Criminology

As other tools of profiling, geographic profiling (GP) also presents numerous limitations which affect its effectiveness and credibility.  The technique requires a large sample size for it to be effective thereby making it futile in everyday policing as from a practical perspective, serial crimes do not occur often.  Moreover, in some areas where the rate of crime is very low, GP may be not applicable.  GP is useful where numerous crimes with similar traits occur within a specific locality, meeting such conditions is tricky as most criminal activities are widely distributed and vary in terms of their characteristics.  Such situations make finding a stable anchor point intricate thereby reducing significantly the chance of making an arrest. 

Besides sex offences and homicides, GP can also be used for arsonists and marauders.  This can be attributed to the fact that arsonists and marauders confine their operations within a specific locality thereby making GP an important tool for tracking and arresting the offender.  However, GP should be used in conjunction with other profiling techniques to enhance its effectiveness and eliminate limitations.

The circle theory of environmental range supports conclusively the assertion that crimes committed by criminals are home-based and a buffer zone is prominent between them and the crime scenes.  The circle theory asserts that a relationship exists between the offenders choice of crime locations and his operation base (Canter  Larkin, 1993).  This theory is based on cognitive mapping in which rational representations of geographical space by an individual constitute the fundamentals.  As a result, this theory is better of in supporting this assertion as other theories do not focus primarily on the existence of a buffer zone and the relationship between operation base and crime scene locations.