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U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
National Center "' 1
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NCAVC
CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE GROUP
FBI Academy
Quantico, Virginia
JUNE 1998
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iThe Critical Incident Response Group
CIRG!
The Critical Incident Response Group CIRG! is an FBI eld entity located at the FBI
Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Established in May 1994, the CIRG was designed to provide
rapid assistance to incidents of a crisis nature. It furnishes emergency response to terrorist
activities, hostage situations, barricaded subjects, and other critical incidents.
The CIRG is composed of diverse units that provide operational support and training and
conduct research in related areas. Expertise is furnished in cases involving abduction or
mysterious disappearance of children, crime scene analysis, proling, crisis management,
hostage negotiations, and special weapons and tactics.
The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
NCAVC!
The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime NCAVC!, one of the major
components of the CIRG, combines investigative/operational support functions, research, and
training in order to provide assistance, without charge, to Federal, state, local, and foreign law
enforcement agencies investigating unusual, bizarre, or repetitive violent crimes.
In vestigative/Operational Assistance
The experienced FBI Special Agents and other professionals who comprise the NCAVC
staff provide advice and support in the general areas of Crimes Against Children; Crimes Against
Adults; and Threat Assessment, Corruption, and Property Crimes. Typical cases received for
services include child abductions or mysterious disappearance of children, serial murders, single
homicides, serial rapes, extortions, threats, kidnappings, product tampering, arsons and
bombings, weapons of mass destruction, public corruption, and domestic and international
terrorism.
The NCAVC staff reviews crimes from both behavioral and investigative perspectives.
This criminal investigative analysis process serves as a tool for client law enforcement agencies
by providing them with an analysis of the crime as well as an understanding of criminal
motivation and behavioral descriptions of the offender. Services provided to law enforcement
agencies through this process include the following:
_.._. .
Crime Analysis: The NCAVC staff member reviews the initial crime scene information
and preliminary investigative efforts and offers suggestions that may help direct the
course of the investigation. V
Investigative Suggestions: Certain investigative suggestions and strategies may be
offered based on a review of the entire case, focusing particularly on an evaluation of the
crime scene and an assessment of the likely offender.
Proles of Unknown Oenders: By analyzing the details by which a crime was
committed, NCAVC staff members can often identify important personality and
behavioral characteristics of an offender. Certain crime scenes may reveal behavioral
characteristics that give clues about an offender's personality or lifestyle and allow
investigators to predict future activity.
Threat Analysis: Communicated threats are evaluated to determine whether the author or
caller has the intent, knowledge, or means to carry out any stated or implied threat. A
behavioral description of the unknown offender may be provided to assist in
identication and apprehension. Known offenders who make threats or who appear to
pose a danger may be assessed for potential dangerousness, given appropriate and
sufficient background data.
Critical Incident Evaluations: NCAVC staff serve as a resource to CIRGs crisis
management, tactical, and on-scene commanders during crisis situations by offering
overall behavioral assessment of critical incidents, crime scenes, and potentially
dangerous individuals.
Interview Strategies: The NCAVC staff can make suggestions about interview strategies
of subjects, suspects, or witnesses, based on a general assessment of the person and an
analysis of the crime s! and behavior exhibited. Suggestions may relate to the most
appropriate type of interviewer, desirable approach, and the best environment in which to
conduct the interview.
Major Case Management: The NCAVC staff can provide guidance and resources to
manage and organize a major multiagency investigation, such as those that occur in child
abduction or serial murder cases. Particularly helpful to those investigating the abduction
or mysterious disappearance of a child is the Child Abduction Response Plan prepared by
NCAVC staff with the assistance of and advice from FBI and police investigators who
have extensive experience working child abduction cases.
Search Warrant Assistance: Research and experience have shown that certain behavior
and personality traits are commonly possessed by specic types of offenders. This
information can be particularly beneficial to support affidavits for search warrants.
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Prosecutive and Trial Strategies: At the request of the investigating agency orprosecuting attorney, the NCAVC staff may make recommendations regarding possiblecross-examination techniques for offenders or witnesses, overall prosecutive theme
development, or suggestions for jury selection.
Expert Testimony: NCAVC members have qualied to testify as experts in the areas of
assessment of dangerousness. K criminal investigative analysis, crime scene analysis, violent criminal behavior, and
*5.
1Violent Criminal Apprehension Program VIC/1P!: VICAP is a behaviorally-based crimeanalysis tool that has been signicantly redesigned and structured to address violentcrime problems affecting law enforcement agencies. The new system consists of arevised VICAP Crime Analysis Report and a user-friendly computer system designed toenhance crime analysis for specic violent crimes, including solved or unsolvedhomicides, missing persons, and unidentied dead persons. It is available free of chargeto any agency willing to become a part of this effective network of crime analysis.
ln addition to the above services, the NCAVC staff can coordinate and obtain otherresources to apply to a given investigation. The NCAVC maintains a reference le for experts invarious forensic disciplines such as odontology, anthropology, entomology, or pathology. Staffmembers can coordinate acquisition of special aircraft, tracking or cadaver dogs, or use of theFBls Evidence Response Team. The NCAVC also works closely with the National Center forMissing and Exploited Children in child abductions and other child victimization cases.
Research
The NCAVC also conducts research into violent crime from a law enforcementperspective. Of primary interest to researchers is how the offenders in the study committed theircrimes and how they avoided detection, identication, apprehension, and conviction. Theresearch is designed to gain insight into criminal thought processes, motivations, and behavior.Insights gained through the research are rened into innovative investigative techniques andapplied to improve law enforcements effectiveness against the violent criminal. Collegeundergraduates and graduate students working as interns in the NCAVC provide assistance to the
staff in many of the research efforts.
