Understanding the concept of trace in criminal profiling

This article addresses the use of the term „trace” for the purposes of criminal profiling. In the literature on criminal profiling, “trace” is usually associated with such terms as “physical”, “forensic”, “behavioral” and “psychological”, whereby the two latter are considered to be the domain of profilers. The aim of this article is to familiarize the reader with the classification of traces used by criminal profilers, usually consisting of physical and forensic traces, as well as the way in which behavioral and psychological traces are defined in criminal profiling. Attention is also drawn to the fact that behavioral and psychological traces are understood in a different way by various authors. Moreover, it happens that the same author gives different meanings to the same term. Meanwhile, the lack of established definitions of behavioral and psychological traces may hinder the evaluation of expert opinions concerning criminal profiles, issued for the purpose of criminal proceedings.