Criminal Profiling Portrayed in Television, Real Life, and Movies

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Recommended: Criminal behaviour biological and psychological

Imagine this: You are in a crime scene. The air is cold and dry, almost as if in a storage locker or laboratory. The room is neat and tidy; everything has a place that has been carefully planned. The victim, positioned and dressed peacefully, lays in the center of the room. There are no visible wounds or signs of a struggle, but you see drag marks where a large object has been pulled across the carpet. Though, there are currently no suspects, the investigating authorities have received a calling card with a cryptic message.

Aside from the message, there is no evidence or fingerprints. As the lead investigator, what does this tell you?

Criminal profiling is a law-enforcement technique that uses psychological clues to identify potential characteristics of a suspect; Criminal profiling has been used in many cases, including serial-killer Ted Bundy. Has been largely contributed to by the FBI, and is portrayed in many television shows and movies, most famously, Criminal Minds.

What is Criminal Profiling?

Criminal Psychology has been referred to as many things, including Sociology and Criminology. The goal of criminal profiling is to be able to look at the crime scene, the victim, and statistics from previous related crimes to make conclusions about traits the suspect may have. Some aspects of criminal profiling are largely scientific and directly relate to psychological practices and facts. Other facets of profiling are based on common knowledge and the ability to relate to what someone else may be thinking or feeling. Criminal Psychology or Psychology in general, for that matter; is not an exact science. Contrary to popular belief or portrayal in pop culture, criminal profilers are not psychic and do not have super...

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...meticulously planned from each little aspect, from room climate to positioning of the body. But as an investigative psychological profiler, you know that you are dealing with an organized killer. The suspect is too careful to be a rookie. The manner in which the victim has been dressed suggests that the killer is ritualistic, probably a serial killer. The chosen weapon was poison, indicating that the killer had chosen a particular victim prior to the crime. Using all this information, you and your colleagues are able to make a profile, which describes the true killer almost perfectly. You have experienced criminal profiling at work.

Works Cited

apa.org

clarkprosecutor.org

crimelibrary.com

tv.yahoo.com*

ncis.wikia.com*

wikipedia.org*

*These sources were used only for the Pop Culture section and are not supposed to be used for credible facts.

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