Chapter 17 Intuition: What are we waiting for? Let's find someone quickly!
As dusk approached, the sky was ablaze with the colors of sunset.
The aroma of food from the cafeteria gradually grew stronger, occasionally wafting into the office.
But at this moment, everyone was focused on the case. Even Liu Haoran, who was the most enthusiastic eater, did not notice the aroma of the food and stared intently at Jiang Ling.
The term "psychological profiling" is quite novel.
Even Ying Songmao, who has been engaged in criminal investigation technology research, was hearing about it for the first time.
Unlike physical features, a person's psychology is dynamic and changeable, so how can it be depicted in a drawing?
Ying Songmao remained calm, but his assistant Zhao Jingxin couldn't contain his curiosity and asked directly, "What is psychological profiling?"
Jiang Ling said, "I saw this term in a foreign paper. Criminal behavior is constrained by environmental conditions, reflecting the perpetrator's daily habits and personality traits. Through psychological traces and psychological scenes in case evidence, psychological principles and techniques can be used to analyze the perpetrator's image, behavior, motives, psychological processes, and psychological characteristics, thus providing a basis for identifying the range of perpetrators. This process is called psychological profiling."
The people in the office were all practitioners in the public security system and not good at theoretical research. Jiang Ling's words were too theoretical and left everyone confused.
Li Zhenliang raised his hand and scratched his head: "Xiao Jiang, can you explain it in simpler terms?"
Zhou Wei chimed in, "Yeah, I don't quite understand either."
Even Liu Haoran, who had taken courses in criminal psychology, felt that Jiang Ling's words were too obscure: "It's really hard to understand what foreigners write when translated. Why don't you explain it in the context of a case? That would be easier to understand."
Ying Songmao understood: "Is it about inferring a criminal's psychological characteristics based on their behavior?"
Jiang Ling nodded: "That's right! A psychological profile isn't actually a drawing of a person, but rather a description of the perpetrator based on the clues we have. This includes their physical characteristics, psychological characteristics, social characteristics, and criminal history."
As she spoke, Jiang Ling wrote the four words "physiological, psychological, social, and criminal experience" on the whiteboard.
"Just now, the team leader has identified the suspect through forensic technology as being under 145 cm tall, thin and weak, and having no experience in theft. He used a hairpin to commit the crime."
"Next, I will begin to create a psychological profile of the perpetrator."
Jiang Ling paused for a moment to observe everyone's reaction.
Everyone nodded.
“I understand now. It’s called a portrait, but it’s not actually a painting. It’s more like a story.”
"The more detailed the description, the easier it is to find the perpetrator."
"Xiao Jiang, please continue. I've got it all in mind."
Jiang Ling took out the first file.
"This is a bicycle bell theft case that occurred in November 1992. It was also the perpetrator's first crime, and the crime scene was a textile factory. As we just discussed, the first crime usually takes place in a place close to home, but this case is different. Among the 11 cases in the series, the first crime scene was the farthest from home."
The discussion, which had just been interrupted by Wei Changfeng and the others, finally got back on track. Li Zhenliang's brain was working at lightning speed: "Is it possible that she happened to be near the textile factory that day and stole a bell on a whim?"
Liu Haoran immediately shook his head: "No, it can't be a coincidence. People are most nervous and scared when they commit their first crime, so they usually choose a location near their home. If you look closely at the crime map, the later the serial number, the farther away it is from the towel factory. The first crime is the only exception."
Li Zhenliang leaned closer to examine the map and gave Liu Haoran a thumbs up: "It seems there really is this pattern. You're amazing!"
Zhou Wei suggested another possibility: "Could it be that she wasn't alone when she committed the crime for the first time, but was taken there by someone who lived near the textile factory?"
Liu Haoran shook his head again: "Impossible. Stealing isn't something to brag about, so you'd definitely have to hide it from people. How could you possibly do it with someone else?"
"It's neither this nor that," Zhou Wei spread his hands, "Then tell me, why is it?"
Liu Haoran, who was more clear-headed, said: "One possibility is that the bell she initially wanted to steal happened to belong to a textile factory worker."
Li Zhenliang and Zhou Wei thought about it and said, "Hmm, that makes sense."
"Haoran is right." Jiang Lingchong nodded in agreement with Liu Haoran. "The most illogical things often become the most crucial clues."
Liu Haoran felt very pleased to receive the affirmation.
Jiang Ling continued, "If the motive for the crime was money or kleptomania, then she would definitely choose a place close to home and convenient to commit the crime for the first time. Using the process of elimination, I deduced that the perpetrator's motive was revenge, and she stole bicycle bells to achieve her revenge. And the target of the first crime was naturally the person she wanted to take revenge on."
Liu Haoran still found it a bit strange: "Stealing a bell to report back, isn't that a bit childish?"
Jiang Ling raised her voice: "Yes! It's childish. Because the perpetrator is just a little girl, she doesn't have the ability to retaliate by means of beating, reporting, or damaging property, so she can only secretly steal the other party's bell. The first person whose bell was stolen is the target of her revenge."
Liu Haoran opened the first police report record: "This case was reported by the factory office secretary, but the bicycle bell belonged to Qian Jianshe."
Everyone frowned upon hearing the name Qian Jianshe.
