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What They Do

Insider Info

Criminal profilers examine the details of the crime and apply their knowledge of various fields, especially psychology and sociology, to develop a general description of the perpetrator.

Unlike detectives, they don't single out specific suspects. Ron MacKay is a criminal profiler for a police force. "You don't describe a person. You describe a personality," he says.

"Criminal profiling is the natural byproduct of a criminal investigation," says Brent Turvey. He is the author of a textbook on criminal profiling.

"A criminal investigator is interested in establishing the facts, determining if there has been a crime, and who is responsible for the crime. A criminal profiler is a specialist in the 'who' aspect of the investigation."

Notwithstanding its current celebrity status, "criminal profiling isn't considered a career by itself," says Turvey. "Rather, it is a multidisciplinary skill that is nurtured once an individual becomes proficient with other requisite skills, knowledge and abilities."

Some profilers, like Turvey, work in crime reconstruction. Others double as psychologists, forensic scientists, hostage negotiators or professors. North America's leading female profiler, Candice Skrapec, teaches criminology at California State University in Fresno.

Part-time profilers like Turvey and Skrapec work as consultants for the police, prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers. Typically, they will be called in to consult on violent crimes, such as arson, rape and murder.

The handful of people who do work exclusively as criminal profilers tend to work within law enforcement. The FBI has a famous behavioral sciences unit called the Investigative Support Unit.

Geographic profiling is a new trend. It uses aerial photos, motor vehicle licensing, letters, census data and other records to try to pin down offenders by location, rather than type.

"A criminal profiler is usually brought into a crime that has some element of violence or threat of violence," Skrapec says, "whereas geographic profiling can be used for all sorts of crimes."

One day, she hopes, criminal profiling might be used to stop crimes before they occur, rather than after the fact. In recent years, science has made great advances in understanding the brain and the neurological triggers that prompt some people to kill.

"Maybe we can see the flashing red lights, or even yellow lights: that this is an individual that appears to have something very different happening."

Unfortunately, she admits, "That's still a long ways away."

To Skrapec, "the people doing the best profiling are the good cops, the investigators on the street, who probably don't even call themselves profilers. There's been a lot of misinformation spread."

Turvey agrees that Hollywood has created a false image of profilers, which some people unwisely attempt to live up to. "Criminal profiling, it must be remembered, is one tool, not the only tool."

Done properly, though, it can be an effective one. Statistics cited by MacKay show that profiles match the known characteristics of the perpetrator about 75 percent of the time.

At a Glance

Help police develop a personality profile of the possible suspect

  • Some profilers are also psychologists, forensic scientists, hostage negotiators or professors
  • Geographic profiling is a new trend in the field
  • Start by studying psychology, criminology or sociology

Contact

  • Email Support
  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900
  • North Dakota Career Resource Network
    ndcrn@nd.gov | (701) 328-9733

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