Deception Offences: Psycho-behavioural Profiling of Offenders

This article will argue that an analysis of the deception offences implies the creation of a psycho-behavioural profile of the offender, outlining the elements that determine or influence this type of criminal behaviour, since identifying its distinctive features is a necessary step in understanding deception offences. Profiling the offender in cases of deception is relevant for establishing preventive and punitive measures for the criminal phenomenon, given the increasing number of deception offences, as well as the severity of consequences in such cases. When creating the offender's profile in deception offences, it is important to consider that he or she belongs to a specific social category, prone to a wide variety of behaviour types, and outlining a typology for the offender in a case of deception requires an investigation of the characteristic traits that influence or determine such criminal offences, thereby offering a potential global perspective on this category of criminals. In order to identify distinctive features in terms of behaviour and the typology of the offender in cases of deception, it is necessary to address the personality of this type of criminal at an individual level, and from here to extract a series of personality traits common to the majority of individuals that commit an offence of deception. The analysis of the offender's criminal behaviour and psychological features contributes to a better understanding of deception offences, and allows for a just legal classification and sanction of the offence, with emphasis on the identification and development of preventive and punitive measures, as well as guidelines for recovery and social reinsertion. For this reason, we believe that more future effort should be allocated to the study of these important but often insufficiently researched aspects pertaining to deception offences. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.