". . . since [June 1985], over 3,500 hours of training have been provided to more than 40,000 people . . . at more than 400 locations throughout the United. States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean."
Selection Process
The nominees are selected by their respective departments subject to final approval by the FBI. Many departments have added selection criteria to those items required by the NCAVC. The NCAVC does not participate in the selection process, unless requested to do so by the nominating agency. At the request of the nominating agency, members of the NCAVC will provide a briefing on the fellowship to department leaders and individuals who may wish to apply for the program.
Instructional Program
The NCAVC Police Fellowship consists of an academic phase and an application phase. During the first 3 months of the fellowship, the officers participate in educational and training courses at the FBI Academy, as well as elsewhere. The officers attend courses of instruction at the University of Virginia, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and various police academies. Courses conducted at the FBI Academy include homicide and rape investigation, sexual exploitation of children , abnormal psychology, equivocal death evaluation, criminal personality profiling, and a myriad of other topics.
Although the Police fellows are acquainted with the concept of criminal personality profiling during the first 3 months of the fellowship and do sit in on case consultations with investigative agencies, they are not assigned cases for analysis and profiling. The last 6-9 months of the fellowship are devoted primarily to developing the analytical and profiling skills of the participants. In this phase of the program, they are assigned cases for analysis and profiling jointly with a more-experienced NCAVC profiler. All cases assigned to the police fellows are analyzed in group consultation . Such a group typically in cludes at least one NCAVC profiler, all police fellows, and frequently Dr. James Luke, consulting forensic pathologist. The case is presented to the group by the responsible police fellow and is then discussed extensively. The consultation groups operate very much like "think tanks" in that ideas are surfaced, debated, and discarded or adopted. This process is invaluable to the novice profiler and gives him/her the benefit of the experience and thoughts of others. Following the group consultation, the officer prepares a written profile for review by an NCAVC profiler and eventual dissemination to the requesting agency. In addition to analyzing cases and preparing criminal personality profiles, the police fellows represent the NCAVC through speaking engagements, participation in research interviews of incarcerated violent offenders, and involvement in on-site major case consultation with other NCAVC members.
Obviously, the training received during the fellowship is extensive and time consuming, involving a substantial investment on the part of the FBI and the participating agencies. However, there are individuals who commercially conduct 2- to 5-day courses on profiling and advertise that attendees will be able to prepare profiles upon completion of the course. Experience has demonstrated that the length of the NCAVC fellowship is not an unrealistic amount of time for an individual to study in order to become proficient in the art of profiling.
Conclusion
The NCAVC became operational in June 1985, and since that time, over 3,500 hours of training have been provided to more than 40,000 people representing the disciplines mentioned earlier in this article. This training has taken place at more than 400 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. It was conducted by members of the NCAVC and Special Agent profile coordinators assigned to field offices of the FBI. These efforts serve as an example of the effectiveness of the NCAVC training program in disseminating information of investigative value in violent crime matters. They also serve to demonstrate the commitment of the FBI to its training mission in the law enforcement community.
