Offender profiling is a behavioral and investigative tool that helps investigators to profile an unknown subject ("unsub") or offender(s). Psychological profiling is not the same as Criminal profiling and the two should not be confused. Criminal profiling is also known as offender profiling, criminal personality profiling, criminological profiling, behavioral profiling or criminal investigative analysis. There are so many different names because of the multiple television shows such as Profiler in the 1990s, the 2005 television series Criminal Minds, and the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs that have changed what the FBI refers to as "criminal investigative analysis. Profiler is an American Crime drama that initially aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. Criminal Minds is an American crime drama that premiered September 22, 2005 on CBS. The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 suspense film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, " In modern criminology, it is generally considered the "third wave" of investigative science: the first wave was the study of clues, pioneered by Scotland Yard in the 19th century; the second wave the study of crime itself (frequency studies and the like); this third wave is the study of the abnormal psyche of the criminal. Schools of thought In the mid-18th century criminology arose as social philosophers gave thought to crime and concepts of law New Scotland Yard or Scotland Yard, informally known as The Yard and NSY, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar

Contents 1 Definitions 2 History 3 Notable profilers 3.1 Thomas Bond 3.2 Walter C. Langer 3.3 James A. Brussel 3.4 Howard Teten 3.5 Richard Walter and Bob Keppel 3.6 John Douglas and Robert Ressler 3.7 David Canter 4 Phases of profiling 5 Controversies 6 Profiling in popular culture 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Definitions

Offender profiling is a method of identifying the perpetrator of a crime based on an analysis of the nature of the offence and the manner in which it was committed. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Various aspects of the criminal's personality makeup are determined from his or her choices before, during, and after the crime. This information is combined with other relevant details and physical evidence, and then compared with the characteristics of known personality types and mental abnormalities to develop a practical working description of the offender. Physical evidence is any evidence introduced in a trialin the form of a physical object intended to prove a fact in issue based on its demonstrable physical characteristics

History

The origins of profiling can be traced back to as early as the Middle Ages, with the inquisitors trying to “profile” heretics. Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief Jacob Fries, Cesare Lombroso, Alphonse Bertillon, Hans Gross and several others realized the potential of profiling in the 1800s although their research is generally considered to be prejudiced, reflecting the biases of their time. Jakob Friedrich Fries ( August 23, 1773 &ndash August 10, 1843) was a German Philosopher from Barby. Cesare Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco Lombroso ( November 6, 1835 – October 19, 1909) was a Jewish Italian Alphonse Bertillon ( April 23, 1853 &mdash February 13, 1914) was a French law enforcement officer and Biometrics researcher Hans Groß ( Gross, Grosz) or Hanns Groß ( December 12, 1847, Graz - December 9, 1915, Graz

Notable profilers

Thomas Bond

During the 1880s, Thomas Bond, a medical doctor, tried to profile the personality of Jack the Ripper. Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of Electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered A physician, medical practitioner or medical doctor who practices Medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human Health Jack the Ripper is an alias given to an unidentified Serial killer active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area and adjacent districts of London Bond, a police surgeon who assisted in the autopsy on Mary Kelly, the last of Jack the Ripper’s victims. Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force In Medicine, a surgeon is a person who performs Surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive Medical treatment that involves the cutting of a An autopsy, also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy, or obduction, is a Medical procedure that consists of a thorough Examination Mary Jane Kelly (c 1863 &ndash 9 November 1888 also known as Marie Jeanette Kelly Fair Emma Ginger and Black Mary is widely believed to be the fifth and final victim of the In his notes, dated November 10, 1888, the sexual nature of the murders coupled with elements of apparent misogyny and rage were mentioned. Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Misogyny (mɪˈsɒdʒɪni is hatred (or contemptof women Misogyny is parallel to Misandry — the hatred of men Rage, in Psychiatry, is a mental state that is one extreme of the intensity spectrum of Anger. Dr. Bond also tried to reconstruct the murder and interpret the behavior pattern of the offender: soon he came up with a profile or signature personality traits of the offender to assist police investigation. The profile said that all five crimes had been committed by one person alone who was physically strong, composed, and daring. The unknown offender would be quiet and harmless in appearance, possibly middle-aged, and neatly attired, probably wearing a cloak to hide the bloody effects of his attacks out in the open. He would be a loner, without a real occupation, eccentric, and mentally unstable. A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer In popular usage eccentricity refers to unusual or odd Behavior on the part of an individual He might even suffer from a condition called Satyriasis, a sexual deviancy that is today referred to as hypersexuality or promiscuity. Hypersexuality is the desire to engage in Human sexual behavior at a level high enough to be considered clinically significant Hypersexuality is the desire to engage in Human sexual behavior at a level high enough to be considered clinically significant Promiscuity refers to sexual behavior of a man or woman who casually has sex with many partners Bond also mentioned that he believed the offender had no anatomical knowledge and could not be a surgeon or butcher. Anatomy (from the Greek anatomia, from ana separate apart from and temnein, to cut up cut open is a branch of Biology that is the consideration A butcher is someone who prepares various Meats and other related goods for sale Dr. Bond believed that the offer of a reward would result in those who knew the offender coming forward to speak with the police. Moreover, Dr. Bond later concluded that the same offender was responsible for the murder of Alice McKenzie. Jack the Ripper is an alias given to an unidentified Serial killer active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area and adjacent districts of London

