Criminal Profiling as an Aid for Apprehending Serial Killers Popular media loves to emphasize the role of the criminal profiler in apprehending serial killers. It has been a central them in books, television shows, and movies for the past two decades, and the concept of the feisty criminal profiler interviewing wily and brilliant convicted serial killers in an effort to gain insight into active serial killers has become so iconic that

Whereas it remains true that African-Americans and other racial minorities continue to be overrepresented in the American prison population, both common sense and the general consensus of the criminal justice community and sociological experts suggest that this hardly a direct function of race. Rather, it merely reflects the unfortunate correlation between poverty, comparative lack of educational and employment opportunities in the American urban centers where many minorities reside, as well

Nonetheless, Bill never hurts other people simply because he thinks that it is irrational to hurt others. He thinks that any rational person would be like him and not hurt other people. Does Bill really understand that hurting others is morally wrong? (Nichols, 2002, p. 285)." This presents some interesting directions of thought. However, it is time to go into the relationship between serial murderers and forensic psychology as it

" (Douglass & Munn, 1992). Furthermore, the signature aspects of a case can be more important than M.O. Or victimology in linking crimes, because criminals often change M.O. As they become more adept at committing their crimes. (Douglass & Munn, 1992). In addition, signatures can be more significant than differences or similarities between victims because "the offender expresses anger through rituals, not by attacking a victim who possesses a particular

For just one example, clinical depression in humans has been linked to early traumatic experiences; it has also been linked to specific genetic markers. Researchers have been able to plot the respective likelihood of developing the disease among individuals with either contributing factor in comparison to individuals with both contributing factors, demonstrating that the combination of biological and environmental influences is a much stronger predictor of depression than either factor

While "immediately following a crime a forensic psychologist may be asked to act as a criminal profiler" in the court system, the psychologist may be asked to evaluate the competency of a specific defendant in a criminal trial or to assess the level of mental harm done to the plaintiff in a civil trial (Decaire n.d). "Often a forensic psychologist is asked to make evaluations of defendants or plaintiffs'