The practice of crime linkage: A review of the literature

Kari Davies,Jessica Woodhams

doi:10.1002/jip.1531

Kari Davies, Jessica Woodhams

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1002/jip.1531

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Abstract

AbstractCrime 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.

Highlights

Crime linkage is the process of linking two or more crimes together on the basis of the crime scene behaviour exhibited by an offender (Woodhams, Hollin, & Bull, 2007)
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
An offender's behaviour must be similar enough that it can be recognised across a series of offences and distinctive enough that it can be distinguished from other offenders' behaviour (Woodhams & Bennell, 2014), in order for crime linkage to work effectively

Summary

Introduction

Crime linkage is the process of linking two or more crimes together on the basis of the crime scene behaviour exhibited by an offender (Woodhams, Hollin, & Bull, 2007). This research largely focuses on testing the two fundamental assumptions of crime linkage: behavioural consistency and behavioural distinctiveness (Bennell & Canter, 2002). An offender's behaviour must be similar enough that it can be recognised across a series of offences and distinctive enough that it can be distinguished from other offenders' behaviour (Woodhams & Bennell, 2014), in order for crime linkage to work effectively. Using offender behaviour to link crimes can be advantageous where more traditional linkage methods are expensive and time-consuming (Pakkanen, Zappalà, Grönroos, & Santtila, 2012), or where there is limited or no physical forensic evidence (Grubin, Kelly, & Brunsdon, 2001; Labuschagne, 2014)

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