Results of the research are shared with the law enforcement and academic world through5 publications, presentations, and training, as well as through the application of knowledge to the§ investigative and operational functions of the Center. Some ndings are also useful toincorporate into crime prevention programs. Past and planned research includes studies of sexualhomicide, serial rape, child molestation and abduction, bombing, arson, acts using weapons of
mass destruction, threatening communications, and serial murder.
3
Training
The NCAVC staff participates in numerous training functions throughout the year. The
NCAVC is represented at major law enforcement conferences such as the International
Association of Chiefs of Police and National Sheriffs Association. Staff members take part as
attendees and speakers at symposia sponsored by such organizations as the American
Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Academy of Forensic Sciences, International
Homicide Investigators Association, American Bar Association, and the Academy of Criminal
Justice Science.
Requests for training or presentations by the NCAVC should be made through the local
FBI eld ofce.
NCAVC toll-free number: 800-634-4097
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NCAVC FBI ACADEMY Quanco, Va.
NATIONAL CENTERFOR-TIIE OF VIOLENT CRIME
* * * * *
FOREWORD
This booklet is a compilation of articles written by members of the Behavioral Science
Units, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, at the FBI Academy. Topics covered
in this booklet are:
Criminal Investigative Analysis Proling!
Sexual Homicide
Criminal Investigative Analysis
Special Agents assigned to the Criminal Investigative Analysis Program CIAP! of the
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime provide operational and investigative sup-port to FBI eld ofces and law enforcement agencies investigating violent crimes. The terms"psychological prole" and "criminal personality prole" are no longer used in describing the
work done by the analysts. Although the "prole" or description of the type of person who
would be likely to have committed the crime or crimes analyzed is part of the service pro-
vided, it is secondary to the overall crime analysis. The analysts also provide suggestions for
investigative strategy, interviewing and investigative techniques, search warrant information,
and prosecutive strategy. In some cases, the Agents may testify in court as expert witnesses
about the process of criminal investigative analysis.
The articles included in this section describe criminal investigative analysis in general.
Some articles that deal with analysis in particular crimes such as homicide or rape are included
in books or sections dealing with that crime.
Sexual Homicide
The FBIs Behavioral Science Units conducted research into sexual homicide. The pro-ject involved the interview of 36 convicted, incarcerated killers, many of whom were serial
killers. The articles in this section describe results of that research.
>i=*>l<*>l<
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Criminal Investigative Analysis
* Criminal Proling: A Viable Investigative Tool
Against Violent Crime
* Criminal Proling from Crime Scene Analysis
* Offender Proles: A Multidisciplinary Approach
* A Psychological Assessment of Crime: Proling
Sexual Homicide
* Sexual Homicide: A Motivational Model
* Sexual Killers and Their Victims:
Identifying Pattems Through Crime Scene Analysis
* Murderers Who Rape and Mutilate
* The Men Who Murdered
* The Split Reality of Murder
* Classifying Sexual Homicide Crime Scenes:
Interrater Reliability
* Crime Scene and Prole Characteristics
of Organized and Disorganized Murderers
* Interviewing Techniques for Homicide Investigations
* The Lust Murderer* Rape and Rape-Murder: One Offender and Twelve Victims_
>l<*>I<****
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE
ANALYSIS
Criminal Proling: A Viable Investigative Tool Against Violent Crime
Criminal Proling from Crime Scene Analysis
Offender Proles: A Multidisciplinary ApproachA Psychological Assessment of Crime: Proling
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Quickly apprehending a perpetrator
of a violent crimerape, homicide, child
abduction-is a major goal of all law en-
forcement agencies. Unlike other
disciplines concerned with human
violence, law enforcement does not, as
a primary objective, seek to explain the
actions of a violent offender. Instead, its
task is to ascertain the identity of the of-
fender based on what is known of his
actions. Described by one author as an
emitter of signals during commission of
a crime, the criminal must be iden-
tified as quickly as possible to prevent
further violence. While studies explain-
ing why certain individuals commit
violent crimes may aid them in their
search, law enforcement investigators
must adapt the study findings to suit
their own particular needs. Criminal pro-
filing is a tool law enforcement 'may use
to combine the results of studies in other
disciplines with more traditional techni-
ques in an effort to combat violent
Cl'l"l8.
The Profiling Process
The profiling process is defined by
the FBl as an investigative technique by
which to identify the major personality
and behavioral characteristics of the
offender based upon an analysis of the
crimels! he or she has committed. The
process generally involves seven steps.Criminal Profiling
A Viable Investigative Tool
Against Violent Crime
1! Evaluation of the criminal
act itself,
2! Comprehensive evaluation
of the specifics of the crime
scenels!,
3! Comprehensive analysis of
the victim,
4! Evaluation of preliminary
police reports,
5! Evaluation of the medical
examiners autopsy protocol,
6! Development of profile with
critical offender characteristics,
and
7! Investigative suggestionspredicated on construction of the
profile.
The process used by the person
preparing a criminal personality profile
is quite similar to that used by clinicians
to make a diagnosis and treatment plan:
Data is collected and assessed, the
situation reconstructed, hypotheses are
formulated, a profile developed and
tested, and the results reported back.
Criminal personality profiling has
been used by law enforcement with suc-
cess in many areas and is viewed as a
way in which the investigating officer
can narrow the scope of an investiga-
tion. Profiling unfortunately does not
provide the identity of the offender, but
it does indicate the type of person most
likely to have committed a crime having
certain unique characteristics.BY
JOHN E. DOUGLAS, M.S.
Special Agent/Program Manager
Profiling and Consultation Program
Behavioral Science
Investigative Support Unit
National Center for the Analysis
of Violent Crime
FBI Academy Quantico, VA
and
ALAN E. BURGESS, M.Ed.
