Criminal Profiling 101 p.

Haley E. Cutrell
UWRT 1104
November 3, 2015
Criminal Profiling 101:
What is Criminal Profiling?

Background Information/ Introduction

Commented [HE1]: I like your title, but maybe make it

more catchy? I think it does a good job in letting the
readers know what the paper is going to be about.
However, it might make the paper seem more intriguing
to read if the title caught someones eye.
Claire Hibbert

This was the third murder where a female, around the age of 30 was found with severed
hands. These hands however, were nowhere to be found. The pale body lay lifeless and gray on
the hard concrete sidewalk. The air was cold and brisk while the police began to lay the white sheet
across the body. There were a couple of people that began to take pictures of the crime scene while
I walked around looking for some type of clue that could answer the questions I was attempting to
answer as a profiler. Who caused this death? Why would someone do this? Who are the potential
suspects that could have committed this crime? Why is the murderer keeping their victims hands?
These are all questions I would need to answer as a Criminal Profiler in order analyze how this
criminal thinks and why this criminal does the things that he does.
Throughout the television series, Criminal Minds, Criminal Profiling is seen in nearly
every episode of the ten plus season series. Criminal Profiling is used typically to analyze the
unsub, or unknown subject that has done the crime that a team, typically the Behavioral Analysis
Unit (BAU), is investigating. Properly profiling an unsub can lead to the knowledge of the age,
race, gender, height, and many more details that are needed to know in order to solve the crimes
that are taking place. These episodes continue to show the explicit details of profiling. Throughout

Commented [HE2]: I love how you started this

paragraph, giving a murder scene, it hooks the reader
and makes them want to know more about your topic.
When you start having the person talk in the first
person it becomes a little confusing as to who is
talking. Are you talking as the profiler or to an audience
when you are talking in the first person?
Em Asbill
Commented [HE3]: I love the way you opened your
paper! It made me want to keep reading. I liked how
you created a scenario that relates to what criminal
profiling is. It gets the reader hooked and makes them
want to continue reading your paper!
Claire Hibbert

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 2

this paper we will see what criminal profiling is, the different type of psychologys seen in
profiling, and how to properly profile an unsub as well as how easy it is to incorrectly profile an
unsub. This paper will also discuss different ways profiling is taught and how the way profiling is
taught could affect the outcome of accurately or inaccurately profiling a criminal.
Literature Review
Both Legros (2010) and Cutrell (2015) agree that the television series, Criminal Minds, is
typically like any other criminal show, except that it uses criminal profiling as a technique to
solve the crimes that the classically trained FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is viewing. The
BAU uses criminal profiling in order to narrow down the details that have been found at the
crime scene and information that has been found in interviews that have been conducted. There
are various ways that criminal profiling is used through the television series Criminal Minds.
There are several shows that have are based off of crimes to draw viewers in. Once these viewers
are drawn in, the audience sees the shows and sees how the crimes are solved and this can
change the perception of the viewer. Although what is seen in these criminal television shows are
not true, the mind is impressionable and seeing these stories in the television shows can distort or
influence the way someone views real-world crimes. Criminal Profiling in the real-world is an
investigative tool used to determine characteristics of the unknown subject (unsub), narrow down
suspects, and also figure out the victimology of the unsub this helps better understand the
criminals to view how they think, who they are, and why they do what they do.
Criminal Profilers can range from being a self-taught profiler to a psychologist that has
been classically trained to work in this field alongside the police force. Different types of
psychologists that have been trained for Criminal Profiling are Psychological Profiling and
Forensic Profiling. Psychological Profiling is a mixture of instinct and science, and this type of

Commented [HE4]: This is a good comparison to other

TV shows and how Criminal Minds has given a
different approach to the typical cop show. When you
say real world crimes what are you referring to? Do you
mean the different types of murders or kidnappings?
Also, why do you think that criminal minds has worked
where other shows did not?
Em Asbill

