Serial Killers
...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...
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