Behind every action is an individual
with certain motivations, so it stands to reason that criminals leave
psychological clues behind at the scenes of their crimes. Thus, in
the face of countless suspects, investigators have increasingly turned
to psychological profiling for assistance. Profiling narrows the hunt,
helping authorities know who they are looking for.
In the 1950s, psychologists and psychiatrists
began to theorize that criminals had similar behavioral patterns and
personalities. Criminal investigators started asking these experts
for help in looking at unsolved crimes. Given a specific crime, could
they determine the type of person who might have committed it? The
answer was "possibly."
The theory became a discipline during
the 1970s in Quantico, Va., where the FBI established the Behavioral
Science Unit. From this base, profilers examine cases, mostly through
crime-scene photographs, witness statements and evidence reports.
They look for unique details that indicate the perpetrator's background,
degree of experience and motivation.
Based on his or her observations, the
profiler develops a psychological profile of the perpetrator. The
profile suggests how old the suspect might be, his or her past habits,
lifestyle and even employment status. The profiler also tries to determine
the gender, race, size, marital status and level of adjustment of
the perpetrator — and often, the perpetrator's next move.
From a murder scene, a profiler might
even reach astoundingly specific — and accurate — conclusions, such
as a finding that the perpetrator has a speech impediment, post-adolescent
acne or sexual dysfunction, or is someone who is socially inadequate.
Or he may find evidence within the crime scene that the perpetrator
might have known, and therefore deliberately stalked, the victim,
rather than murdered at random.
Initially a hit-or-miss technique,
the reliability of criminal profiling has improved with each passing
year. There's even a national computer database into which investigators
can enter information about known offenders in order to connect similar
crimes committed across state lines. By conducting a signature crime
analysis of different acts, the profiler tries to determine if certain
behaviors link them together. Is it possible that the actions in different
crimes emanated from the same source? Armed with his or her conclusions,
the profiler can recommend appropriate courses of investigation.
Nationwide, there are perhaps 30 men
and women with the true qualifications to be considered criminal profilers.
Their work requires long, concentrated study of the deepest psychological
characteristics of most violent criminals. Overcoming the resistance
of traditionalists, they are slowly changing the way that criminal
investigations are conducted — and deepening our understanding of
the nature of such horrifying acts in our society.
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