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 3

profiling is very common in extreme crimes such as rape, murder, and abduction, and least
effective with the more mild crimes like burglary and vehicle crimes. Forensic Profiling is
explained as the application of psychological knowledge and principles to legal issues
(Criminal Profiling Staff 2001a). Psychological Profiling and Forensic Psychology both apply
towards profiling, however, for Forensic Psychology profiling is only one of its uses. For
Psychological Profiling, the psychologist begins by attempting to differentiate types of rapists,
such as power, anger, and opportunistic. In some cases, there are instances where these types will
intermingle and share characteristics, such as sharing the characteristics of a power rapist with
the characteristics of an anger rapist. In both the Psychological Profiling and Forensic Profiling,
both uses of the psychologists are best when paired with a police officers or police work. In
todays society of Criminal Profiling, pairing these types of psychology, both forensic and
psychological, with the police force shows that these pairings give the best way of identifying a
criminal which is very imperative. Psychologists working with the police force will be able to
give the most accurate profile which allows the process of catching the criminal to become faster
and easier (Criminal Profiling Staff 2001a; Criminal Profiling Staff 2001c).

The first step to Criminal Profiling is to see if there is any forensic testing that can be
completed such as DNA testing. Another step that needs to be completed as soon as possible is
questioning any eye-witnesses. If you do not have time to do forensic testing, or there are not any
eye-witnesses available to explain the crime scene, you can attempt to identify the suspect by
using what you already know from the crime scene which is known as offender profiling. Once
the crime has been committed, you need to find all the information you can, such as details about
the crime what happened, where it happened, as well as information about the victim or even

Commented [HE5]: Is this talking about criminal

minds, or is it talking about in the "real world"? I am a
little confused as to what you are trying to say here,
and how it fits into this paragraph. Is this a common
practice in the modern crime investigation?
Em Asbill

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 4

from the victim. The next step in profiling, is to use the details you found to draw up a
conclusion to help achieve a profile. Profiles from different people can say different things for
example, one profile may say that a single person committed murders, and another profile may
say that there was more than one person involved. There are different types of profiling that can
answer different questions for example, geographic profiling is used to answer the question of
where the criminal might live. It is important to not jump to conclusion when attempting to
analyze or profile the criminal. It is very easy to contort what has happened in a crime scene and
this can lead to an inaccurate profile. An example of a contorted profile would be using the case
of a female that was found murdered and severely beaten. The beatings were directed to her face
so without research and collecting data, the FBI profilers concluded that the criminal that did the
attack knew the victim and was attempting to wreak revenge. The true story, however, is that a
local drug addict was breaking into the young womans home when she startled him and he
killed her in fear, this was nothing like the original profile the FBI came up with on a whim
(Criminal Profiling Staff 2001b). If not careful, profiles can end up being very incorrect thus
prolonging the investigation. Although Criminal Profiling is an investigative tool to narrow
down the investigation, research shows that Criminal Profiling is not useful for all criminal cases
because in some situations it can hinder the process instead of better it (UQx 2014a; UQx 2014b;
Criminal Profiling Staff 2001b; Terracciano 2011).
Entering the Conversation
While conducting research on the topic of Criminal Profiling, one can see that Profiling is
not always necessarily accurate. There are many times when profilers can make simple mistakes
in the profiles of criminals. As seen in the television series, Criminal Minds, these simple
mistakes can lead to dangerous situations. For instance, if a profile reads that this criminal is

Commented [HE6]: It is clear that you were very

interested in your topic! It shows in your writing
because you make it obvious that you know your
information. It is also makes your paper more
appealing to the readers.
Claire Hibbert

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 5

calm and rational, but this criminal is actually a raging psychopath, then this situation can end
very badly. Criminal Profiling, however, can be self- taught, or taught by the FBI or some type
of police force, but are there any proven differences of self-taught Criminal Profiling and
Criminal Profiling taught by some type of higher learning? Is it better to be an FBI taught

Commented [HE7]: Why do you feel this is important?

