IGX

Yeah, I read that a while ago and pretty much agreed with him.

I've worked with profilers on several occasions and in my experience they know their stuff.

davidc wrote:I've worked with profilers on several occasions and in my experience they know their stuff.

An example, pls.

seeahill wrote:

davidc wrote:I've worked with profilers on several occasions and in my experience they know their stuff.

An example, pls.

In some of the murder cases I've worked on their crime scene analysis was effective in helping us understand not only what happened during the homicide but also the killer's motivation and thought processes. The insights led us to find other witnesses and/or physical evidence that confirmed the killer's identity.

A lot of what they do in their analysis isn't so much science and theoretical as it is an analysis based on common sense, logic, and knowledge of criminal statistical data. One profiler who testified in a domestic violence murder trial pointed us towards the killer having a meltdown at the time of death, and we found the defendsnt's cell phone records where he called the victim about 70 times the day of the murder....and then the phone calls stopped at a time when only the killer would know she dead and wouldn't be taking more calls. There were other things but that one was glaring.

I'm working with a profiler right now but the case is active so I can't comment on it. I expect him to testify and I expect the trial will be televised so Ill inbox you when it happens.

Batboy needs to rethink.

Batboy2/75 wrote:Interesting article on how the FBI profiling unit is a scam

Reverse engineering is easy. And you can make events fit almost any scenario you want.

Gladwell is the king of it. Think of everyone who buys into the 10,000 hour bullshit.

johnst_nhb wrote:

Batboy2/75 wrote:Interesting article on how the FBI profiling unit is a scam

Reverse engineering is easy. And you can make events fit almost any scenario you want.

Gladwell is the king of it. Think of everyone who buys into the 10,000 hour bullshit.

I get it. I don't think these guys are infallible.
I'm just telling you these guys can be helpful to those of us in the profession, and that a lot of what they do is not pseudo-science, but just a common sense application of logic, experience, and knowledge of relevant data and statistics.
Just think of them as homicide cops who have a lot of training, knowledge and experience and you can see their value. When you start thinking of them as some sort of scientist-magician, well, then there's a problem.

Forgot to mention this:

Many times when a long-time serial killer is found, these guys are called in to take their confession and/or debrief them. Because they interrogate so many serial killers they get to understand them.
Its not just some soft-science guesswork. They have actual personal experience with the people they study.

davidc wrote:

johnst_nhb wrote:

Batboy2/75 wrote:Interesting article on how the FBI profiling unit is a scam

Reverse engineering is easy. And you can make events fit almost any scenario you want.

Gladwell is the king of it. Think of everyone who buys into the 10,000 hour bullshit.

I get it. I don't think these guys are infallible.
I'm just telling you these guys can be helpful to those of us in the profession, and that a lot of what they do is not pseudo-science, but just a common sense application of logic, experience, and knowledge of relevant data and statistics.
Just think of them as homicide cops who have a lot of training, knowledge and experience and you can see their value. When you start thinking of them as some sort of scientist-magician, well, then there's a problem.

I actually am a huge fan and supporter of profilers. My wife is a prosecutor so there has been some exposure there.

Just not a huge fan of gladwell, though he's interesting. That's what I was referring to by reverse engineering. He does that a lot.

Officer Friendly still believes in and relies on other bullshit like eyewitness accounts and lineups, why not pseudoscience and magical thinking?