Criminal Profiling
Dani Sebenick
10/29/2009
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People often wonder how criminal cases get solved. Most of it has to do with crime
scenes, and the CSI type of things that everyone knows about because of the show. However,
there is one type of help offered to those who solve major cases that not too many people know
about. That help is called Criminal Profiling. Criminal Profiling has been put in place by the
FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, what these profilers do is look at the case and give the person
who is leading the investigation a personality profile based on what and how the crime was done.
Although there are many factors in solving a crime, criminal profiling has proven to be an
essential tool in identifying a criminal’s behavior, personality and life.
Profiling is a tricky thing to do. There are multiple types of information one needs to look
at in order to profile an assailant. This includes looking at the crime scene such as photographs,
sketches, and any evidence, it also involves looking at where a crime scene took place, and how
the crime was committed, or the MO. The MO stands for Modus Operandi, and simply means
what the assailant did to commit the crime. For instance, the way the victims were treated such
as weapons that were used, the amount of hatred in the acts, and if torture was used even sexual
torture. From this a profiler will create a profile that has the type of personality the assailant had,
the age, the sex, his or her ethnic background, possibly some features such as height and weight.
A signature behavior is also very important to the perpetrator. The signature is done, not to help
with the actual crime, but to their own needs, which gives profilers a look into the assailants
psychological and emotional needs. (Criminal Profiling Part 3)
Profiling is a long process. There are steps and measures that need to be taken before one
can create a profile. The first step is called Profiling Inputs. This involves taking a look at all the
evidence that was collected which can involve basically anything, even measurements. The
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second step is the Decision Process Model. Decision Process just simply means organizing the
evidence to see if there are any signs of series of crimes committed by the same person. Crime
Assessment is the third step which involves re-creating the crime scene and figure out the order
of how things went, and what type of role a victim, and weapon, have in relation to the crime.
The actual Profile comes next. The profiler uses the first three steps to create his or her profile.
From this they can determine a motive, some physical characteristics, and the type of personality
the assailant had. They can even use this information on how to treat suspects when they are
interviewed. The fourth and fifth steps include the Investigation and the Apprehension. (Criminal
Profiling)
Not only is there steps it takes to have a profile, but there are also steps to take to create
the profile. These steps include Equivocal Forensic Analysis, Victimology, Crime Scene
Characteristics and Offender Characteristics. Equivocal Forensic Analysis involves looking at
the evidence, like the first and second steps mentioned earlier. Victimology makes a profiler to
actually create a profile for the victim which can give information on how to identify the person
who committed the crimes. Victimology looks at a victim’s identity, race, and gender. If there
are relations between victims then it could be a serial killer, which can identify the reason why
the person is targeting these certain victims. It can also give the profiler another thing, if for
instance, one of the victims is overweight then the profiler will deduce that it means the assailant
is strong and therefore may have an athletic or muscular frame. The third step, Crime Scene
Characteristics, looks at where the crime scene was, as in its location which can make it known
how the perpetrator approaches the victim and what that place means to them. It also looks at the
position of the victim’s body as it was found, which can tell the profiler what the victim meant to
them and can figure out a criminal’s motive. Offender Characteristics takes the first three steps
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and analyzes them to form a “rough character sketch.” The Offender Characteristics is the
criminal profile.
The last set of steps was created by the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, or BSU. The first
step is called the Antecedent. This is what the criminal plans or imagines about a murder, what
was the trigger to make the assailant do the crime, and why it takes place on some days and not
others. The second step is the Method and Manner; this uses victimology which also looks at
how the murder was done, (i.e. shooting, stabbing, strangulation etc). Body Disposal is the third
step and this looks at whether or not the murder and the body disposal was done at the same
place, or different scenes. The fourth step is Postoffense Behavior. This is whether or not the
perpetrator involves himself in the investigation or is contacting the media or the police about
their crimes. (Winerman 2-3)
The reason why criminal profiling is so useful is because of many reasons. One of them
being that it aids tremendously in ongoing investigations. It can give information about possible
past crimes the assailant committed before, it can shed a light on the possible life of the assailant
too. Like if they were abused, or let down or have any cause to be doing what they are doing,
which will usually show up in victimology. It can also make the public feel as if they are aiding
in the investigation if the profile is submitted to the public. It makes them more aware of their
surroundings and who they should be putting themselves in contact with and helping the police
by giving tips. It makes the public less frightened and more helpful to the police. It can narrow
down a suspect field. It will let the investigators know what type of person they are looking for,
and if they have multiple suspects the profile will most definitely aid in narrowing them down,
and can use the tips when interviewing them.
