Influence of Investigative Profiling

Although compulsive murderers have not received a great deal of attention from psychiatric or psychological researchers (relative to other disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and posttraumatic stress disorder), members of law enforcement agencies— especially the FBI—have become interested in this group of criminal offenders mainly from an investigative perspective. Their interest began in the 1950s, when New York City was rattled by a person the press called the “Mad Bomber.” This individual set bombs at various landmarks throughout the city such as Grand Central Station, Penn Station, Radio City Music Hall, theaters, and the public library. He planned his bombing with such a high degree of detail that he went undetected for about 16 years.

Out of frustration, the New York authorities consulted James Brussel, a local psychiatrist who was interested in forensic psychiatry and criminal behavior. Brussel (1968) reviewed all the information available, including the letters that the Mad Bomber had sent to the police, photographs of the crime scenes, and descriptions of the homemade bombs. After analyzing this information, Brussel concluded that the offender was a paranoic of Eastern European descent, who lived in Connecticut with an aunt or sister. He believed he was over 40 years old, had a serious illness, attended church regularly, and was soft-spoken, polite, and exceptionally neat in appearance. A brief profile was published in the New York Times on Christmas Day 1956:

Single man, between 40 and 50 years old, introvert. Unsocial but not antisocial. Skilled mechanic. Cunning. Neat with tools. Egotistical of mechanical skill. Contemptuous of other people. Resentful of criticism of his work but probably conceals resentment. Moral. Honest. Not interested in women. High school graduate. Expert in civil or military ordnance. Religious. Might flare up violently at work when criticized. Possible motive: discharge or reprimand. Feels superior to critics. Resentment keeps growing. Present or former Consolidated Edison worker. Probably case of progressive paranoia. (Brussel, 1968, p. 47)

After Brussel gave his profile to the detectives, he closed his eyes, conjured up a mental image, and said, “One more thing ... when you catch him—and I have no doubt you will— he’ll be wearing a double breasted suit. Buttoned” (p. 46).

As a result of Brussel’s profile, the police narrowed their investigation to an individual they had suspected: George Metesky, a former employee of Consolidated Edison, who was unhappy with the company for a variety of reasons. When they went to arrest Metesky, they found that he fit Brussel’s profile in shocking detail. Not only did he have all the characteristics that Brussel said he would, but he wore a double-breasted suit that was buttoned!

Authorities were amazed at the uncanny accuracy of Brussel’s conclusions. Therefore it is not surprising that members of the FBI—whose job it is to investigate unknown offenders—were quite curious as to how Brussel arrived at his findings. The psychiatrist explained his thought processes as a series of “deductions.” For example, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals regularly evaluate people and offer predictions regarding how such individuals might behave in the future. After an evaluation, a psychiatrist might conclude that the patient is likely to experience periods of depression; make unsuccessful suicide attempts; have difficulty with authority; or endure unsuccessful relationships with members of the opposite sex. These types of psychiatric predictions are not uncommon; in fact, they are rather ordinary in day-to-day mental health practice.

In drawing a profile of an unidentified offender, Brussel simply reversed the process. Instead of offering predictions about a person he examined, he offered deductions about the type of person who committed the crime. Thus, the profiler examines (in detail) the behavior an individual engages in and then constructs a profile of the type of person who would behave in this manner. Rather than studying the person and predicting his behavior, the profiler studies an individual’s criminal behavior and predicts the type of person who would have acted in that manner.

Mental health professionals know, for example, that individuals with compulsive personalities are typically neat, orderly, and somewhat rigid, and these characteristics are usually consistent throughout various aspects of their lives. It is uncommon for a compulsive person to live in an unkempt apartment or to drive a battered old car. Such an individual dresses neatly, lives in an immaculate apartment, and keeps his car well maintained. And if he were to commit a crime, he would probably do so in a logical, detailed, and planned fashion. He most likely would not change his pattern of thought and behavior and commit an impulsive, unplanned, and spontaneous criminal act. When Brussel reviewed the crime scene information on the Mad Bomber and noted the extensive amount of planning that went into the bomb-making, he correctly concluded that the offender must be highly organized and rigid. And a neat appearance would likely be consistent with other aspects of his personality, behavior, and lifestyle.

This reasoning process formed the basis of what later became known as psychological, criminal, or investigative profiling—or more recently referred to as behavioral analysis— which is used mostly by members of law enforcement agencies, especially the FBI. Thus, the need for a psychological investigative tool reawakened scientific interest in the compulsive-repetitive murderer, who was previously mentioned in the scientific literature only sparingly. This type of behavioral analysis has been used not only in identifying unknown offenders in serial crimes, such as serial homicide, but in other settings also, such as hostage negotiations (Reiser, 1982), and to identify anonymous letter writers (Casey-Owens, 1984), those who make violent threats (Miron and Douglas, 1979), as well as rapists, arsonists, stalkers, and other offenders. And even if a psychologist, psychiatrist, or mental health professional is not going to engage in this type of work per se, the findings this technique has generated provide a much deeper insight into the psychopathology and psychodynamics of the compulsive offender than has otherwise been achieved, by focusing on the crime scene behavior rather than solely on psychopathology or other mental health issues.