Is Psychological Profiling the Solution to Terrorism?

Is Psychological Profiling the Solution?

History

Between 1940 and 1956, a profound killer known as the Mad Bomber disturbed New York City’s streets. For sixteen years, the Mad Bomber evaded New York City’s police officers and planted over thirty small bombs in public places. In 1956, the infuriated investigators decided to ask for the help of a psychiatrist, James Brussel. Brussel analyzed the notes and photos that were taken at the scene of the incidents. These objects allowed him to come up with a detailed description of the suspect: He would be in his 50’s, unmarried, self-educated, and foreign. He would also be paranoid and live in Connecticut. Brussel proposed that the suspect had a personal vendetta against the target of the first bomb, Con Edison.

In January of 1957, the police arrested the Mad Bomber, George Metesky. The profile that Brussel had delivered was spot-on, and because of that the police knew exactly how he would act. The Mad Bomber investigation is one of the most well known cases that psychologists were allowed to investigate. As a result of Jack Brussel’s spot-on detailed description of the Mad Bomber, police started to consult with more psychologists and psychiatrists. Psychological Profilers have abetted in multiple well-known cases and have locked up some serious psychos, such as, Jack the Ripper and the Green River Killer. Psychological Profiling is very effective because it uses the style and nature of the crime to apprehend its offender and has a higher closing rate than cases used without it.

What is Psychological Profiling?

Psychological Profiling is the identification of specific characteristics of an individual who has committed a certain crime using a detailed systematic observational ...

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...ey have a case-closing rate of fifty-two percent. Cases that psychologists do not abet on only have a case-closing rate of forty-six percent. Psychologists have helped to clean up the streets by capturing some of the worst perpetrators, such as, Machine Gun Kelley, The Unabomber, and The Beltway Sniper.

Psychological Profiling has proven to be an essential way to apprehend criminals. Psychologists should be allowed to work more investigations because evidence and facts suggest that more cases and criminals are caught each year. Psychological Profiling has come a long way since the case of the Mad Bomber; it has proven to be very effective and should be used in investigations more often. If it’s authorized to be used more, the streets will become safer, more criminals will be caught, and fewer people will become victims of the heinous crimes perpetrators commit.