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In the late 1800’s there was a terror so large in London that people were afraid to even
exit their homes. This terror’s name was Jack the Ripper. Although he was not the first serial
killer he was and still very much is the most talked about killers of all time because of the fact
that he operated in largely populated areas and how he carried out his murders was so sickening.
Jack the Rippers case was never solved actually, and a few years back there was a profile that
was done about him. However to understand the profile, one needs to understand some, about
what he did. He attacked and killed 5 women brutally, and possibly two more although the last
two were never proven to be him. All of his victims were prostitutes with alcoholic tendencies
and were all 40 years old, except for his last victim who was 26. He would cut his victims to the
point of almost severing body parts; he would cut certain body parts such as the stomach, breast
and vagina, and sometimes even removed intestines, and vital organs. He became known as the
Jack the Ripper from a supposed letter written by him naming himself and said he loved his
work. He also sent a half eaten kidney to the police from one of his victims and said he ate the
other half claiming it was very nice. (McCrary) After taking yet another look at all the evidence
and the reports on the victims and their location there was a profile created for Jack the Ripper.
The profile said that he was most likely a white single man, and because his victims were
somewhat older, then he was probably an elder male as well, was probably in the same class as
his victims and was a shy loner. He worked a meaningless Monday through Friday job, and
clearly hated women and would be seen as incapable as committing these crimes, it is also
thought that he was a surgical doctor of some sort. (McCrary) He was most likely single because
he would have to come home and have no one question where he was and why he was blood
covered, and the reason as to why he was thought to be a surgical man of some sort is because of
the type of blade he used and the precision cuts he made on his victims’ bodies.
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Another serial killer whose name was Ted Bundy killed 40 young women in multiple
different ways, multiple different ages, and in multiple different states. He had a troubled
lifetime starting at his birth. His mother was young when she had him which was looked down
upon during that time. He grew up thinking that his grandparents were his parents and his mother
was his sister. When his real mom took him away, and remarried and had kids, he was the main
one to look after them and was bullied a lot when he was younger. He was an extremely shy
person and in 1967 he met Stephanie Brooks a woman who he fell in love with and a little while
later she broke up with him and then that same time he found out that his “sister” was his actual
mother. All of Bundy’s victims appeared to be like Stephanie Brooks in looks; they were all
slim, pretty and had long hair that was parted in the middle. After awhile him and Stephanie got
back together while he was also dating another woman at the same time and then all of a sudden
broke up with the both of them. He was convicted of multiple murders and thefts and abductions
and escaped from jail successfully twice. He was a very attractive, confident, man who no one
expected to be a killer. After to admitting to killing 40 young women, including a 12 year old, he
raped all of them and raped and injured other women as well, he was sentenced to death in
Florida on January 24th 1989.
After looking at the severity of just two of the world’s most known serial killers it is hard
to believe that profiling helped during the brutal times of these cases. In fact had they had a
profile back at the time of Jack the Rippers killings it is quite possible that the women and their
families that he tortured could finally have peace. In Ted Bundy’s case the profile helped
tremensouly and helped in aiding his capture and how to treat him. Criminal profiling is more
than just writing facts about what happened in the scenes and to the victims, it takes work to
figure out victimology, to put together crime scenes, to provide MO’s and to come up with a
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very specific, very detailed report on the killer. Without profilers there would not have as many
cases closed as there is. Profilers are a necessity and an extremely good aid to help in any type of
investigation, including those of high priority. There is always, unfortunately, a need for police,
and peace keepers. Profilers do not get the recognition they deserve and those who are should be
applauded for their work that they have done. Although there are many factors in solving a
crime, criminal profiling has proven to be an essential tool in identifying a criminal’s behavior,
personality and life.