Behavioral Analysis Unit
Investigation
12/1/2010
Behavioral Analysis Unit One of the many age old questions facing society today, is what makes a criminal suceptible to committing that particular crime; or why was that person targeted as a victim. This question has sparked many debates within the criminal justice field, which is the reason the Behavioral Science Unit was created by the Federal Bereau of Investigation. In certain cases, knowing how a criminals mind operates, will help lead an investigation in the right direction in order to successfully arrest the correct perperatrator. Analyzing a criminals mind, is learning the rules and rituals of their game in order to catch them, before further harm is inflicited. The human mind is such a powerful tool, and it is the job of a criminal profiler to study the aspects of the criminal mind to try to predict their next move. The Federal Bereau of Investigation has invested in the study of the criminal mind, and use their behavioral analysis units to better undertand the behavior of the worlds most dangerous criminals. The FBI Behavioral Science Unit was formed in 1972, and is all about the better understanding of criminals and terrorists—who they are, how they think, why they do what they do—as a means to help solve crimes and prevent attacks. It was intially formed with eleven agents, and one cheif; who were handpicked for their profiling abilities. By 1977 the unit had 3 major purposes; crime scene analysis, profiling, and the analysis of threatening letters. Then in 1994 the Critical Incident Support Group integrated the FBI 's crisis managmement, behavioral, and tactical teams into one group. During this time a new area of interest was added known as the behavioral analysis of child abduction and serial killers. Three years later it was seperated into the behavorial analysis unit east and west divisions. After 9/11 the unit began to become more involved in the subject matter of terrorism. So today the BAU has come along way, and
12/1/2010
Behavioral Analysis Unit One of the many age old questions facing society today, is what makes a criminal suceptible to committing that particular crime; or why was that person targeted as a victim. This question has sparked many debates within the criminal justice field, which is the reason the Behavioral Science Unit was created by the Federal Bereau of Investigation. In certain cases, knowing how a criminals mind operates, will help lead an investigation in the right direction in order to successfully arrest the correct perperatrator. Analyzing a criminals mind, is learning the rules and rituals of their game in order to catch them, before further harm is inflicited. The human mind is such a powerful tool, and it is the job of a criminal profiler to study the aspects of the criminal mind to try to predict their next move. The Federal Bereau of Investigation has invested in the study of the criminal mind, and use their behavioral analysis units to better undertand the behavior of the worlds most dangerous criminals. The FBI Behavioral Science Unit was formed in 1972, and is all about the better understanding of criminals and terrorists—who they are, how they think, why they do what they do—as a means to help solve crimes and prevent attacks. It was intially formed with eleven agents, and one cheif; who were handpicked for their profiling abilities. By 1977 the unit had 3 major purposes; crime scene analysis, profiling, and the analysis of threatening letters. Then in 1994 the Critical Incident Support Group integrated the FBI 's crisis managmement, behavioral, and tactical teams into one group. During this time a new area of interest was added known as the behavioral analysis of child abduction and serial killers. Three years later it was seperated into the behavorial analysis unit east and west divisions. After 9/11 the unit began to become more involved in the subject matter of terrorism. So today the BAU has come along way, and