Walter C. Langer

In 1943, Office of Strategic Services (OSS) asked Dr. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Office of Strategic Services ( OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. Walter C. Langer, a psychoanalyst based in New York, to develop a “profile” of Adolf Hitler. Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately What the OSS wanted was a behavioral and psychological analysis for the construction of strategic plans, given various options.

Dr. Langer used speeches, Hitler's book Mein Kampf, and interviews with people who had known Hitler. Mein Kampf ( English: My Struggle/My Battle) is a book by Adolf Hitler. This culminated in the presentation of an 135-page profile of possible behavioural traits of Hitler, and his possible reactions to the idea of Germany losing World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Dr. Langer’s profile noted that Hitler was meticulous, conventional, and prudish about his appearance and body. He was robust and viewed himself as a standard-bearer and trendsetter. A standard-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian who bears an emblem called an Ensign or standard i He had manic phases, yet took little exercise. Mania (from Greek μανία and that from μαίνομαι - mainomai, "to rage to be furious" is a severe medical condition He was in good health, so it was unlikely he would die from natural causes, but he was deteriorating mentally. He would not try to escape to a neutral country. Hitler always walked diagonally from one corner to another when crossing a room, and he whistled a marching tune. He feared syphilis, germs and moonlight, and loved severed heads. Syphilis is a Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal Bacterium Treponema pallidum pallidum.

The profile also pointed out Hitler's oedipal complex, with the effect being the need to prove his manhood to his mother, and his coprolagnia and urolagnia. The Oedipus complex, in Freudian Psychoanalysis, is named after the Greek mythical character Oedipus, who unknowingly kills his father Coprophilia (from Greek κόπρος kópros - excrement and φιλία filía - liking fondness) also called scat, is the Paraphilia Urolagnia (also urophilia, undinism) is a Sexual activity in which participants derive sexual pleasure from Urine and/or Urination He detested the learned and the privileged, but enjoyed classical music, vaudeville, and Richard Wagner's opera. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto He showed strong streaks of sadism and liked circus acts that were risky and dangerous. Sadism refers to Sexual or non-sexual gratification in the infliction of Pain or humiliation upon or by another person A circus is most commonly a traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, Clowns trained animals trapeze acts Hoopers, tightrope walkers He tended to speak in long monologues rather than have conversations. He had difficulty establishing close relationships with anyone. Since he appeared to be delusional, it was possible that his psychological structures would collapse in the face of imminent defeat. The most likely scenario was that he would commit suicide, although there was a possibility that he would order a henchman to perform euthanasia. Euthanasia (literally "good death" in Ancient Greek) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner

