Criminals Profile Victims, So Why Can’t We Profile Criminals?

In every act of violence, one truth remains constant, the criminal picked their target. They profiled them. Whether it’s a lone woman on a dim street, a house with no security system, or a store with distracted staff, the offender assessed vulnerability and made a calculated decision. This isn’t speculation, it’s standard operating behaviour for predators. So, the question is simple, if criminals are profiling us, why are we forbidden from profiling them?

The answer lies not in law, the law allows profiling by security, and the public alike, but in ideology. We've allowed emotion and politics to override logic and survival. Public officials will issue detailed warnings about crime patterns, without ever mentioning the common denominators among the perpetrators. To even suggest that patterns of behaviour correlate with demographics, psychology, culture or prior records is treated as heresy. And so, we blindfold the law while hoping the wolves ignore the sheep.

Profiling isn’t prejudice. It’s pattern recognition. Every competent security professional knows this. You don’t stop people based on who they are, you stop them based on what they do, how they move, where they linger, and why they don't belong. Behaviour matters.

Prior record matters. Intent leaks through body language, spatial movement, and social dynamics. Ignoring that doesn’t make you virtuous, it makes you and those you are responsible for, vulnerable.

The data doesn’t lie. A disproportionate share of violent crime is committed by a small, well-defined segment of the population, often young, male, fatherless, with prior arrests, low impulse control, and documented antisocial traits. These patterns hold across cities, cultures, and decades. They are observable, measurable, and, most importantly, actionable.

Yet instead of using that information to enhance public safety, we've politicised it. We suppress it in the name of equity. We conceal it to avoid discomfort. Meanwhile, offenders operate with perfect clarity. They know where enforcement is soft. They know which behaviours bad security personnel won’t question. They know that if they play the system right, they won’t be stopped, until someone’s dead.

In the security world, risk isn’t managed by denying reality. It’s managed by confronting it. Profiling, when used properly, isn’t racism, sexism, or discrimination. It’s triage. It prioritises attention based on threat indicators, not fantasies about universal innocence. The alternative is chaos.

Psychologically, pretending everyone is equally likely to offend is absurd. Human beings aren’t blank slates. They carry patterns, preferences, and predispositions. Criminals exploit these truths. So should we, if we want to stop them.

The irony is brutal, the same society that tolerates criminals profiling victims often seeks to criminalize police professionals who profile criminals. The same justice system that tracks gang behaviour, repeat offending, and psychological markers refuses to let that data inform real-time prevention.

That’s not justice. That’s suicide.

We don't protect society by denying human nature. We protect it by understanding it, fully, truthfully, and unapologetically. Criminals are already profiling us.

It’s time we let police return the favour. From the author.

The opinions and statements are those of Sam Wilks and do not necessarily represent whom Sam Consults or contracts to. Sam Wilks is a skilled and experienced Security and Risk Consultant with 3 decades of expertise in the fields of Real estate, Security, and the hospitality/gaming industry. Sam has trained over 1,000 entry level security personnel, taught defensive tactics, weapons training and handcuffs to policing personnel and the public. His knowledge and practical experience have made him a valuable asset to many organisations looking to enhance their security measures and provide a safe and secure environment for their clients and staff.