Special Agent/Unit Chief
Behavioral Science
Investigative Support Unit
and
Deputy Administrator
National Center for the Analysis
of Violent Crime
FBI Academy Quantico, VA
Published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice!Reprinted from the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, December 1 9 8 6 .
innSpecial Agent Douglas
Special Agent Burgessf
Profile Applications
One area in which criminal pro-
filing personality assessment! has been
useful is in hostage negotiation? Lawenforcement officers need to learn as
much as possible about the hostagetaker in order to protect the lives of the
hostages. They must be able to assess
the subject in terms of his probable
course of action and his reactions to
various stimuli. ln such cases, police
obtain information about the offender
through verbal contact with the hostagetaker and possibly through access to his
family and associates.
Criminal profiling techniques have
also been used in identifying
anonymous letter writers 3 and persons
who make written or spoken threats of
violence. ln cases of the latter,psycholinguistic techniques have been
used to compose a threat dictionary,"whereby every word in a message is
assigned, by computer, to a specificcategory. Words as they are used in the
message are then compared to those
words as they are used in ordinaryspeech or writings, and the vocabularyusage of a particular author or speakermay yield signature words unique to
that individual. In this way, police may
not only be able to determine that
several letters were written by the same
individual but also learn about the
background and psychology of the
offender.Flapists and arsonists also lend
themselves to criminal profiling techni-ques. Through careful interview of the
rape victim about the rapists behavior,law enforcement personnel may be able
2to build a profile of the offender.5 Thetheory behind this approach is that
behavior sexual, physical, verbal!reflects personality, and by examining
the behavior of the rapist during the
assault, the investigator may be able to
determine what type of person is
responsible for the offense. Common
characteristics of arsonists have been
derived from an analysis of the Uniform
Crime Fteports.° Knowledge of the ar-
sonisfs psychodynamics can aid the in-
vestigator in identifying possiblesuspects, predicting location of subse-quent arsons, and developing techni-ques and strategies for interviewing
suspects.Criminal profiling has been useful
in investigating sexual homicides
because many of these crimes appear
motiveless and thus offer few obvious
clues about the killers identity. ln
murders that result from jealousy or
a family quarrel, or take place during
commission of a felony, the readily
identifiable motive generally providesvital information about the identity
of the killer. Because many sexual
homicides fail tu provide this infor-
mation, investigators must look to
methods that supplement conventionalinvestigative techniques to identify the
perpetrator.
Case in Point
Criminal profiling uses the
behavioral characteristics of the of-
fender as its basis. Sexual homicides,
for example, yield much informationabout the mind and motivation of the
killer. A new dimension is provided to
the investigator via the profiling techni-que, particularly in cases where the
underlying motivation for the crime may
be suddenly hidden from even the more-
offender as its basis. Criminal profiling uses the behavioral characteristics of the
detective The following
illustrate this oint
the fall of 1982 an urban
Olice de aitment detective
contacted the FBl's
Science Unit at the FBI
for some assistance
described in detail the
of a 25- ear old white
The detective advised
where the victim was
ransacked but they
etermine at that time
by the killer In
many leads were
and information con
laboratory exami sea. ,
nations, background of the victim,
previously reported neighborhood
crimes, etc., was still pending, the
detective was advised that a profile
could not be provided at that time. After
approximately 1 week, the detective for-
warded the necessary information to the
local FBI field office criminal profile
coordinator. After reviewing the case for
completeness, the profile coordinator
forwarded the materials to the
Behavioral Science Investigative Sup-
port Unit at the FBI Academy for
analysis.
Color 8 x 10 crime scene photo-
graphs re-created the crime and re-
vealed that the victim was killed in her
living room, with no evidence of any
struggle or defense attempts by her.
The victim was lying face up on the liv-
ing room floor. Her dress was raised up
over her hips exposing her genital area,
3On occasion, NCAVC prolilers or major case
specialists will conduct on-site consultations.
Pictured from left are Special Agents Robert
Hazelwood, Ray Phelps, James Wright kneeling!,
Robert Ressler, and Alan Burgess.
and her panties were pulled down to her
knees. The murder weapon hammer!
belonging to the victim was found in kit-
chen sink, and it appeared that the vic-
tim's blood had been washed off the
hammer by the subject. Crime scene
photographs further revealed that the
subject opened dresser drawers and
closet doors. investigative reports in-
dicated the victim's husband advised
that jewelry belonging to victim was
missing.
The victim and her husband had
lived in the apartment for approxi-
mately 6 months, and neighbors and
associates reported they were friendly
and quiet and kept to themselves. The
medical examiner concluded in his
Profiling . . . does not provide the identity of t_he of-
fender, but it does indicate the type of person most likely to have
committed a crime having certain unique characteristics.
Profilers in Think tank" session. Seated: SAs
James Wright, Patricia Kirby, and Ronald
Walker. Standing: Lt. Thomas Cronin, Chicago
PD, Police Fellow left! and SA R. Stephen Mar-
digian right!
protocol that there was no apparent in-
dication that the victim was sexually
assaulted. Laboratory reports indicated
that the victim had been drinking at the
time of the assault, and there was no
evidence of semen present in or on the
victim or her clothing.
From the above information, the
criminal profiler advised the detective
that he had already interviewed the
killer. The surprised detective was
presented with the following probable
crime scenario.
The victim was drinking with the
offender prior to her death. An argument
ensued, reaching a threshold where the
offender could not take it any longer.
Angered, he obtained a weapon of
opportunity" from a kitchen cabinet and"sign,
returned to the living room where he
confronted the victim face to face and
repeatedly struck victim about her head
and face. After killing her, the offender
realized that the police would surely im-
plicate him as the obvious murderer. He
then washed blood from his hands in the
kitchen sink and also cleaned blood and
fingerprints from the hammer. He roll-
ed the victim over in a face-up position
and "staged" the crime to appear the
way he felt a sexually motivated crime
should look. He conducted the staging
by making it appear that the offender
searched for money or personal proper-
ty in the apartment.
