deeznutz1245
Connecticut: our chimps are stealin yo' faces.
+483|6918|Connecticut
I have read most ( I believe all) of John Douglas' books on criminal profiling. For those of you unfamiliar with him, Douglas is the man who implemented the criminal profiling division into the FBI. I'm not saying he invented it but he certainly pioneered it. My question is this: Why does it work? Are all those times that they were correct, and the numbers are overwhelming, was it coincidence? If it is an accurate science so to speak, what makes us as humans fall into patterns we cannot deviate from? I mean why is it that if I am completely aware of what I should and should not be doing if I were a criminal, I would subconsciously do it anyway. Please debate.

Last edited by deeznutz1245 (2006-12-31 10:57:02)

Malloy must go
deeznutz1245
Connecticut: our chimps are stealin yo' faces.
+483|6918|Connecticut
I personally believe it is accurate, I'm just not sure why.
Malloy must go
Blehm98
conservative hatemonger
+150|6888|meh-land
How about this:
almost all criminal profilers have a degree in psychology, which means it would not make all that much sense as to how it works to someone unless they have psychology or are naturally extremely perceptive. 
What they do is they examine how the criminal did the murder, with what weapons, where the wound was inflicted, where the body was dumped, the way anything may have been arranged around or moved around the body, etc, and they attempt to make a profile off of that.  Humans as a whole are not very hard to predict, because almost everyone experiences the same emotions and reactions to those emotions.  These provide the basic foundation of the profile.  What emotions the criminal may have been feeling, and why. 
You then compare the murder to previous murders in the past that were similar, unsolved or not.  With this information they can compile a basic report on the criminal, his emotional state, some possibilities as to his past, and a couple other things

I'd imagine there is a bit more, but i think thats most of it


edit: to sum it up, it does work, it works fairly well actually
the problem is, people may be very predictable but at the same time they are unpredictable sometimes, and sometimes people deliberately screw with them.  So its along the lines of profiles can help solve a case, but they cannot be used as condemning evidence...

Last edited by Blehm98 (2006-12-31 12:09:55)

Turquoise
O Canada
+1,596|6830|North Carolina
I believe profiling is necessary to a point, with the exception of airports.

As I mentioned in another thread, we have machines now that can see through clothing (which does invade privacy), but because they can do this, they can identify if anyone is carrying a bomb or weapon.  If we installed those in every airport, then profiling would be unnecessary in airports.

Aside from controlled indoor areas like those, however, I think profiling will remain necessary to an extent.
Blehm98
conservative hatemonger
+150|6888|meh-land
ahh, that kind of profiling

that would of course retain much the same roll.  Profiling criminals would help us to learn more about new criminals, and help us to keep track of old criminals and any crime rings they may be involved in

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