Tracking a Killer-The Shortcomings of Criminal Profiling

We’ve all seen an episode of Criminal Minds or CSI in which a serial killer is hunted down and caught by an intuitive, almost clairvoyant criminal profiler.  In performing a succinct psychological assessment, this gifted detective was not only able to decode the root of the killer’s madness, but was also able to determine the killer’s whereabouts.  By the end of the one hour episode, justice was served and the streets were safe again for another week.

Though it might make for less dramatic television, current research in the field of psychological investigation suggests that there is a lack of scientific evidence to support criminal profiling as an effective investigative tool.

Watch Professor of Psychology and Director of the Police Research Lab, Craig Bennell discuss the skepticism on criminal profiling, the potential of geographic profiling and how crime television shows and movies distort the realities of psychological profiling and investigation …

Watch more on the people and the techniques behind homicide investigations here the Killing Field