Upon hearing this analysis of the
crime, the detective exclaimed, You
just told me the husband did it.
4/V TY:1%we ' 4
's§¥§z "
The detective was coached regard-
ing suggested reinteniiew techniques of
the victims husband. In addition, the
detective was further advised that if the
victim's husband were given a
polygraph examination, he in all prob-
ability would react more strongly to the
known fact that he was soiled by his
wife's blood than to questions concern-
ing his wifes murder. The detective was
told to have the polygraph examiner
direct questions at the husband,
acknowledging the fact that he got
blood on his hands and washed them
off along with the hammer in the kitchen
sink.
About 5 days later, the detective
called the criminal profiler to advise
that the victims husband was charged
with murder. According to the detective,
the husband failed the polygraph and
subsequently admitted his guilt to the
polygraph examiner.- - - - - - - ,
K
The Profiling and
Consultation Program
The FBls profiling program has
grown considerably since the late 1970's
from informal analysis and profiling
during criminal psychology classes at
the FBI Academy to the present for-
malized program. Currently, the pro-
gram consists of one program manager
and seven criminal profilers and crime
analysts. These Agents were selected
primarily for their investigative ex-
perience, expertise, and educational
backgrounds. The Behavioral Science
investigative Support Unit has found
that anyone seeking transfer into this
highly specialized program must
possess above all other attributes and
accomplishments a strong investigative
background that includes participating
in, supervising, and managing major
case assignments.
During 1985, the Criminal Profiling
and Consultation Program received
over 600 requests for profiling
assistance. it is anticipated that once
the FBls Violent Criminal Apprehension
Program 92/ICAP! is fully operational, the
number of profiling requests will nearly
double annually.
One key link to the success of the
FBls Criminal Profiling Program is its
criminal profile coordinators who are
located at every one of the FBls 59 field
offices. These highly trained and
selected Agents are responsible for
screening cases and for providing
preliminary investigative suggestions to
investigators. While the field coor-
dinators do not have the authority to pro-
vide profiles to requesting law enforce-
ment agencies, they are authorized to
prepare preliminary rough draft" pro-
files which are reviewed by the profiling
staff at the FBI Academy prior to being
"lisseminated to the requesting agency.Criminal profiling is available to
local, State, Federal, and foreign law
enforcement agencies or departments.
it should be noted that not every violent
crime matter lends itself to the profiling
process. The criminal profile coor-
dinators in the FBI field offices deter-
mine during review of the case whether
it can be profiled. However, while a case
may not be suitable for profiling, the
coordinator may still submit it to the
Behavioral Science Unit for other types
of services. Criminal profilers at the FBI
Academy may assist the law enforce-
ment community by providing inter-
viewlinterrogation techniques, in-
vestigative suggestions and techniques,
establish probable cause for search
warrants as a result of National Center
for the Analysis of Violent Crime violent
offender research findings, assist pros-
ecutors relative to prosecutive
strategies, and possibly provide
testimony as a witness for the prosecu-
tion or as an expert witness during the
sentence phase of the trial. All cases
must be submitted to the local FBI field
office for review and administrative
handling by that criminal profile
coordinator.
Lt. Commdr. Vernon J. Geberth of
the New York City Police Department
wrote in his book, Practical Homicide In-
vestigation: Tactics, Procedures and
Forensic Techniques, This program has
proven to be beneficial to law enforce-
ment and has provided homicide detec-
tives with a viable investigative
tool. . . .
Criminal profiling will never take the
place of a thorough and well-planned in-
vestigation nor will it ever eliminate the
seasoned, highly trained, and skilled
detective. Criminal profiling has,
however, developed itself to a level
5where the detective has another in-
vestigative weapon available to him in
solving a violent crime. The offender, on
the other hand, has an added worry that
in time he will be identified, indicted,
successfully prosecuted, and sen-
tenced for his crime.
Footnotes
M. Willmer, Crime and information Theory Edin-
burgh, England The University of Edinburgh. i970!.2 M Fieiser, Crime-specific Psychological Consulta-
lion," The Police Chief, March 1982, pp. 53-56.3 M Casey-Owens, The Anonymous Letter
Writer-A Psychological Profile? Journal of Forensic
S ' 0| 29 1984 816 819 cience, v . . , pp. - . M. S. Miron and John E Douglas, "Threat
Analysis: The Psycholinguistic Profile," FBI Law
Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 4B, No. 9. September 1979,
pp.5-95 Fl. Pl. Hazelwood, The Behavior-oriented inter-
view of Rape Victims: The Key to Profiling," FBI Law
Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 52, No. 9. September 1983.
pp. B~15.5 A. O. Flider, The Firesetter-A Psychological Pro-
file, FBl Law Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 49, No. B. June
1980. pp. 4-ll.' Vernon J. Geberth, Practical Homicide Investiga-
tion: Tactics, Procedures and Forensic Techniques New
York: Elsevier, 1983!, p 399
Criminal Proling from
Crime Scene Analysis
John E. Douglas.
Robert K. Ressler
Ann W. Burgess. R.N.
Carol R. Hartman, R.N.
Since the I 970s, investigative prolers at the FBI s Behavioral Science Unit
now part of the National C enter for the Analysis of Violent Crime! have been
assisting local, state, and federal agencies in narrowing investigations by pro-viding criminal personality proles. An attempt is now being made to describe
this criminal-prole-generating process. A series of ve overlapping stages
lead to the sixth stage, or the goal of apprehension of the offender: I! prolinginputs, ! decision-process models, ! crime assessment, ! the criminal
prole, ! investigation, and ! apprehension. Two key feedback lters inthe process are: a! achieving congruence with the evidence, with decision
models, and with investigation recommendations, and b! the addition of new
evidence.