James A. Brussel

Between 1940 and 1956, a serial bomber terrorized New York City by planting bombs in public places including movie theaters, phone booths, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Terminal, and Pennsylvania Station. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A bomb is any of a range of devices that typically rely on the Exothermic Chemical reaction of an Explosive material to produce an extremely The City of New York Cinemaaustraliajpg|thumb|A movie theater in Australia ]]A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre or cinema is a venue A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, (or telephone box in the British Isles) is a small structure furnished with a Payphone and designed Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City 's Rockefeller Center. "Grand Central Station" redirects here For other uses see Grand Central. Pennsylvania Station (commonly known as “Penn Station”) is the major intercity rail station and a major Commuter rail hub in New York City In 1956, the frustrated police asked Greenwich Village psychiatrist James A. Greenwich Village (ˌgrɛnɪtʃ ˈvɪlɪdʒ often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern Manhattan A psychiatrist (also archaically called an alienist) is a Physician who specializes in Psychiatry and is certified in treating Mental disorders Brussel, who was New York State's assistant commissioner of mental hygiene. Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or Emotional wellbeing or an absence of a Mental disorder. Dr. Brussel studied photographs of the crime scenes and analyzed the so called “mad bomber’s” mails to the press. Soon he came up with a detailed description of the offender. In his profile, Dr. Brussel suggested that the unknown offender would be a heavy middle-aged man who was unmarried, but perhaps living with a sibling. Moreover, the offender would be a skilled mechanic from Connecticut, who was a Roman Catholic immigrant and, whilst having an obsessional love for his mother, would harbour a hatred for his father. A mechanic is a person who uses Tools to repair things (generally machinery or works to keep things operating properly Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term Brussel noted that the offender had a personal vendetta against Consolidated Edison, the city’s power company; the first bomb targeted its 67th Street headquarters. A feud (ˈfjuːd (referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud or vendetta) is a long-running argument or fight between parties&mdashoften through Guilt Consolidated Edison Inc is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $30 billion in assets Dr. Brussel also mentioned to the police that, upon the offender's discovery, the “chances are he will be wearing a double-breasted suit. Buttoned. ”

From his profile, it was obvious to the police that the mysterious bomber would be a disgruntled current or unhappy former employee of Con Ed. The profile helped police to track down George Metesky in Waterbury, Connecticut; he had worked for Con Ed in the 1930s. George P Metesky ( November 2 1903 &ndash May 23 1994) better known as the Mad Bomber, terrorized New York City for 16 years in He was arrested in January 1957 and confessed immediately. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The police found Brussel’s profile most accurate when they met the heavy, single, Catholic, and foreign-born Metesky. When the police told him to get dressed, he went to his bedroom and returned wearing a double-breasted suit, fully buttoned, just as Dr. Brussel had predicted. However, Malcolm Gladwell has written that offender profiling is not a science at all, but is couched in such ambiguous language that it can support almost any interpretation; and about Brussel says:^[1]

Brussel did not really understand the mind of the Mad Bomber. Malcolm Gladwell (born September 3, 1963) is a United Kingdom -born Canadian -raised Journalist and author now based in New York City He seems to have understood only that, if you make a great number of predictions, the ones that were wrong will soon be forgotten, and the ones that turn out to be true will make you famous. The Hedunit is not a triumph of forensic analysis. It’s a party trick.

Dr. Brussel assisted New York City police from 1957 to 1972 and profiled many crimes, including murder. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Dr. Brussel also worked with other investigative agencies. Brussel’s profile led the Boston Police to the apprehension of Albert DeSalvo, the notorious serial sex murderer known as the Boston Strangler. Albert Henry DeSalvo ( September 3, 1931 &ndash November 25, 1973) was a criminal in Boston, Massachusetts, United The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s The media dubbed Dr. Brussel as “Sherlock Holmes of the Couch”. Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in Publication in 1887

See: Casebook of a Crime Psychiatrist by James A. Brussel, M. D. , Bernard Geis Associates, 1968, Classic, ISBN 0-583-11804-6

Howard Teten

Dr. Brussel wrote about his criminological approach in a book, which caught the attention of Howard D. Teten, a veteran police officer from California who joined the FBI in 1962. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was appointed as an instructor in applied criminology at the old National Police Academy in Washington, D.C. Howard Teten was interested greatly in the application of offender profiling, and had included some of the ideas in his applied criminology course. The National Police Academy is attached to the National Police Agency in Japan. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D He met Dr. Brussel and exchanged investigative ideas and psychological strategies in profiling crimes. Although Teten disagreed with Dr. Brussel's Freudian interpretations, he accepted other tenets of his investigative analysis. Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded

