ABSTRACT
Analyzing a violent crime to determine identifiable characteristics of the unknown offender is not a new technique. However, the work in this area by the members of the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC), retired members of the NCAVC, and selected law enforcement officers who have studied with the NCAVC represents continuing efforts to enhance investigative methods and abilities. Until the late 1970s, such analyses had been done primarily by clinical psychologists or psychiatrists who, while trained in matters of the mind, lacked experience in conducting investigations of violent crime. As a result, their profiles were couched in terminology largely alien to the intended audience — the criminal investigator and others in the criminal justice system.