"You wanted to mock yourself at me! . . . You did not know your Hercule
Poirot." He thrust out his chest and twirled his moustache.
I looked at him and grinned . . . "All right then." I said. Give us the answer
to the problems-if you know it."
"But of course I know it.
John E. Douglas, M.S., is Supervisory Special Agent. Federal Bureau of Investigation andProgram Manager. Proling and Consultation Program, National Center for the Analysis ofViolent Crime, FBI Academy, Quantico. VA; Robert K. Ressler, M.S., is Supervisory SpecialAgent. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Program Manager, Violent Criminal ApprehensionProgram. National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA;Ann W. Burgess. R.N., D.N.Sc., is van Ameringen Professor of Psychiatric Mental HealthNursing. University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA; and Carol R. Hart-man. R.N., D.N.Sc., is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Graduate Program inPsychiatric Mental Health Nursing, Boston College School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA.Preparation of this manuscript was supported by an Ofce of Juvenile Justice and DelinquencyPrevention grant 84-IN-K010!. The authors wish to acknowledge Allen G. Burgess, Cynthia J.Lent. and Marieanne L. Clark for contributions to this manuscript. Correspondence and reprintrequests should be addressed to: John E. Douglas. FBI Academy. Quantico. VA Z2135.
Behavioral Sciences & the Law, Vol 4. No. -4. pp. 40]-421 I986!© I986 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 0735-3936/86/040401-21504.00
l!Uu_92_'lJ92 er al kflllllllal Profiling from CFIITIL Scene Analysis
Hardcastlc stared at hini l92.TCClul0u.92l_92 . . "Excuse me. Monsieur Poirot.you claim that you know who killed three people. And why? . . . All you
mean is that you have a hunch "
l will not quarrel with you over a word . . . Come now. Inspector. l knowreally know . . . l perceive you are still sceptic. But first let me say this.
To be sure means that when the right solution is reached. e92erything falls
into place You perceive that in no other way could things have happened."
tChristie. 1%}. pp. 227-223!
The ability of Hercule Poirot to solve a crime by describing the perpetrator
is a skill shared by the expert investigative proliler. Evidence speaks its ownlanguage of pattems and sequences that can reveal the offenders behavioralcharacteristics. Like Poirot. the proler can say. "l know who he must be."
This article focuses on the developing technique of criminal proling. SpecialAgents at the FBI Academy have demonstrated expertise in crime scene analysis
of various violent crimes. particularly those involving sexual homicide. This
article discusses the history of proling and the criminal-prole~generating pro-
cess and provides a case example to illustrate the technique.
INTRODUCTION: HISTORY OF CRIMINAL PROFILING
Criminal proling has been used successfully by law enforcement in several
areas and is a valued means by which to narrow the eld of investigation. Prolingdoes not provide the specic identity of the offender. Rather. it indicates thekind of person most likely to have committed a crime by focusing on certain
behavioral and personality characteristics.Proling techniques have been used in various settings. such as hostage taking
Reiser. l982!. Law enforcement officers need to leam as much as possible about
the hostage taker in order to protect the lives of the hostages. In such eases.police are aided by verbal contact although often limited! with the offender.and possibly by access to his family and friends. They must be able to assessthe subject in tenns of what course of action he is likely to take and what his
reactions to various stimuli might be.Proling has been used also in identifying anonymous letter writers Casey-
Owens V984! and persons who make wri ten or spoken threats of violence Miron
& Douglas l979!. In cases of the latter. psycholinguistic techniques have beenused to compose a threat dictionary." whereby every word in a message is
assigned. by computer. to a specic category. Words as they are used in thethreat message are then compared with those words as they are used in ordinary
speech or writings. The vocabulary usage in the message may yield signature words unique to the offender. ln this way. police may not only be able to
determine that several letters were written by the same individual. but also to
leam about the background and psychology of the offender.Rapists and arsonists also lend themselves to proling techniques. Through
BEHAVlOFlAL SCIENCES & THE LAW
8
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careful interview of the rape victim about the rapist's behavior. law enforcement
personnel begin to build a prole of the offender Hazelwood. I983!. The ra-
tionale behind this approach is that behavior reects personality, and by ex-
amining behavior the investigator may be able to determine what type of person
is responsible for the offense. For example. common characteristics of arsonists
have been derived from an analysis of the data from the FBIs Crime in the
United States Rider. 1980!. Knowledge of these characteristics can aid the
investigator in identifying possible suspects and in developing techniques and
strategies for interviewing them. However, studies in this area have focused on
specic categories of offenders and are not yet generalizable to all offenders.
Criminal proling has been found to be of particular usefulness in crimes such
as serial sexual homicides. These crimes create a great deal of fear because of
their apparently random and motiveless nature. and they are also given high
publicity. Consequently. law enforcement personnel are under great public pres-
sure to apprehend the perpetrator as quickly as possible. At the same time, these
crimes may be the most difcult to solve, precisely because of their apparent
randomness.
While it is not completely accurate to say that these crimes are motiveless,
the motive may all too often be one understood only by the perpetrator. Lunde
976! demonstrates this issue in terms of the victims chosen by a particular
offender. As Lunde points out, although the serial murderer may not know his
victims. their selection is not random. Rather. it is based on the murderers
perception of certain characteristics of his victims that are of symbolic signi-
cance to him. An analysis of the similarities and differences among victims of
a particular serial murderer provides important information conceming the mo-
tive" in an apparently motiveless crime. This. in turn. may yield information
about the perpetrator himself. For example. the murder may be the result of a
sadistic fantasy in the mind of the murderer and a particular victim may be
targeted because of a symbolic aspect of the fantasy Ressler et al., 1985!.
