TY - JOUR
T1 - The psycho-criminology of burial sites
T2 - developing the Winthropping Method for locating clandestine burial sites
AU - Keatley, David
AU - O'Donnell, Chris
AU - Chapman, Brendan
AU - Clarke, David D.
PY - 2022/3/31
Y1 - 2022/3/31
N2 - The majority of geographical profiling research focuses on the relationship between offender and location, which works particularly well when a burial site is known. In real-world investigations, however, burial or dump sites are often not known. The aim of the current paper is to outline a relatively under-used method of geographic profiling: Winthropping. While the method has been around for several decades, few studies have provided any research findings using it. There are two likely reasons for Winthropping being under-used: first, it has not been clearly, theoretically explained; second, given its relative novelty, it may not be immediately clear how to use it in research and real-world scenarios. The current paper outlines several key psychological (e.g., satisficing and affordances) and criminological (e.g., rational choice theory and crime geometry) theories that may explain why Winthropping works. Case studies are provided, and a methodological approach (matrix forecasting) is then provided to show how it could work in research practice and real-world applications. Overall, Winthropping is deemed to be highly useful, and it is hoped that experts in the field will begin developing this tool for wider, applied use.
AB - The majority of geographical profiling research focuses on the relationship between offender and location, which works particularly well when a burial site is known. In real-world investigations, however, burial or dump sites are often not known. The aim of the current paper is to outline a relatively under-used method of geographic profiling: Winthropping. While the method has been around for several decades, few studies have provided any research findings using it. There are two likely reasons for Winthropping being under-used: first, it has not been clearly, theoretically explained; second, given its relative novelty, it may not be immediately clear how to use it in research and real-world scenarios. The current paper outlines several key psychological (e.g., satisficing and affordances) and criminological (e.g., rational choice theory and crime geometry) theories that may explain why Winthropping works. Case studies are provided, and a methodological approach (matrix forecasting) is then provided to show how it could work in research practice and real-world applications. Overall, Winthropping is deemed to be highly useful, and it is hoped that experts in the field will begin developing this tool for wider, applied use.
KW - Winthropping
KW - burial
KW - affordance
KW - homicide
KW - scan pattern
U2 - 10.1007/s11896-021-09457-8
DO - 10.1007/s11896-021-09457-8
M3 - Article
SN - 0882-0783
VL - 37
SP - 91
EP - 100
JO - Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology
JF - Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology
IS - 1
ER -