Can i take it that somewhere in the system is an option for members to view fellow members profiles?. i cannot see it
GWP,
Yes - In the setup options.
Or if you do want to use you can just take members.php down & remove the links.
Depends on your usage / situation if you want this feature.
can i just turn it off so they cannot view profiles?
Just remove the links from the view / edit / cancel / upgrade templates to not have the link. You can delete or rename the members.php file from the installation folder.