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Running Head: CRIMINAL PROFILING
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Dangerous Minds; Criminal Profiling
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Criminal profiling has completely changed the dynamics of criminal investigations.
Analyzing the available evidence and correctly identifying the potential criminal or offender is
an important aspect in law enforcement. Although criminal profiling does not provide the actual
identity of a criminal, it enables narrow down the possible offender. Identification of possible
traits of the offender, the behavior and individual characteristics of the offender is the whole
concept of criminal profiling that is particularly instrumental. There are many cases of dangerous
offenders who were finally caught by use of criminal profiling techniques. On our first example,
we look at the Con Edison case.
Con Edison, as the bomber was known, was one of the notorious criminals in 1940s. In
his first case, was a pipe homemade bomb that was on a windowsill in the Consolidated Edison
building. This was the source of his name Con Edison, as he left a note stating ‘Con Edison
crooks, this is for you.’ As if that was not enough, the following year, 1941 another bomb was
found just a few blocks from the Con Edison headquarters building. This one was however
wrapped in a sock. A few months on, the New York police received a letter, which noted that
Con Edison would be brought to justice, which signified revenge. As noted in the letter, “ they
will pay for their dastardly deeds.” Between those years, 1941 to 1946 about sixteen other letters
followed (S., 1968). They were all written in block letters; however, they all repeated the phrase
“dastardly deeds”. In addition, they were all signed with the same initials, “F.P.” Four years on,
two bombs exploded, one at the Grand Central Terminal and the other at a phone booth near the
New York Public Library. ‘The Mad Bomber’ as he now was known struck more often. In 1954,
he struck four times while in 1955 he struck six times. In the event that the bomb strikes
increased, so did the public uproar, it was already too much and as it seemed the police were
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running out of ideas to catching the Mad Bomber. However, a psychiatrist, James Brussel helped
them catch the bomber.
Brussel had worked with the FBI as a counter espionage. The police inspector Finney
consulted Brussel, brought in the letters and other evidence against the bomber. From the
analysis, F.P. had been fixated on the idea that Con Edison had been the reason for what he was
doing. He had done him a great deal of injustice and he had to pay for it. It was paranoia as
Brussel figured, however, it takes time for paranoia to develop. On a closer analysis of the letters
to the police, the bomber had to be an orderly man and very cautious too. In addition, the
language used on the letters suggested that he had some form of education. The word choice and
phrases used suggested F.P. was foreign born. The expression “dastardly deeds” was not used in
recent language. In addition, the letters were all in perfect capital blocks except for W’s which
were misshaped like U’s (Casey-Owens, 1984).
The next aspect of analysis was on the description on the crime scene. In the movie
theatre, he planted the device on the underside of the seat, by slitting the seat and stuffing the
bomb on the upholstery, which was a symbolic act. It showed an act of conjugation between a
man and a woman, or rather castration of a man. In a conclusion to the symbolic act, it meant the
bomber was probably unmarried. From his phrases and choice of words, Brussels’ identified him
as a Slavic. He would have been from Eastern European. It meant it was easier to narrow down
the location where he probably was from. Brussel went further to predict how, and what he
would be wearing when caught. A double-breasted suit buttoned.
From the analysis provided by Brussel, the police had a clear idea of the possible suspects
of whom and how the criminal would be, like. It was particularly easier as he had to be a worker
at Con Edison, which implied the list of suspects had been narrowed. The prediction of his age,
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dressing and behavior and characteristics meant the police had a specific target on what to look
for. Sure enough, a moth later the police arrested George Metesky. As they leant, he had changed
his name from Milauskas, lived in Waterbury, Connecticut, was unmarried and lived with his
sisters. As it turned out, he wore a double-breasted suit buttoned just as Brussel had predicted.
Brussel effectively helped identify the Mad Bomber by analyzing the available information and
evidence to help build and mould the characteristic of the offender. The techniques Brussel used
are a fundamental aspect of criminal profiling.
The whole concept of criminal profiling is getting into the mind of the criminal. An
investigator puts themselves in the minds of the criminal, trying reflecting their characters and
portraying their traits. In a murder investigation, especially which involves a serial killer, a
criminal profiler need to carefully understand the criminals mind first. The motive is an
important aspect in enabling an investigator defines if the criminal has a particular motivation of
committing the said crimes. Take the case of the Mad Bomber; Brussel first identified the reason
why the bomber continued committing the atrocities. The Mad Bomber believed Con Edison had
done him wrong and he had to pay for what he did. That motivation sounded like revenge, the
need to make sure that Edison and Co suffered similar or even greater pain than he did. At that
point then, it enabled Brussel understand and place him at the point of life the bomber was.