In such cases. the investigating ofcer faces a completely different situation
from the one in which a murder occurs as the result of jealousy or a family
quarrel, or during the commission of another felony. In those cases, a readily
identiable motive may provide vital clues about the identity of the perpetrator.
In the case of the apparently motiveless crime, law enforcement may need to
look to other methods in addition to conventional investigative techniques, in
its efforts to identify the perpetrator. In this context, criminal proling has been
productive, particularly in those crimes where the offender has demonstrated
repeated patterns at the crime scene.
THE PROFILING OF MURDERERS
Traditionally. two very different disciplines have used the technique of pro-
ling murderers; mental health clinicians who seek to explain the personality
and actions of a criminal through psychiatric concepts, and law enforcement
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agents whose task is to determine the behavioral pattems of a suspect through
investigative concepts.
Psychological Proling
In I957, the identication of George Metesky. the arsonist in New York Citv's
Mad Bomber case which spanned I6 years!. was aided by psychia-
tristcriminologist James A. Brussels staccato-style prole:
Look for a heavy man. Middle-aged. Foreign bom. Roman Catholic. Sin-
gle. Lives with a brother or sister. When you nd him. chances are he'll
be wearing a double-breasted suit. Butioned."
Indeed. the portrait was extraordinary in that the only variation was thatMetesky lived with two single sisters. Brussel. in a discussion about the psy-
chiatrist acting as Sherlock Holmes. explains that a psychiatrist usually studiesa person and makes some reasonable predictions about how that person may
react to a specic situation and about what he or she may do in the future. What
is done in proling. according to Brussel. is to reverse this process. Instead. by
studying an indi92idual's deeds one deduces what kind of a person the individual
might be Brussel. I968!.
The idea of constructing a verbal picture of a murderer using psychological
terms is not new. In I960. Palmer published results of a three-year study of 5]
murderers who were serving sentences in New England. Palmers typical mur-
derer was 23 years old when he committed murder. Using a gun, this typical
killer murdered a male stranger during an argument. He came from a low social
class and achieved little in terms of education or occupation. He had a well-
meaning but maladjusted mother. and he experienced physical abuse and psy-
chological frustrations during his childhood.
Similarly. Rizzo I982! studied 3] accused murderers during the course of
routine referrals for psychiatric examination at a court clinic. His prole of the
average murderer listed the offender as a 26-year~old male who most likely knew
his victim. with monetary gain the most probable motivation for the crime.
Criminal Proling
Through the techniques used today, law enforcement seeks to do more than
describe the typical murderer, if in fact there ever was such a person. Investigative
rolers a It ' f p ." na yze in onnation gathered from the crime scene for what it may
reveal about the type of person who committed the crime.
Law enforcement has had some outstanding investigators; however. their skills.
knowledge. and thought processes have rarely been captured in the professional
literature. These people were truly the experts of the law enforcement eld, and
their skills have been so admired that many ctional characters Sergeant Cuff,
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW
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Douglas ct al.: Criminal Proling from Crime Scene Analysis 405
Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Mike Hammer, and Charlie Chan! have beenmodeled on them. Although Lunde l976! has stated that the murders of ctionbear no resemblance to the murders of reality, a connection between ctionaldetective techniques and modern criminal proling methods may indeed exist.For example, it is attention to detail that is the hallmark of famous ctionaldetectives; the smallest item at a crime scene does not escape their attention. Asstated by Sergeant Cuff in Wilkie Collins" The Moonstone, widely acknowledged
as the rst full-length detective study:
At one end of the inquiry there was a murder, and at the other end there
was a spot of ink on a tablecloth that nobody could account for. In all my
experience . . . l have never met with such a thing as a trie yet.
However, unlike detective ction, real cases are not solved by one tiny clue
but the analysis of all clues and crime pattems.
Criminal proling has been described as a collection of leads Rossi, 1982!,
as an educated attempt to provide specic information about a certain type ofsuspect Geberth, l98l!, and as a biographical sketch of behavioral pattems,trends, and tendencies Vorpagel, I982!. Geberth 981! has also described theproling process as particularly useful when the criminal has demonstrated someform of psychopathology. As used by the FBI prolers, the criminal-prolegenerating process is dened as a technique for identifying the major personalityand behavioral characteristics of an individual based upon an analysis of the
crimes he or she has committed. The prolers skill is in recognizing the crimescene dynamics that link various criminal personality types who commit similar
crimes.The process used by an investigative proler in developing a criminal proleis quite similar to that used by clinicians to make a diagnosis and treatment plan:
data are collected and assessed, the situation reconstructed, hypotheses formu-lated, a prole developed and tested, and the results reported back. Investigatorstraditionally have learned proling through brainstorming, intuition, and edu-cated guesswork. Their expertise is the result of years of accumulated wisdom,extensive experience in the eld, and familiarity with a large number of cases.A proler brings to the investigation the ability to make hypothetical for-mulations based on his or her previous experience. A fomtulation is dened hereas a concept that organizes, explains, or makes investigative sense out of in-
formation, and that inuences the prole hypotheses. These formulations arebased on clusters of information emerging from the crime scene data and from
the investigator's experience in understanding criminal actions.A basic premise of criminal proling is that the way a person thinks i.e., hisor her pattems of thinking! directs the person's behavior. Thus, when the in-vestigative proler analyzes a crime scene and notes certain critical factors, heor she may be able to determine the motive and type of person who committed
the crime.
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THE CRIMINAL-PROFILE-GENERATING PROCESS
Investigative prolers at the FBls Behavioral Science Unit now pan of the
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime [NCAVC]! have been ana-
lyzing crime scenes and generating criminal proles since the |970s. Our de-
scription of the construction of proles represents the off-site procedure as it is
conducted at the NCAVC. as contrasted with an on-site procedure Ressler et
al., I985!. The criminal-prole-generating process is described as having ve
main stages. with a sixth stage or goal being the apprehension of a suspect see
Fig. I!.