It is clear you understand a lot about your topic, but
why is this important to you? Maybe provide an
example as to how this could end badly, or why you
feel it is an important to add to the conversation.
Em Asbill

profiler or can a self-taught profiler profile just as well or better?

While learning more about the science of Criminal Profiling, I have learned that Criminal
Profiling is almost like a hypothesis, or an educated guess. Is there really any true science to
guessing a criminals age, or the types of victims this criminal is going after, or is Criminal
Profiling just making assumptions about a criminal and the crime(s) that this criminal has
committed? When looking at the scene in the beginning of this paper, one sees a woman that was
murdered. One will also see that this victims hands were severed off and taken away. Can
psychologists, or the profilers either self-taught or FBI taught, truly understand why the
criminal in this case cuts the hands off of the victim and takes the hands with them, or is it all
just a big guess?
In the case mentioned above, a Criminal Profiler, both self-taught and FBI taught, will
most likely begin by pulling cases with victims that had their hands severed and taken.
Similarities and differences would then be compared with the other cases. A self-taught profiler
as well as an FBI profiler would be able to make these comparisons if allowed access to past
cases, however, if a self-taught profiler is not working in the field with the Behavior Analysis
Unit or FBI, then this profiler most likely will not receive the access needed to achieve
information from past cases. At this point in the case, assuming that both types of profilers have
the same access, the self-taught and the FBI taught profiler would most likely make the same
assumptions thus showing no differences in the profiling so far.

Commented [HE8]: I like how you included what a

Criminal Profiler does. It helps tie the paper together
and connects to your overall proposal. I also found it
interesting to read and the details/descriptions you
used were very helpful in understanding how they do
their job.
Claire Hibbert

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 6

Once profiling deepens into assumptions such as age, gender, race, geographic locations,
etc., then profiling tends to differ, but this happens throughout all types of profiling whether selftaught or FBI taught. This tends to happen because people will find different information which
leads to different assumptions on the profile. Bias also comes into play when profiling. A profiler
profiles on their own point of view and this can allow a profiler to miss parts of the case that can
be imperative to making an accurate profile. Another reason for profilers having different
assumptions is based on how many different people are profiling the case. For example, in the
case above, one can say that the criminal is a white male in his late thirties, or early forties, who
was physically abused hence the reason for taking the hands. Another profiler could say that
this criminal is a black male in his late twenties, or early thirties, who was sexually abused and
sees the hands as someone who is coming for the criminal in a sexual manner. These profilers
can argue that their profile is correct, but one or even both of these profiles could be incorrect.
All the information a profiler has access to depend on the type of profile that will be produced.
For example, if a profiler is attempting to find the geographic location that the criminal is most
likely living, the profiler would need to have enough information from the crime scene(s). This
information mainly comes from the locations that these crimes took place. Typically the
geographic location the criminal is said to be found tends to be near where the crimes have taken
place.
Both self-taught profilers as well as FBI taught profilers have the access and the ability to
generate these assumptions that they call profiles. In the Criminal Minds episodes, these profilers
are FBI taught and are classically trained to deal with situations that are high-risk (Cutrell 2015).
These situations can contain shooting, bombing, and various other dangerous situations. While
being a self-taught profiler, this profiler will be unable to go into high-risk situations if needed to

Commented [HE9]: This is a really great example, the

comparison between the results of two different
profilers is very interesting. I also really like how you
provided reasons the criminal took the hands.
Comparing everything to the case above is a really
interesting way to tie everything together, great job.
Em Asbill

