB. W.OatleyG. C.BurnK. (2005). Matching crime using burglars' modus operandi: A test of three models. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 7.3, 160–174.
12.
GrubinD.KellyP.BrunsdonC. (2001). Linking serious sexual assaults through behaviour (Home Office Research Study 215). London: Home Office.
13.
HazelwoodR. R.WarrenJ. I. (2003). Linkage analysis: Modus operandi, ritual, and signature in serial sexual crime. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 8, 587–598.
14.
House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. (2005). Forensic Science on Trial. London: The Stationery Office.
15.
JamelJ.BullR.SheridanL. (2008). An investigation of the specialist police service provided to male rape survivors. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 10(4), 486–508.
16.
MarksonL.WoodhamsJ.BondJ. (2010). Linking serial residential burglary: Comparing the utility of modus operandi behaviours, geographical proximity, and temporal proximity. Journal of Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling, 7, 91–107.
17.
MilneR.BullR. (1999). Investigative interviewing: Psychology and practice. Chichester: Wiley.
18.
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. (2006). Postnote: The national DNA database. London: Author.
19.
SalfatiC. G.BatemanA. L. (2005). Serial homicide: An investigation of behavioural consistency. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 2, 121–144.
20.
SanttilaP.FritzonK.TamelanderA. (2004). Linking arson incidents on the basis of crime scene behavior. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 19, 1–16.
21.
SanttilaP.HäkkänenH.FritzonK. (2003). Inferring the characteristics of an arsonist from crime scene behaviour: A case study in offender profiling. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 5.1, 1–15.
22.
SanttilaP.JunkkilaJ.SandnabbaN. K. (2005). Behavioural linking of stranger rapes. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 2, 87–103.
23.
SorochinskiM.SalfatiC. G. (2010). The consistency of inconsistency in serial homicide: Patterns of behavioural change across series. Journal of Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling, 7, 109–136.
24.
TilleyN.LaycockG. (2002). Working out what to do: Evidence-based crime reduction (Crime Reduction Research Paper 11). London: Home Office.
25.
TonkinM.GrantT.BondJ. W. (2008). To link or not to link: A test of the case linkage principles using serial car theft data. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 5, 59–77.
26.
WeirR.BangsM. (2007). The use of geographic information systems by crime analysts in England and Wales. London: Home Office.
27.
WoodhamsJ.BullR.HollinC. R. (2007). Case linkage: Identifying crimes committed by the same offender. In KocsisR. N. (Ed.), Criminal profiling: International theory, research, and practice (pp. 117–133). Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.
28.
WoodhamsJ.ToyeK. (2007). An empirical test of the assumptions of case linkage and offender profiling with serial commercial robberies. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 13, 59–85.
29.
YokotaK.WatanabeS. (2002). Computer-based retrieval of suspects using similarity of modus operandi. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 4.1, 5–15.
