Analyzing the system of offender profiling, Profiling in Policy and Practice takes into consideration the quality and validity of the information on which police base their decisions, assessing the possibilities for detecting deception.

The consistencies of a criminal's behaviour are also studied, with a look at the differences between one offender and another. Other questions asked include what form such groups take and the influence they have on the criminal's actions, the role of leaders in crimes, or the socio-cultural processes of which they are a part.

There are also important issues about the implications and use of any answers that may emerge from scientific studies of crimes and their investigation.