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 7

such as if this profiler happens to make an accurate profile and wants to act upon this profile
and catch the criminal, the self-taught profiler would be inadequate for this type of case. This is
one of the positive areas for an FBI taught profiler. FBI taught profilers will have the ability to
not only create the profile, but also act upon this profile. This is useful in urgent cases where a
criminal is acting on a time limit where after a certain amount of time the criminal will strike
again. In this case it is urgent to stop the criminal so that no one else will get injured or killed and
only the FBI taught have the ability to safely do this.
I believe it is very easy to profile incorrectly and I believe even if a profiler is FBI taught,
that even they can make mistakes. While being FBI taught might allow this type of profiler to
make better educated guesses for the profile, this does not necessarily mean that this profiler is
always going to be correct with the profile. Self-taught profilers can also profile correctly.
Whether or not there is a science to these assumptions or educated guesses that are made to make
a profile is not clear. Personally, I do not believe that there is a method to figuring out these
profiles because there will always be a different type of case with a different type of person. No
one person is alike and no one thinks the exact same. Although there have been instances where
there are cases that copy-cat another case that has either been solved or not solved, there are
minute differences. These differences may not be prominent at first and the profile at the
beginning may seem like the original profiling of the case that is being copied. Once these
differences are found, both self-taught and FBI taught profilers should be able to change the
profile and hopefully catch the criminal.
Conclusion/So-What?
The purpose of this paper is to analyze or profile criminals by using the investigative tool
of Criminal Profiling. Throughout this paper there are various ways Criminal Profiling is used as

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 8

well as conducted. Some of these different ways could be the type of people conducting the
profiles or the way the profile was analyzed. A specific way conducting the profile is different is
the way Criminal Profiling was how it is taught, whether it is self-taught or FBI taught. This can
lead to different assumptions that are made during the profiles because of how the profiler was
originally taught. How a profiler comes up with the finished profile or assumption can be based
off of how the profiler was taught and can lead to differences between other profilers.
Differences in the way profiling is learned is an important factor in profiling. It matters because
this determines the way a profile is made. It determines how a profiler is able to think about and
analyze the criminal. This can potentially come down to whether or not the profiling is accurate
or incorrect. By researching differences in how Criminal Profiling is taught, one can see whether
or not if how it is taught effects the accuracy of the final profile for the criminal. This can change
the future ways for Criminal Profilers and those interested in profiling. If someone wants to
become a Criminal Profiler in the future, this research can either positively or negatively affect
the interests of this person. If research is conducted on this and finds that self-taught Criminal
Profilers tend to have inaccurate profiles of criminals, then this person most likely will not try to
teach themselves how to profile and if interested, will most likely go into the field to study with
the FBI or the BAU. This can assure this person that is learning to profile that they will be able
to produce accurate profiles to the best of their ability. Doing research specifically on how
profiling is taught will clear up some questions dealing with Criminal Profiling, however, there
are still questions that need to be answered to clarify issues with Criminal Profiling. Some of
these questions are why does the police force help psychologists profiles become more
accurate? Are there more effective ways of profiling that are proven to be more accurate? Does
profiling truly help catch a criminal that conducted an extreme crime or does the possibility of

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 9

inaccurate profiles slow down the process? With these questions researched and answered
correctly, I believe that Criminal Profiling will clarify and be understood to a fuller extent.

Criminal Profiling 101 p. 10

Works Cited
a. Criminal Profiling Staff. (2001). Forensic Psychology: Friend or Foe?
b. Criminal Profiling Staff. (2001). Profiling as Poison by Professor David Canter.
c. Criminal Profiling Staff. (2001). Psychological Profiling.
Cutrell, H. (2015). Assignment One Workshop Draft: Criminal Minds.
Legros, E. (2010). Unsubs and Profilers: Reality or Fiction? Depictions of Criminal Profiling in
the Television Series Criminal Minds.
Terracciano, K. (2011). Criminal Profiling.
a. UQx (Director). (2014). 1.1 Criminal Profiling Introduction [Motion picture].
b. UQx (Director). (2014). 1.2 Criminal Profiling Methods [Motion picture].

The a, b, and c in the first three articles of the Works Cited page as well as the last two videos are
being used in this paper because each of these articles have the same year as well as the same
author. These letters are used to represent to which article is being used.

Commented [HE10]: We both had to cite our sources

in APA, but ours looks a lot different. Did you use a
citing machine online? I think there needs to be more
information listed for each course because it is hard to
tell where the information came from.
Claire Hibbert