In 1972 the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico was formed with Teten joining FBI Instructor Patrick J. The Behavioral Analysis Unit ( BAU) is a part of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. Quantico Virginia lies in Prince William County, north-northeast of Fredericksburg Virginia, United States, near Dumfries and Stafford Mullany's team. Teten and Mullany designed a method for analyzing unknown offenders in unsolved cases. The idea was to look at the behavioral manifestations at a crime scene for evidence of mental disorders and other personality traits, thus aiding the detectives' deductive reasoning. Mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as Deductive reasoning is Reasoning which uses deductive Arguments to move from given statements ( Premises to Conclusions which must be true if the Soon, their ideas on offender profiling were tested when a seven-year-old girl was abducted from a Rocky Mountains campsite in Montana in June 1973. Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. The girl, Susan Jaeger, was abducted from the tent in the early hours; the offender overpowered Susan before she could alert her parents, who were sleeping nearby. When an intensive search for the missing child failed, the case was soon referred to the FBI.

Teten, Mullany and Col. Robert K. Ressler employed their criminal investigative analysis technique to track down the unknown offender. Robert Ressler is a former FBI agent and Author. He coined the term Serial killer and played a significant role in the psychological profiling Their profile declared that the abductor was most likely a young, white, male, homicidal Peeping Tom; a sex killer who mutilates his victim after death, who sometimes takes body parts as souvenirs. Voyeurism is the sexual interest in spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors such as undressing sexual activity or urinating Later, the profile led to the arrest of David Meirhofer, a local 23-year-old single man who was also a suspect in another murder case. David Meirhofer (June 8 1949 - September 1974 was an American Serial killer who committed four Murders in rural Montana between 1966 and 1974 The search in his house unearthed “souvenirs”—body parts taken from both victims. Meirhofer was the first serial killer to be caught with the aid of the FBI's new investigative technique called offender profiling or criminal investigative analysis. A serial killer is a person who Murders usually three or more people with a "cooling off" period between each murder and whose motivation for killing is largely based A decade later, the technique became a more sophisticated and systematic profiling tool renowned as Criminal Investigative Analysis Program (CIAP).

Richard Walter and Bob Keppel

In 1974 Robert D. Keppel used new methods of psychological profiling to catch notorious serial killers Ted Bundy and the Green River Killer. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Robert David Keppel (born 15 June 1944) is a retired American law enforcement officer and detective most known for his work tracking Serial killers Theodore Robert Bundy (November 24 1946 &ndash January 24 1989 known as Ted Bundy, was an American Serial killer. Gary Leon Ridgway (born February 18, 1949) known as the Green River Killer, is one of the most prolific Serial killers in American He combined his field expertise with criminal psychologist Richard Walter. Richard Walter is an American forensic psychologist for the Michigan prison system a crime scene analyst and one of the creators As a psychologist in Michigan's notorious prison system, Walter had interviewed over two thousand murderers, sex-offenders and serial killers. Richard began to see common threads among offenders and was able to group all killings and sex crimes into four distinct "subtypes": power-assertive, power- reassurance, anger-retaliatory, and anger-excitation or sadism. He was the first to develop a matrix using suspect pre-crime, crime and post-crime behaviors as a a tool for investigation. Richard later co-founded the Vidocq society, an exclusive organization of forensic professionals who solve cold cases for law enforcement agencies, worldwide. The Vidocq Society is a members-only crime-solving club that meets every month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Together, Keppel and Walter created the HITS database, which lists characteristics of violent crimes so that common threads can be investigated. They also published a leading scholarly article for the FBI and violent crime investigators all over the world: "Profiling Killers: A Revised Classification Model for Understanding Sexual Murder".

John Douglas and Robert Ressler

In 1978, after Howard Teten left the Behavioral Science Unit, John Douglas and Robert Ressler became pillars of offender profiling in the FBI. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) John Edward Douglas (born June 18 1945 is a former United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI agent, one of the first Criminal They spent much time studying convicted sex murderers and interviewing them, creating organized and disorganized typology, which is still in use today. Ressler was also responsible for the founding of the National Center for Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) and at least partially responsible for the establishment of VICAP. Their studies provide more information on the behavioral patterns, traits and characteristics of criminals which can then be added to the offender profiling program.