Creating an image of what the killer looks like, as shown by Brussel prediction, was after
carefully identifying all evidence and anything personal relating to the bomber. The bomber had
a signature, a specific type of word choice and phrases. This was an important aspect in criminal
identification.
It is imperative to keep in mind that people are unique and different. How they think,
write, talk and overall individual personalities are different. Same as our genetic composition is
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different so is the mind of a criminal. Let’s assume we criminal profiles and we have a case at
hand. Consider a case of a woman found at the rooftop of her apartment building. As it appears,
she had been abducted as she left her house to work as around six in the morning. She was tired
up in a belt and stocking and beaten up badly beyond recognition. The killer then mutilated her
sex organs. Her body was covered with bites, next to her was defecates of the killer and semen.
We are to try and identify the killer given the evidence we have regarding the case (Gladwell,
2007).
First, let us assume the criminal is in these late twenties to early thirties as most of similar
cases are documented. Is the criminal an organized person? Well, from the look of it, he is a
disorganized person. A rooftop on broad daylight, it is a risky move there one that is almost
careless. Considering the time of day, six in the morning, certainly seems the criminal had a
good idea of the building, he is familiar with the place. Aforementioned, he is a disorganized
individual, which implies he is not a stable person. He certainly does not have a stable job and
seems to have been a previous offender. Depicted from the way the victim had been mutilated,
the suspect must have had a very troubled relationship with women. Defecation right next to the
body of the victim signifies he has some mental problem, or rather drug problems. With that, the
police are able to zero in on the suspect. As it turned out, the killer, Carmine Calabro, was a
deeply troubled actor aged thirty. He lived on the same building as the victim and had a mental
problem (Gladwell, 2007).
The idea of criminal profiling is to narrow the list of possible suspects. In mathematics,
we use variables to test and eliminate possible misfits while trying to prove a theory. In addition,
in linear equations, elimination of like terms is used to help find the unknown (Turvey, 2011). It
is the same technique used in criminal profiling. Individual characteristic of the possible killer
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are identified. Each characteristic presents a variable, of all possible suspects, the variable is
matched, if it does not match then that suspect is eliminated as a possible suspect. In the case of
the woman at the rooftop, the people at the entire building are possible suspects at the look of it.
The person who killed the woman had to have a good understanding of the building. In addition,
the timing of abduction signifies a person who was close or had an idea of the time the victim
would be going out. They knew the routine very well. There are two possibilities there, either the
suspect is a residence within the building or somebody who knew her really well, and they were
close. Secondly, the suspect was a disorderly person. This is very important to understand. Take
the previous case of Mad Bomber, this was an orderly person, very neat in what he did and
precise. Understanding the mindset of a suspect is enabled by defining if they are organized
individuals or disorganized. It enables a criminal profiler to understand exactly what they are
looking for (Ainsworth, 2013).
On another dimension, profiling techniques are used in hostage rescue situations.
Understanding the mind of a criminal, an abductor, is important in helping rescue the hostages.
In a hostage situation, the lives of hostage are a number one priority. It implies that, a hostage
rescue officer requires having an idea of profiling techniques to analyze the criminal.
Understanding the state of mind of the criminal in a hostage situation is critical. In a situation of
robbery, a criminal will only take hostages under panic of getting caught if they are completely
cornered. They in most cases have no intension of harming the hostages, but use them to act as a
shield from the rescue officers (Strömwall & Willén, 2011). A rescue officer requires assessing
the course of action the subject is likely to take. In situation where hostages are a means to send a
message, especially in a terror situation, then this provides an even greater risk as it is ever easy
reasoning with a terror suspect. It is such a precarious situation to handle, however, the approach
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a rescue officer uses in such a situation is a combination of psychology and various profiling
techniques. Understanding a terror suspect behavior is one part, however, an officer requires
getting into the criminals mind in order to have them make sense. In a critical analysis of terror
hostage situation, there will be bombs and a possibility of cold blood killing of the hostages
(Hewitt, 2014). It is also important to keep in mind that whoever is carrying out the arson is
always a sacrificial lamb to the terror bigwigs. If they truly believe in whatever fight they are in
then it becomes a non-negotiable situation. On the other hand, if there is a possibility that the
individual is not willing to lose their lives, then the rescue officer has an upper hand. It is more
of a seesaw situation, at all times an officer need to balance the situation at equilibrium. Until
they have the upper hand of the situation, then they remain patient enough till that time they can
manage the situation (Coppock & McGovern, 2014).
There are about five stages of criminal profiling (Petherick, 2009). The first is profiling
inputs. This stage starts the criminal profiling process. At this stage, information relating to the
crime are collected. Comprehensive and accurate information are critical for accurate profiling.
