The Certificate in Law Enforcement Investigation and Interviewing (Criminal Profiling) is a program focusing on the principles, procedures, techniques, legal concerns, and challenges associated with a criminal investigation. The Certificate includes instruction in administrative law and procedures, courtroom evidence management and preparation, case presentation and court testimony, description and identification, state and federal criminal law and procedures, informant and suspect rights, officer liability, informant and witness management, victim awareness, tactical interviewing, psychology, criminal investigation methods and procedures, report writing and documentation, investigative techniques, and case management.
New and more sophisticated techniques and tools of criminal investigation are being developed to assist in meeting the challenges facing today’s law enforcement officers. Criminal profiling goes beyond the crime scene. It is often used to create a psychological profile of a suspect, or determine if an offender is mentally competent to stand trial. Completion of a Certificate in Criminal Profiling prepares students to evaluate suspects, victims, and offenders to determine anything from the validity of their statements to the likelihood they committed a crime. As a criminal profiler, students are able to create in-depth offender, victim, crime scene, and psychological profiles based on detailed analyses of fact patterns, behavioral descriptions, and evidence. The Certificate provides both the theoretical information and practical skills related to the types of crimes for which profiling is most useful.