David Canter

In 1986, police forces across the south of England were struggling to find the Railway Rapist who was then renamed the Railway Killer after murdering a victim for the first time. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Dr. David Canter, a psychologist and criminologist from the University of Surrey, was invited to compose British crime's first offender profile. David V Canter is a Psychologist. He began his career as an architectural psychologist studying the interactions between people and buildings publishing and providing consultancy Mental health professional A psychologist is a practitioner of Psychology, the systematic investigation of the mind including Behavior, Cognition, The University of Surrey is a University located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England When John Duffy was later arrested, charged and convicted, it turned out 13 of Canter's 17 proclamations about the perpetrator were accurate. John Duffy and David Mulcahy (both born 1959 are two British rapists and Serial killers who together attacked numerous women at Railway Profiling became commonplace in large-scale police searches afterwards.

Phases of profiling

According to Gregg O. McCrary, the basic premise is that behavior reflects personality. Gregg O McCrary is a former FBI agent who has been associated with the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC since its inception in 1985 In a homicide case, for example, FBI profilers try to collect the personality of the offender through questions about his or her behavior at four phases:

1. Antecedent: What fantasy or plan, or both, did the murderer have in place before the act? What triggered the murderer to act some days and not others?
2. Method and manner: What type of victim or victims did the murderer select? What was the method and manner of murder: shooting, stabbing, strangulation or something else?
3. Body disposal: Did the murder and body disposal take place all at one scene, or multiple scenes?
4. Post-offense behavior: Is the murderer trying to inject himself into the investigation by reacting to media reports or contacting investigators?

A sexual crime is also analyzed in much the same way (Keep in mind that homicide is sometimes a sexual crime), but with the additional information that comes from a living victim. Professor David Canter is the pioneer of scientific offender profiling, developing the discipline of Investigative Psychology as a response to his dissatisfaction with the scientific bases for this activity. The IAIP of which Canter is President now seeks to set professional guidelines for practice and research in this area.

Controversies

Although offender profiling has earned much public attention, it is still not free from controversies.

Investigators may find an early suspect who appears to fit the profile, and ignore or foreclose investigating other leads. For example, Richard Jewell was extensively investigated (and attacked in the media) following the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. Richard A Jewell ( December 17 1962 &ndash August 29 2007) was a central figure of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist Bombing on July 27, 1996 in Atlanta Georgia during the 1996 Summer This not only caused great distress to Jewell, but delayed identifying the true culprit, Eric Robert Rudolph. Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966) also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American radical described by the FBI as a Terrorist Focusing on Jewell is a false positive. The added cost of the false positive on Jewell was that FBI and local police gave up the search for other suspects for quite a while. The converse of the false positive is the false negative, when investigators are blinded by an erroneous aspect of a profile, and clear a suspect who is actually guilty.

Another noted example of the failure of profiling is with the Beltway sniper attacks, where the killer was thought to be a middle-aged white male -- but in fact the crimes were perpetrated by two black males, one of whom was only 17 years old. The Beltway sniper attacks took place during three weeks in October 2002 in Maryland and Virginia.

Some experts in criminal psychology such as Brent Turvey, as quoted by journalist Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker^[2] have questioned its scientific validity. Criminal psychology is the study of the wills thoughts intentions and reactions of criminals. Malcolm Gladwell (born September 3, 1963) is a United Kingdom -born Canadian -raised Journalist and author now based in New York City The New Yorker is an American Magazine that publishes reportage commentary criticism essays fiction satire cartoons and poetry Many profilers and FBI agents are not psychologists, and some researchers who looked at their work found methodological flaws. However, if these criticisms are seen as heuristic, rather than destructive, the Gladwell article suggests otherwise. heuristic (hyu̇-ˈris-tik is a method to help solve a problem commonly an informal method

Gladwell's article found that even the most prominent FBI profilers may ironically demonstrate, as John E. Douglas did in the opening scene in his own recent book Inside the Mind of BTK, several of the tricks of "astrologers and psychics" as elucidated by magician Ian Rowland in his book The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading. John Edward Douglas (born June 18 1945 is a former United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI agent, one of the first Criminal Ian Rowland is a writer and entertainer who lives in South Croydon just outside London, England. ^[3]

Active profiling as allowed by the Department of Justice includes covert alteration of the environment to observe the responses of a suspect. For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department This can be used to check whether the suspect's behavior fits the profile, but risks being labeled as police harassment or entrapment. Police misconduct refers to objectionable actions taken by Police officers in connection with their official duties which can lead to a Miscarriage of justice. Entrapment is the act of a law enforcement agent in inducing a person to commit an offence which the person would not have or was unlikely to have otherwise committed

Popular use of the term criminal profiler has led to the proliferation of many self-described profilers offering their purported expert opinions on cable news shows in response to incidents capturing national attention in the United States. Such individuals usually have degrees in criminal justice or psychology but lack any law enforcement experience.

