NCAVC'S Research
and
Development Program
By
RICHARD L. AULT, JR., Ph.D.
Special Agent/Program Manager
Research and Development Program
Behavioral Science Instruction and Research Unit
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
FBI Academy Quantico, VA
Research is often regarded as either a complex and arcane art form or a simple review of literature. Consequently, it is frequently considered to be a luxury that an organization can do without. In the Behavioral Science Services/National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) at the FBI Academy, the Research and Development Program is an integral part of the process of analysis of violent crime. Since the inception of crime scene analysis—also called profiling—much of the original information that was used to profile the offender of violent crimes was taken from the existing research. However, most of that research was oriented to the academic community and provided little that was useful to the type of profiling done by members of the NCAVC.
As the number of cases submitted to what was then called the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) for profiling increased, the necessity for additional relevant data became obvious. Information was needed about the offender, his methods of operation, his victim selection, his personality makeup, and his view of himself. Moreover, by 1978, BSU members were profiling more than unsolved homicides; they were also profiling rapes, arsons, extortions, and other violent and nonviolent offenses.
In 1979, the BSU received approval to institute the Criminal Personality Research Project (CPRP), in which the unit members conducted preliminary research on violent offenders. Equipped with a protocol that covered most aspects of the offense and many facets of the offender's personality, the Special Agents conducted extensive interviews of incarcerated violent offenders.
It was through the CPRP that researchers outside the FBI became involved in the unit's violent crime research. As interviews were conducted of rapists and murderers, some of the findings were presented to various academic and professional groups. Among those interested in the research was Dr. Ann W. Burgess of the Boston City Hospital. Her enthusiasm to continue the research on violent offenders led her to obtain several grants from the Department of Justice to conduct research with the FBI. Members of the NCAVC have been collaborating with Dr. Burgess in the research studies in some of these grants, the first of which was obtained in 1982.
Using a refined version of the first protocol, BSU members and Dr. Burgess continued the study of serial murderers (so called because they killed several victims over a period of time). Another grant was awarded for research on serial rapists and child abductors/molesters. Results from the first grant are being published in profes-