A misinformation at this stage can jeopardize the entire process of profiling. Take the example in
computing, there is a term or phrase which states, ‘garbage in garbage out’. It implies that
whatever input you key into the computer, you expect an output of similar output. It is the same
in criminal profiling, any kind of input you have regarding the crime, if it is not accurate and
precise, then the output on the possible criminal profile will be inaccurate. Inaccurate profiling
means apprehension of the wrong suspect.
There is need for complete synopsis of the crime, and the crime scene, which also
includes the indigenous factors relating to the incident need to be provided. In addition, the
background information of the victim(s) is also vital. Another very important input is the
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forensic information. To compound other information collected for profiling, forensic
information helps narrow down the search. It is especially important when trying to identify
fingerprints and DNA match from samples collected at the crime scene. It is also important in
homicide cases an especially where a suspect has a signature of murdering their victims.
Forensic information and analysis help relate the data collected with reference information in the
archives.
The second stage id the decision process section. At this point, the input collected is
arranged appropriately into meaningful pattern. There are various models of information
organization. First, the homicide style and type is defined. A classification is carried out on a
number of categories, could be, is a case a single homicide on one victim or a double homicide.
Is it in a single location or multiple locations? It could also be a triple homicide situation.
Anything beyond three murder victims is classified as mass murder, which now can be classified
as either family or classic mass murder. Take the example of Charles Whitman case, the suspect
armed himself with ammunition, had food radio, and then barricaded himself at a tower in
Austin, Texas. He later opened fire for about 90 minutes and killed sixteen people. Over thirty
people were injured. He was killed when the police lay an assault on the tower. This is a good
example of classic mass murder. Take another example of James Huberty where he entered a fast
food restaurant with a machine gun and started killing people indiscriminately. Many people
were killed during the incident however; he was also killed at the site by the police (Gross,
2012).
The next phase understands the primary intent of the murderer. From the aforementioned
case of the Mad Bomber, his primary intent was to revenge; make sure Con Edison and co paid
for what they did to him. There are various reasons for a murder; it could be a criminal
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enterprise. This implies that the individual is paid to kill. It is a source of livelihood to them. In
such a case of professional killers, they have no particular relations to the individual. It in fact
implies they are just but executing a paid job given by a ‘big fish’. This individuals even when
caught they are never the actual perpetrators but just the executioners of the orders. While on the
other hand, it could be due to emotional or cause-specific reasons.
The other stage is crime assessment stage. This stage involves generation of criminal
profile. A profiler tries to recreate the events of the crime at the crime scene. They try to
reconstruct the emotional and behavior of the offender and the victim. This stage is dependent on
other two previous stages in the process of criminal profiling. At this point, a profiler determines
if the criminal is an organized individual or a disorganized person (Davis, 2012). It helps define
the state of mind of an individual. Knowing the kind of person you expect implies that
investigators will be prepared to handle any eventuality when they do catch the suspect.
The fourth stage is criminal profile where it solely deals with the trying to generate the
criminal profile. Taking from the previous stage, the analysis and definition of the criminal
profile is generated relating to the behavioral characteristics in relation to the evidence collected
from the crime scene. Generating the criminals profile enables defining the strategy and method
of investigation for the case. It is an important stage, which helps validate the crime and the
criminal profile. It sets the background of investigations. The aforementioned processes of
criminal profiling are explicitly applied in the case of Mad Bomber. Brussels effectively applied
these techniques in profiling while leaving the final stage of investigation and apprehension to
the police.
Criminal profile is a pertinent tool in modern criminal investigation. In many ways than
one, correct criminal profiling help apprehension of criminal. In current dynamics of
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investigations, technology has made this harder especially for investigators. Although
understanding the mind of a criminal is a step towards apprehension, technology has made it
more difficult to catching the offenders. In a situation where a murder suspect is a professional
killer with a military background, then it is a difficult case. These individuals would provide a
random case or scenario, which is impossible to figure. Most investigators would be on a wild
goose trying to numb the criminal. It becomes very hard in such a situation. Weapons used and
technology used to try conceal or erase all information relating to the individual makes this even
harder. Take a situation where a murder takes place at close range at a security camera blind
spot. The cameras do not catch a glimpse of the incident neither is there any witnesses. In
addition, the mode of killing is a single shot to the head, using a non-serialized bullet. The
aforementioned case sample presents a real headache to both the investigators and profilers alike
(Davis, 2012).
In conclusion, criminal profiling is an intriguing aspect of criminal investigation. It is
imperative that every criminal investigative unit have a criminal profiling unit to complement the
investigations. Narrowing down to specific suspects who could have committed said crimes, it
requires appropriate analysis. Critical thinking and sober analysis of the situation and the mindset
of a criminal, implies a profiler is able to provide a clinical definition of the suspect. Criminal
profiling is a basic component of investigation, which provides an alternative to correct
apprehension. In every way, criminal profiling is an integral component in investigations that
changed the dynamics of criminal investigations.
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