The History of Criminal Profiling

Criminal profiling, also known as offender profiling, has evolved significantly over time, transforming from early, rudimentary theories to a more structured and scientific approach used in modern law enforcement. The roots of criminal profiling can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when criminologists like Cesare Lombroso first attempted to link physical traits to criminal behavior, laying the groundwork for the field.

However, it wasn’t until the 1970s that criminal profiling began to take a more systematic form, largely due to the efforts of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit (BSU). Pioneers like John Douglas and Robert Ressler at the BSU developed methods for analyzing crime scenes, victim patterns, and offender psychology. This approach sought to understand criminal behavior by looking at the way offenders acted, how they selected victims, and the psychological traits that could be inferred from their crimes.

A key turning point in the development of criminal profiling was the investigation of notorious serial killers like John Wayne Gacy. By studying these high-profile cases, the FBI refined their methods for building detailed profiles of unknown suspects. These profiles could predict characteristics such as age, occupation, and personality traits, providing valuable insights to law enforcement.

Today, criminal profiling combines psychology, criminology, and investigative practices to aid law enforcement agencies in identifying suspects and understanding criminal behavior. While still debated, profiling remains a valuable tool in solving complex cases, particularly those involving serial crimes. The field continues to evolve, as advancements in psychology, forensics, and technology offer new ways to analyze and understand criminal behavior.

1870's

Cesare Lombroso “Father of Crimology”

Cesare Lombroso is known as the founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology and author of the book “L'Uomo delinquente” (The Criminal Man) which explored the theory of criminal anthropology to explain why people commit crimes, in an attempt to understand why people would commit crimes from a hereditary standpoint. He claimed some individuals who offend and have atavistic features are products of earlier stages of human development. In other words, he believed that people who offend have physical and mental characteristics of primitive humans which drive them to commit crimes due to their biological abnormalities. This was the first attempt of scientifically understanding and predicting the behaviors of criminals.

1950's-1960's

Freudian Theories

Sigmund Freud focused his work on psychoanalysis; developing many theories regarding the unconscious mind and internal conflicts. An understanding of Freud’s theories was able to provide a useful explanation of the mind of certain criminals.

Criminal Profiling explores an individual’s unresolved conflicts from childhood, unconscious motivation, and suppressed emotions and how these can lead to criminal behaviors.

Freud's theories give profilers the foundation to analyze the psychological root of the criminal’s behavior.

1970's

Howard Teten and Patrick Mullany

The evolution of criminal profiling in the FBI is attributed to Howard Teten and Patrick Mullany. Teten joined the FBI as an agent and began to be a part of the training division. He was allowed to teach a workshop about “applied criminology.” The workshop gained attraction and proved to be beneficial to the FBI.

Teten recruits Patrick Mullany, who had a master’s in educational psychology, to further develop the course. Teten focused on the facts of the case and Mullany focused on the criminal’s personality that could be revealed at the crime scene.

Patrick Mullany gets reassigned to another unit.

In 1972, the FBI opens a behavioral science unit (BSU) to further advance the concept discussed in Teten and Mullany’s workshop. As the behavioral unit grew and developed, so did the FBI's understanding of serial killers.

1980's

John E. Douglas and Robert Roy Hazelwood

John E. Douglas, a respected criminal profiler, who furthers techniques that predict offenders’ behaviors through psychological analysis by studying the minds of infamous serial killers through interviews to figure out their motivation, thought process, and methods for their crimes.

Robert Roy Hazelwood, focuses on analyzing and creating profiles for sexual predators, rapists, and sexually motivated killers.

Due to the data Hazelwood collected, the FBI begins standard training for the understanding of aberrant sexual offenses.

The two criminal profilers come together to released an article on the FBI's Law Enforcement Bulletin called The Lust Murderer that details the analysis of sexually motivated crimes and behavioral patterns.

1990's

Kim Rossmo Geographic Profiling

Kim Rossmo develops geographic profiling technique and writes a book detailing how the technique works. applying it to a variety of crimes. The technique is applied to a variety of crimes to determine where an offender committed a crime. Determining if the crime was committed near their residence or farther away.

The technique uses a mathematical aspect to help determine where the offender resides and proves to be a way to connect locations of crimes to the offender's residence.

2000's

Rise of Evidence-Based Profiling

The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) continues to refine its approach to criminal profiling, integrating advances in forensic psychology and criminology. Profiling moves away from relying purely on intuition to more evidence-based methods, combining data analysis, criminal behavior analysis, and psychological theory.

Profiling becomes a widely discussed tool in major criminal investigations, particularly with high-profile cases like the Washington, D.C. sniper attacks. The BAU is called in to assist, refining methods for predicting the actions and characteristics of serial offenders.

The FBI establishes the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC), which continues to centralize efforts to support investigations, educate law enforcement, and refine profiling methodologies for serial crimes, domestic terrorism, and workplace violence.

2010's

The Integration of Data and Technology

Advances in neurocriminology (the study of brain abnormalities linked to criminal behavior) begin influencing profiling. Researchers look at how brain scans and neuropsychological assessments can complement traditional profiling methods.

With the rise of big data analytics, criminal profiling begins to incorporate more quantitative methods. Researchers use geographic profiling, social media patterns, and other data sources to create more refined offender profiles

The TV series "Mindhunter", inspired by real-life criminal profilers like John Douglas and Robert Ressler, brings criminal profiling into mainstream popular culture, reigniting public and academic interest in the discipline.

The FBI begins utilizing geospatial profiling more extensively, incorporating geographic data, location tracking, and other statistical methods to predict where an offender might strike next.

2020's

The Intersection of AI, Neuroscience and Cybercrime

Profiling moves toward integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns, and make more accurate predictions about offender behavior. AI helps predict criminal activity based on historical data and psychological profiles.

The focus of criminal profiling expands to include cybercriminals. Profilers begin adapting traditional techniques to analyze and predict the behavior of online offenders, particularly hackers, and online predators.

As the field continues to evolve, psychological autopsies and social media analysis are integrated into criminal profiling, with greater emphasis on understanding offenders' mental health, motives, and online behavior. Profilers rely more heavily on multidisciplinary teams incorporating experts in psychology, criminology, sociology, and forensic science to analyze and prevent crimes.

Honorable Mention

Jack The Ripper

In 1888 there was a murderer in the streets of the East End of London who killed 5 prostitutes by strangulation and slicing their throats. Their bodies would be in public and found soon after they had been murdered. Dr. Thomas Bond performed autopsies on two of the victims and shared his suspicions of the killer’s build and personality based on the crime scene. This can be considered one of the first systematic criminal profiles made for a killer.