Literature Review on "Criminal Profiler"

Literature Review 3 pages (1056 words) Sources: 8

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Criminal Profiler

'The role of a criminal profiler is to create a personality or character sketch of the individual responsible for committing the offense or crime. Tammy Clevenger, eHow Contributing Writer, in the article, "What is a Criminal Profiler?" states, "Criminal profiling, also known as offender profiling, criminal personality profiling, criminal investigative analysis, criminological profiling, and behavioral profiling, should not be confused with psychological profiling. The FBI's term for criminal profiling is criminal investigative analysis" (Clevenger, ¶2). The first officially recognized use of criminal profiling was performed in the 1950's by Dr. James Brussels, who used profiling to determine the identity of "Mad Bomber of New York City" as George Metesky (Clevenger, Recent History Section, ¶1). Dr. Brussels was trained in psychiatry and criminology; he was the acting Assistant Commissioner of New York State's Commission for Mental Hygiene.

Robert Finn wrote about Dr. Brussels original 'portrait' or criminal profile in the article, "Criminal Profiler Shares some Secrets of the Trade." Dr. Brussels predicted the following: the bomber would be suffering from paranoia, a loner with no friends, precise, neat, and tidy, heavy, Catholic, and foreign born. Dr. Brussel said, "When apprehended, the bomber would be wearing a doublebreasted suit, fully buttoned and that he was unmarried, and possibly living with an older female relative in Connecticut. OH" (Finn, ¶2). All of the 'portrait' was correct and proven when they apprehended Metesky.

John Douglas, former head of the FBI's Investigative Support Unit, is responsible for information gathered on known serial killers through interviews and studies of criminals such as: Charles Manson, Sirhan, Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), and James Earl Ray (Inside the mind, ¶2). The goal of the research was to understand the motives and the mind of serial killers. According to "Inside the mind of the mind hunter: an interview with legendary FBI Agent John Douglas," the following statement about Douglas was proclaimed, "He identifies with both predator and prey. He examines a crime scene and creates profiles of the perpetrators, describing their habits and predicting their next moves. He is a renowned figure in law enforcement and the model for the Scott Glenn character in the movie, The Silence of the Lambs." (Inside the Mind, ¶3). Douglas introduced the world to a new tool in analyzing and indentifying the personality of the criminal.

Another internationally known profiler, Pat Brown began her career by studying sex offenders, serial criminals, abnormal psychology, investigative methodology and law enforcement; which she began to use in real life cases with great success. According to the article, "World-Renowned Criminal Profiler Speaks at Colorado Technical University Online," Brown proclaims, "Real profiling is a thorough analysis of physical and behavioral evidence at the crime scene, which enables the profiler to develop specifics related to one particular case or set of cases" (World-Renowned Criminal Profiler, ¶2). Another article states the profiler must begin by analyzing the pieces of evidence from the crime scene and especially in the case of serial criminals determine the patterns, methods, and techniques used by the individual (Profiling Criminals, ¶11). Interviews with witnesses are also used in establishing the profile.

Pat Brown has since opened the… READ MORE

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