Profiling in popular culture

Several movies focus on profilers investigating on criminal cases. For example:

• The Sniper
• Manhunter
• The Silence of the Lambs
• Copycat
• Suspect Zero
• Mindhunters
• Citizen X
• Gothika
• Murder By Numbers
• Taking Lives

Many TV shows have portrayed profiling as "mystic" or supernatural, like Millennium, The X-Files' Fox Mulder, and Profiler. The Sniper ( 1952) is a Black-and-white Film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk, written by Harry Brown, and based on a story Manhunter is a 1986 thriller Film based on Thomas Harris 's Novel Red Dragon. The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 suspense film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Copycat ( 1995) is an American Psychological thriller, starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. Suspect Zero is a 2004 thriller, directed by E Elias Merhige. Mindhunters is a 2004 thriller film directed by Renny Harlin and written by Wayne Kramer and Kevin Brodbin Citizen X is a Made-for-TV movie, released in 1995 which gives a fictionalised account of the Russian Serial killer Andrei Chikatilo Gothika, a 2003 horror / Supernatural thriller movie directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and written by Sebastian Gutierrez Murder by Numbers is a 2002 action / Psychological thriller / Neo-noir film directed by Barbet Schroeder. Taking Lives is a 2004 Psychological thriller / Neo-noir Film with Slasher connections starring Angelina Jolie Millennium is an American supernatural thriller and crime drama television series produced by Chris Carter (creator of The X-Files The X-Files is a Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award -winning American Science fiction television series created by Chris Carter Special Agent Fox William Mulder, nicknamed "Spooky" Mulder is a Fictional character played by David Duchovny on the 1993 - 2002 Profiler is an American Crime drama that initially aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000.

The Kay Scarpetta book series (written by Patricia Cornwell) also features Benson Wesley, an FBI Criminal Profiler based in Quantico, Virginia. Kay Scarpetta is a fictional character and protagonist in a series of crime novels written by Patricia Cornwell. Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels June 9, 1956) is a contemporary American Crime writer. Quantico Virginia lies in Prince William County, north-northeast of Fredericksburg Virginia, United States, near Dumfries and Stafford He is featured in many of the books and displays the disciplines and skills of a criminal profiler.

In Waking The Dead, Dr Grace Foley (played by Sue Johnstone) is a forensic psychological profiler who constitutes part of the cold case unit. Waking the Dead is a British television crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a team of CID police officers a psychological Susan Johnston, usually known as Sue Johnston, (born 7 December 1943) is an English actress. Cold Case is an American Police procedural Television series revolving around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division

In God's Spy, a thriller written by Juan Gómez-Jurado, the leading character is the Italian profiler Paola Dicanti, a European feature of the profession. God's Spy is a 2007 thriller novel by Juan Gómez-Jurado originally published in Spain. Juan Gómez-Jurado (Born 16 December, 1977 in Madrid, Spain) is an award winning journalist writer and researcher who studied journalism at

The UK television series Wire in the Blood features a clinical psychologist played by Robson Green who profiles serial killers. Wire in the Blood is an ITV Television series, based on characters created by Val McDermid, which teams a university Clinical psychologist Robson Golightly Green (born December 18, 1964 in Hexham, Northumberland) is an English Actor and Singer The UK television series Cracker focuses on a psychologist who aids police in forming profiles and interrogating suspects. Cracker is the title of a television crime series in the United Kingdom, made by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally

Criminal Minds

See also

• Forensic psychology
• Racial profiling controversy
• Investigative psychology
• FBI Method of Profiling
• Chris Hatcher, Ph.D.

References

External links

• All About Forensic Psychology: 5 Pages dedicated to criminal profiling (first documented use, the FBI legacy, methodology, geographic profiling, becoming a profiler)
• Swiss scientific research site on criminal profiling
• University of Liverpool Forensic Psychology - with articles
• History of Criminal Profiling - with links to other sites
• Offender Profiling: An Introduction to the Sociopsychological Analysis of Violent Crime - PDF available

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