The Profiling and Consultation Program
The FBI's 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 formalized program. Currently, the program consists of one program manager and seven criminal profilers and crime analysts. These Agents were selected primarily for their investigative experience, 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 FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) is fully operational, the number of profiling requests will nearly double annually.
One key link to the success of the FBI's Criminal Profiling Program is its criminal profile coordinators who are located at every one of the FBI's 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 coordinators do not have the authority to provide profiles to requesting law enforcement agencies, they are authorized to prepare preliminary "rough draft" profiles which are reviewed by the profiling staff at the FBI Academy prior to being disseminated 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 coordinators in the FBI field offices determine 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 enforcement community by providing interview interrogation techniques, investigative 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 prosecutors relative to prosecutive strategies, and possibly provide testimony as a witness for the prosecution 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 Investigation: Tactics, Procedures and Forensic Techniques, "This program has proven to be beneficial to law enforcement and has provided homicide detectives with a viable investigative tool. ... "7
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 where 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 sentenced for his crime.
Footnotes
- 1 M. Willmer. Crime and Information Theory (Edinburgh. England: The University of Edinburgh. 1970).
- 2 M. Reiser. "Crime-specific Psychological Consultation," The Police Chief. March 1982, pp. 53-56.
- 3 M. Casey-Owens, "The Anonymous Letter Writer-A Psychological Profile?" Journal of Forensic Science, vol. 29, 1984, pp. 816-819.
- 4 M. S. Miron and John E. Douglas, "Threat Analysis: The Psycholinguistic Profile," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 48, No. 9, September 1979, pp. 5-9.
- 5 R. R. Hazelwood, "The Behavior-oriented Interview of Rape Victims: The Key to Profiling," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 52, No. 9, September 1983, pp. 8-15.
- 6 A. O. Rider, "The Firesetter-A Psychological Profile," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 49, No.6, June 1980, pp. 4-11.
- 7 Vernon J. Geberth, Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures and Forensic Techniques (New York: Elsevier, 1983), p. 399.
