Premium
The practice of crime linkage: A review of the literature
Author(s) -
Davies Kari,
Woodhams Jessica
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of investigative psychology and offender profiling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1544-4767
pISSN - 1544-4759
DOI - 10.1002/jip.1531
Subject(s) - optimal distinctiveness theory , terminology , linkage (software) , documentation , psychology , set (abstract data type) , consistency (knowledge bases) , process (computing) , social psychology , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , artificial intelligence , gene , programming language , operating system
Crime linkage has been the subject of increasing attention in academic research. Research has found support for the principles of behavioural consistency and distinctiveness, which underpin crime linkage, but this does not provide direct evidence as to whether crime linkage is useful in practice. This literature review draws together documentation that refers to the practice of crime linkage, from assessing analysts' efficacy, to discussing the usage of computerised tools to assist with the linkage process, to providing a comprehensive outline of the process itself. The implications of the amount and type of information currently available are discussed, including the variations in practice and terminology that were explored. Avenues for future investigation and the manner in which future research could be conducted are set out in a research agenda.