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Serial Killers. What type of people do serial killers usually kill? ... Why
do serial killers kill? What type of people do they kill? ...
Serial Killers and the media. ... The movies are not the only place that we will find
references to serial killers; we find them in art and music also. ...
Mass Murder Vs Serial Killers. ... Serial Killers usually murder not for terror
or revenge, but instead for the thrill of taking lives. ...
serial killers. People are murdered everyday. ... Serial killers are people who kill
several, sometimes many other people with a break in time between the killings. ...
Serial Killers. The nineteen-seventies was an incredible decade. ... It was also
an incredible decade for shock, fear and serial killers. ...
Submitted by shatterthishart on June 21, 2006
Category: Psychology
Words: 6651 | Pages: 27
Views: 330
Popularity Rank: 26,510
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
Behind every action is an individual with certain motivations, so it stands to reason that criminals leave psychological clues behind at the scenes of their crimes. Thus, in the face of countless suspects, investigators have increasingly turned to psychological profiling for assistance. Profiling narrows the hunt, helping authorities know who they are looking for.
In the 1950s, psychologists and psychiatrists began to theorize that criminals had similar behavioral patterns and personalities. Criminal investigators started asking these experts for help in looking at unsolved crimes. Given a specific crime, could they determine the type of person who might have committed it? The answer was "possibly."
The theory became a discipline during the 1970s in Quantico, Va., where the FBI established the Behavioral Science Unit. From this base, profilers examine cases, mostly through crime-scene photographs, witness statements and evidence reports. They look for unique details that indicate the perpetrator's background, degree of experience and motivation.
Based on his or her observations, the profiler develops a psychological profile of the perpetrator. The profile suggests how old the suspect might be, his or her past habits, lifestyle and even employment status. The profiler also tries to determine the gender, race, size, marital status and level of adjustment of the perpetrator — and often, the perpetrator's next move.
From a murder scene, a profiler might even reach astoundingly specific — and accurate — conclusions, such as a finding that the perpetrator has a speech impediment, post-adolescent acne or sexual dysfunction, or is someone who is socially inadequate. Or he may find evidence within the crime scene that the perpetrator might have known, and therefore deliberately stalked, the victim, rather than murdered at random.
Initially a hit-or-miss technique, the reliability of criminal profiling has improved with each passing...
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