Collection and application of criminal data in the light of clinical profiling

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate the place of clinical and psychiatric expertise in the service of law enforcement, with special regard to the method of profiling. We introduce the nature of clinical expertise and briefly describe the professions that perform diagnostic activities in the clinical practice. We present the importance of psychiatric knowledge based on relevant international and domestic findings related to crime. We examine professional experiences that raise the need for a psychiatric specialization focusing on the mental conditions that arise in connection with crime. In this context, we do not give examples of mental disorders only, relatively neglected in civilian care, but may have importance in cases of violent offences, and also demonstrate the complex nature of the psychiatric disorders associated with crime, which requires special police expertise besides clinical. Finally, we recommend the first steps needed to establish the specialization of criminal psychiatry.