1. Proling Inputs Stage
The proling inputs stage begins the criminal-prole-generating process. Com-
prehensive case materials are essential for accurate proling. In homicide cases,
the required information includes a complete synopsis of the crime and a de-
scription of the crime scene, encompassing factors indigenous to that area to the
time of the incident such as weather conditions and the political and social
environment.
Complete background information on the victim is also vital in homicide
proles. The data should cover domestic setting, employment, reputation, habits.
fears. physical condition, personality, criminal history, family relationships,
hobbies, and social conduct.
Forensic information pertaining to the crime is also critical to the proling
process, including an autopsy report with toxicology/serology results, autopsy
photographs, and photographs of the cleansed wounds. The report should also
contain the medical examiners ndings and impressions regarding estimated
time and cause of death, type of weapon. and suspected sequence of delivery
of wounds.
In addition to autopsy photographs, aerial photographs if available and ap-
propriate! and 8 X I0 color pictures of the crime scene are needed. Also useful
are crime scene sketches showing distances, directions, and scale, as well as
maps of the area which may cross law enforcement jurisdiction boundaries!.
The proler studies ail this background and evidence information, as well as
all initial police repons. The data and photographs can reveal such signicant
elements as the level of risk of the victim, the degree of control exhibited by
the offender, the offenders emotional state, and his criminal sophistication.
Information the proler does not want included in the case materials is that
dealing with possible suspects. Such information may subconsciously prejudice
the proler and cause him or her to prepare a prole matching the suspect.
2. Decision Process Models Stage
The decision process begins the organizing and arranging of the inputs into
meaningful pattems. Seven key decision points, or models, differentiate and
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW
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organize the information from Stage I and form an underlying decisional structure
for proling.
Homicide Type and Style
As noted in Table I, homicides are classied by type and style. A single
homicide is one victim, one homicidal event; double homicide is two victims,
one event, and in one location; and a triple homicide has three victims in one
location during one event. Anything beyond three victims is classied a mass
murder; that is, four or more victims in one location, and within one event.
There are two types of mass murder: classic and family. A classic mass murder
involves one person operating in one location at one period of time._ That period
of time could be minutes or hours and might even be days. The classic mass
murderer is usually described as a mentally disordered individual whose problems
have increased to the point that he acts against groups of people unrelated to
these problems. He unleashes his hostility through shootings or stabbings. One
classic mass murderer was Charles Whitman, the man who armed himself with
boxes of ammunition, weapons, ropes, a radio, and food; barricaded himself on
a tower in Austin, Texas; and opened re for 90 minutes, killing I6 people and
wounding over 30 others. He was stopped only when he was killed during an
assault on the tower. James Huberty was another classic mass murderer. With
a machine gun, he entered a fast food restaurant and killed and wounded many
people. He also was killed at the site by responding police. More recently,
Pennsylvania mass murderer Sylvia Seegrist nicknamed Ms. Rambo for her
military style clothing! was sentenced to life imprisonment for opening re with
a rie at shoppers in a mall in October I985, killing three and wounding seven.
The second type of mass murder is family member murder. If more than three
family members are killed and the perpetrator takes his own life, it is classied
as a mass murder/suicide. Without the suicide and with four or more victims,
the murder is called a family killing. Examples include John List, an insurance
salesman who killed his entire family on November 9, 1972, in Westeld, New
Jersey. The bodies of Lists wife and three children ages I6, 15, and I3! were
discovered in their front room, lying side by side on top of sleeping bags as if
TABLE I Homicide Classication by Style and Type
Style Single Double Triple Mass Spree Serial
Number of I 2 3 4 + 2 + 3 +
Victims
Number of I l
Events
Number of I l
Locations
Cool-Off N/A N/A
PeriodI I l 3 +
I I 2 + 3 +
N/A N/A No Yes
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Douglas et al.: Cnminal Proling from Crime Scene Analysis
in a mortuary. Their faces were covered and their arms were folded across their
bodies. Each had been shot once behind the left ear, except one son who had
been shot multiple times. A further search of the residence discovered the body
of List's mother in a third oor closet. She had also been shot once behind the
left ear. List disappeared after the crime and his car was found at an airport
parking lot.In another family killing case, William Bradford Bishop beat to death his
wife, mother, and three children in the familys Bethesda, Maryland, residence
in March 1976. He then transported them to North Carolina in the family station
wagon where their bodies, along with the family dog's, were buried in a shallow
grave. Bishop was under psychiatric care and had been prescribed antidepressant
medication. No motive was determined. Bishop was a promising mid-level dip-
lomat who had served in many overseas jobs and was scheduled for higher level
ofce in the U.S. Department of State. Bishop, like List, is a Federal fugitive.
There is strong indication both crimes were carefully planned and it is uncertain
whether or not the men have committed suicide.
Two additional types of multiple murder are spree and serial. A spree murder
involves killings at two or more locations with no emotional cooling-off time
period between murders. The killings are all the result of a single event, which
can be of short or long duration. On September 6, 1949, Camden, New Jersey,
spree murderer Howard Unruh took a loaded German luger with extra ammunition
and randomly red the handgun while walking through his neighborhood, killing
l3 people and wounding 3 in about 20 minutes. Even though Unruhs killings
took such a short amount of time, they are not classied as a mass murder
because he moved to different locations.
Serial murderers are involved in three or more separate events with an emo-
tional cooling-off period between homicides. This type killer usually premeditates
his crimes, often fantasizing and planning the murder in ever, aspect with the
possible exception of the specic victim. Then, when the time is right for him
and he is cooled off from his last homicide, he selects his next victim and
proceeds with his plan. The cool-off period can be days, weeks, or months, and
is the main element that separates the serial killer from other multiple killers.