"Why is he everywhere?!"
"This person is no good."
"After Qian Darong got into trouble, the textile factory issued a notice criticizing Qian Jianshe, and he's currently suspended from his duties to reflect on his actions. Someone like that deserves to have his bicycle bell stolen!"
Ying Songmao reminded Jiang Ling, "This is just speculation."
Physical evidence suggests that the perpetrator was a frail, short woman, not necessarily a young girl; there is also no established criminal investigation theory to support the claim that a first-time offender could not have lived far from home.
Jiang Ling's deduction seems reasonable, but it is actually highly subjective.
Jiang Ling couldn't tell everyone that when she heard the words "bicycle bell," she triggered Shen Xiaomei's file, which meant that Shen Xiaomei must be related to this case.
Shen Xiaomei said she had been homeless and begging since she was six years old, which is inconsistent with the fact that the perpetrator usually lived in the towel factory.
The bell that Shen Xiaomei kept was left by Xiaoyue, so the little girl who stole the bell was most likely Xiaoyue.
Besides the information that Xiaoyue was thin, malnourished, and died of tuberculosis, Shen Xiaomei once said that Xiaoyue only had her mother, but her mother was killed by bad people, and the bad people had a very "dirty" bell.
If solving a case is an exam, then Jiang Ling is holding the standard answer and trying to perfect the solution process.
Although her psychological profile lacked direct physical evidence, Jiang Ling knew she was on the right track. She looked at Ying Songmao and said calmly, "Captain Ying, this is my intuition."
Their eyes met in mid-air.
Jiang Ling's eyes were clear, shining with an amber light in the glow of the sunset.
Ying Songmao saw persistence and determination in her eyes.
After a moment of silence, Ying Songmao nodded slightly: "Okay, continue." Although Jiang Ling's psychological profiling process was somewhat immature, it was not without ingenuity. It might be worth giving her more opportunities; perhaps she could truly open up a completely new path in criminal investigation.
After receiving Ying Songmao's approval, Jiang Ling drew a heavy circle around the two characters "report back" on the blackboard.
"The reason I say the perpetrator is a young girl is threefold: first, because being under 145 cm tall, thin, and frail fits the characteristics of a young girl; second, because hair clips are often worn by young girls; and third, because teenage girls are at a sensitive stage and are prone to resorting to childish acts of revenge after being provoked by certain events."
"Haoran mentioned during the discussion that the incidents mostly occurred on Sunday nights and Monday mornings, with an interval of about one month between each incident. This indicates that the girl's trauma occurred on a Sunday, was related to Qian Jianshe, and happened once a month."
At this point, everyone looked at each other, each with a lot to say.
Li Zhenliang spoke first: "Qian Jianshe is a womanizer, it couldn't be..."
His first thought was that the girl had been sexually assaulted by Qian Jianshe. The thought made Li Zhenliang's heart clench; he felt a deep ache. As a father himself, he couldn't bear to imagine the emotional breakdown a young girl would experience after being sexually assaulted.
Retaliation? Li Zhenliang felt that stealing the bell was too mild a form of retaliation!
Zhou Wei interrupted him: "No. It's true that Qian Jianshe is a womanizer, but his mistresses are all adult women."
Li Zhenliang breathed a sigh of relief: "Not the best."
Liu Haoran continued, "Then... perhaps the girl's family was harmed by Qian Jianshe?"
Jiang Ling had been waiting for this very sentence, and she nodded firmly: "Yes, this relative is most likely the mother, after all, a mother and daughter are connected at heart. The little girl witnessed her mother having a relationship with Qian Jianshe, was powerless to stop it, and felt resentful, so she wanted revenge and stole his bell. After that, under repeated stimulation, she repeated the theft, which gradually developed into a pathological behavior."
Ying Songmao never expected that Jiang Ling could deduce a complete crime process simply by looking at the time, place, and physical evidence of the incident.
Is this what criminal profiling is?
Li Zhenliang had worked with Jiang Ling once before and witnessed her analysis of Qian Darong's criminal psychology. He had long had faith in her abilities, so upon hearing this, he immediately stood up: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's find someone quickly!"
He felt so sorry for a teenage girl who had gone through such psychological trauma.
Even if she was a thief, she was forced into it by that shameless man, Qian Jianshe!
Jiang Ling raised her hand and pressed it down, signaling Li Zhenliang to calm down: "Don't rush, the psychological profiling is not completely finished yet."
Li Zhenliang urged her, "Then hurry up and tell me."
Jiang Ling said, "If the girl had a father, she would have chosen to seek help from him, and her mother would not have been able to have such a regular relationship with Qian Jianshe. If she had siblings, she would have someone to confide in, and her mental health would be less likely to suffer. Therefore, I speculate that she is an only child, her father died early or her parents divorced, and she and her mother depend on each other for survival, and she has her own dormitory."
This time, Liu Haoran and Zhou Wei couldn't sit still any longer and stood up at the same time.
Girl, 140-145 cm tall, in primary or junior high school, petite and weak, living alone with her mother.
—This information is detailed enough. There are more than 300 households in the towel factory's residential building, so it would only take one day to screen out the perpetrators.
If we can find this girl, it means that Jiang Ling's psychological profile is correct!
The two said in unison, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's find someone quickly."
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