Criminal Profiling: More than Movie Magic
Aspects like age, marital status, ethnicity, and identifying characteristics are what define a typical criminal profile and are crucial in catching serial criminals. Criminal Profiling has made a debut in the media with shows like Criminal Minds and novels like Sherlock Holmes, but the science behind profiling is often left to the imagination to create the idea of a profiler as a magical and all-knowing being, when in reality they are highly trained individuals with great attention to detail. Due to the relative newness of the field, many people are skeptical and profilers have been under scrutiny by the general public as well as law enforcement for years, which left them with a fortuneteller-like reputation. …show more content…
Most commonly used and preferred by the FBI is the CSA method which takes details about the crime scene and turns them into personality trait of the perpetrator. For example; a victim with excessive amounts of assault or mutilation points to an attacker who may have a compromised mental status or could be in a rage fueled rampage and with this information, law enforcement can narrow down a suspect pool to those who have anger issues or a history of severe mental illness. There will always be exceptions to the rules but in most cases, the crime scene does not lie. Forensic Psychologist Richard Kocsis states in his article on the history of profiling, “human behavior is in some capacity a reflection of personality.” (“Criminal”). What the suspect leaves behind or purposely doesn’t leave behind, tells law enforcement a lot about their distinct personality. For example: crime scenes that are disorganized with evidence left behind may mean that they’re psychotic and unintelligent while organized scenes point to a more intelligent offender who has carefully plotted his attacks and taken care of evidence. Knowing background information may seem like a secondary priority but in cases where the suspect left little to no evidence, behavioral clues is vital for their
Aspects like age, marital status, ethnicity, and identifying characteristics are what define a typical criminal profile and are crucial in catching serial criminals. Criminal Profiling has made a debut in the media with shows like Criminal Minds and novels like Sherlock Holmes, but the science behind profiling is often left to the imagination to create the idea of a profiler as a magical and all-knowing being, when in reality they are highly trained individuals with great attention to detail. Due to the relative newness of the field, many people are skeptical and profilers have been under scrutiny by the general public as well as law enforcement for years, which left them with a fortuneteller-like reputation. …show more content…
Most commonly used and preferred by the FBI is the CSA method which takes details about the crime scene and turns them into personality trait of the perpetrator. For example; a victim with excessive amounts of assault or mutilation points to an attacker who may have a compromised mental status or could be in a rage fueled rampage and with this information, law enforcement can narrow down a suspect pool to those who have anger issues or a history of severe mental illness. There will always be exceptions to the rules but in most cases, the crime scene does not lie. Forensic Psychologist Richard Kocsis states in his article on the history of profiling, “human behavior is in some capacity a reflection of personality.” (“Criminal”). What the suspect leaves behind or purposely doesn’t leave behind, tells law enforcement a lot about their distinct personality. For example: crime scenes that are disorganized with evidence left behind may mean that they’re psychotic and unintelligent while organized scenes point to a more intelligent offender who has carefully plotted his attacks and taken care of evidence. Knowing background information may seem like a secondary priority but in cases where the suspect left little to no evidence, behavioral clues is vital for their