The television show Criminal Minds, the book Journey into Darkness, and the film The Silence of the Lambs exhibit instances of criminal profiling.
Criminal Minds is a television show created and produced by Jeff Davis alongside other producers such as Mark Gordon, Edward Allen Bernero, Deborah Spera, Chris Mundy, Simon Mirren, Erica Messer, Janine Sherman Barrois, Breen Frazier, Harry Bring, and Glenn Kershaw (Davis). The television was first produced and released by The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, and CBS Television Studios in September 22, 2005. To date, the television show has aired 299 episodes in 13 seasons which are aired in CBS television network and online streaming giants, Netflix.
The main characters in the television show are Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, Elle Greenaway, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia, Emily Prentiss, David Rossi, Ashley Seaver, Dr. Alex Blake, Kate Callahan, Dr. Tara Lewis, Luke Alvez, Stephen Walker, and Matt Simmons. The television show involves a set of criminal behavioral profilers for the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) arm of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). The team solely undertakes criminal profiling rather than investigating the entire crime. The cast faces different work cases throughout the episodes complicated by their own personal struggles.
The criminal profiling portrayed in the television show is authentic and realistic. For instance, while displaying her criminal profiling skills in Season 3 Episode 20, Emily Prentiss profiles Aaron Hotchner by stating that since he is right-handed and has two different color pen marks on his left hand, then he must have a toddler at home who is learning to draw (Davis). Also, in Season 13 Episode 4, the team gives a criminal profile of an unnamed unidentified subject ‘unsub’. In the profile, David Rossi states that since the ‘unsub’ is not driven by racial hatred or religious extremism, then it is likely that he is motivated by personal vendetta. In the same episode, the deduces that the criminal might be either ex-military or military trained since he uses a drone which is custom built to be a fully automatic remote weapon and has features of certain military drones.
Journey into the Darkness was written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker and first published in 1997. The book contains various criminal profiles of child molesters, rapists, and vicious serial killers. All the cases presented in the book are actual cases which Douglas had through his career as the head of FBI’s elite Investigative Support Unit. In majority of the cases, Douglas uses criminal investigative analysis and behavioral profiling to understand the psyche, reasoning, and motives of the criminals and sometimes the victims. Among the high profile cases presented in the book include the Clairemont killer case that involved the murder of six women in San Diego, the 1992 schoolgirls murder in Canada, the 1987 Richmond’s first serial murderer and rapist, and the brutal murder of Suzanne Marie Collins.
Since the book is based on actual cases, the criminal profiling is portrayed in a realistic and actual way as it occurred. For instance, in the Clairemont killer case, Douglas related all the six murder cases to a single killer by criminal profiling through the signature analysis. Douglas states that since the killer killed the victims indoors between ten o’clock and two o’clock in the evening, then he must have been an experienced daytime burglar (Douglas and Olshaker 78). Also, Douglas states that all the six women were killed through knife stabs indicating that the killer revealed a preference for the knife as a weapon. Another important finding of Douglas’ criminal profiling is that the first three murders occurred in second-story apartments and in close proximity to each other (Douglas and Olshaker 78). Further, Douglas states that attacking women in their homes in broad daylight requires a degree of intelligence beyond the mind of a normal criminal indicating that the killer was an intellect. Finally, Douglas writes that since all the murdered women were found posed in a sexually degrading position, the killer left behind a modus operandi or signature which made it possible to connect all the six murders to a single killer (Douglas and Olshaker 78).
The film The Silence of the Lambs was created by Thomas Harris who had authored a book with a similar title. The film was directed and produced by Jonathan Demme and Strong Heart/Demme Production respectively. It was released on January 30, 1991. The main characters are Clarince Starling, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Jack Crawford, Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb, and Frederick Chilton. Other characters include Catherine Martin, Senator Ruth Martin, Ardelia Mapp, Barney Matthews, Lamar, Lt. Boyle, Sgt. Tate, Sgt. Jim Pembry, Roden, Pilcher, Paul Krendler, and Mr. Bimmel. The film follows the story of a young FBI trainee (Clarince Starling) who seeks criminal profiling help from an imprisoned psychiatrist (Dr. Hannibal Lecter) for the arrest of a certain serial killer.
The criminal profiling presented in the film through Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Clarince is portrayed in a realistic manner. For instance, while profiling Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb, Clarince states that since the Jame’s activities entail privacy, he can’t be a drifter and must have a house somewhere. Further, Clarince states that since Jame has great physical strength like that of a youth yet he is able to maintain self-control by being cautious, precise, and never impulsive, then he must be about 30-40 years where he is able to combine strength and older men self-control.