However, there are other differences between the murderers. The classic mass
murderer and the spree murderer are not concerned with who their victims are;
they will kill anyone who comes in contact with them. In contrast, a serial
murderer usually selects a type of victim. He thinks he will never be caught,
and sometimes he is right. A serial murderer controls the events, whereas a spree
murderer, who oftentimes has been identied and is being closely pursued by
law enforcement, may barely control what will happen next. The serial killer is
planning, picking and choosing, and sometimes stopping the act of murder.
A serial murderer may commit a spree of murders. In 1984, Christopher
Wilder, an Australian-bom businessman and race car driver, traveled across the
United States killing young women. He would target victims at shopping malls
or would abduct them after meeting them through a beauty contest setting or
dating service. While a fugitive as a serial murderer, Wilder was investigated,
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Douglas et al.: Criminal Proling from Crime Scene Analysis
identied, and tracked by the FBl and almost every police department in the
country. He then went on a long-tenn killing spree throughout the country and
eventually was killed during a shoot-out with police.
Wilder's classication changed from serial to spree because of the multiple
murders and the lack of a cooling-off period during his elongated murder event
lasting nearly seven weeks. This transition has been noted in other serial/spree
murder cases. The tension due to his fugitive status and the high visibility of
his crimes gives the murderer a sense of desperation. His acts are now open and
public and the increased pressure usually means no cooling-off period. He knows
he will be caught, and the coming confrontation with police becomes an element
in his crimes. He may place himself in a situation where he forces the police to
kill him.
It is important to classify homicides correctly. For example, a single homicide
is committed in a city; a week later a second single homicide is committed; and
the third week. a third single homicide. Three seemingly unrelated homicides
are reported, but by the time there is a fourth, there is a tie-in through forensic
evidence and analyses of the crime scenes. These three single homicides now
point to one serial offender. It is not mass murder because of the multiple locations
and the cooling-off periods. The correct classication assists in proling and
directs the investigation as serial homicides. Similarly, proling of a single
murder may indicate the offender had killed before or would repeat the crime
in the future.
Primary Intent of the Murderer
ln some cases, murder may be an ancillary action and not itself the primary
intent of the offender. The killers primary intent could be: l! criminal enterprise,
! emotional, selsh, or cause-specic, or ! sexual. The killer may be acting
on his own or as part of a group.
When the primary intent is criminal enterprise, the killer may be involved in
the business of crime as his livelihood. Sometimes murder becomes part of this
business even though there is no personal malice toward the victim. The primary
motive is money. In the l950s, a young man placed a bomb in his mothers
suitcase that was loaded aboard a commercial aircraft. The aircraft exploded,
killing 44 people. The young mans motive had been to collect money from the
t ave] insurance he had taken out on his mother prior to the ight. Criminal
enterprise killings involving a group include contract murders, gang murders,
competition murders, andpolitical murders.
When the primary intent involves emotional, selsh, or cause-specic reasons,
the murderer may kill in self-defense or compassion mercy killings where life
support systems are disconnected!. Family disputes or violence may lie behind
infanticide, matricide, patricide, and spouse and sibling killings. Paranoid re-
actions may also result in murder as in the previously described Whitman case.
The mentally disordered murderer may commit a symbolic crime or have a
psychotic outburst. Assassinations, such as those committed by Sirhan Sirhan
and Mark Chapman, also fall into the emotional intent category. Murders in this
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW
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category involving groups are committed for a variety of reasons: religious Jim
Jones and the Jonestown, Guyana, case!, cult Charles Manson!, and fanatical
organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panther Party of the
19705. _Finally, the murderer may have sexual motives for killing. Individuals may
kill as a result of or to engage in sexual activity, dismembemient, mutilation,
eviseration, or other activities that have sexual meaning only for the offender.
Occasionally, two or more murderers commit these homicides together as in the
1984-1985 case in Calaveras County, Califomia, where Leonard Lake and Charles
Ng are suspected of as many as 25 sex-torture slayings.
Victim Risk
The concept of the victims risk is involved at several stages of the proling
process and provides information about the suspect in terms of how he or she
operates. Risk is detemiined using such factors as age, occupation, lifestyle,
physical stature, resistance ability, and location of the victim, and is classied
as high, moderate, or low. Killers seek high-risk victims at locations where
people may be vulnerable, such as bus depots or isolated areas. bow-risk types
include those whose occupations and daily lifestyles do not lead them to being
targeted as victims. The infomation on victim risk helps to generate an image
of the type of perpetrator being sought.
Oender Risk
Data on victim risk integrates with infonnation on offender risk, or the risk
the offender was taking to commit the crime. For example, abducting a victim
at noon from a busy street is high risk. Thus, a low-risk victim snatched under
high-risk circumstances generates ideas about the offender, such as personal
stresses he is operating under, his beliefs that he will not be apprehended, or
the excitement he needs in the commission of the crime, or his emotional ma-
turity.
Escalation
lnforrnation about escalation is derived from an analysis of facts and pattems
from the prior decision process models. Investigative prolers are able to deduce
the sequence of acts committed during the crime. From this deduction, they may
be able to make determinations about the potential of the criminal not only to
escalate his crimes e.g., from peeping to fondling to assault to rape to murder!,
but to repeat his crimes in serial fashion. One case example is David Berkowitz,
the Son of Sam killer, who started his criminal acts with the nonfatal stabbing
of a teenage girl and who escalated to the subsequent .44-caliber killings.
Time FactorsThere are several time factors that need to be considered in generating a
criminal prole. These factors include the length of time required: ! to kill the
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