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Behavioral Science Unit (BSU)

Investigative agencies have deployed criminal profiling as one of the tools for the description of the process of inferring the distinctive personality and characteristics of offenders (Briggs, 2015).  Professionals who have been engaged in criminal profiling practice include a wide range of investigators such as social scientists, behavioural scientists, and even forensic scientists (Turvey, 2014). Contemporary criminal profiling is based on the study of crime and criminal behaviour as well as mental health and illness and the examination of physical evidence (Fox & Farrington, 2018). In the US, the Behavior Science Unit (BSU) established under the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) was created for criminal profiling using behavioural and social science. Additionally, the speciality unity of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) coordinates with the BSU in criminal profiling. This paper explores the roles and influences of both BSU and NCAVC in criminal profiling.

Formed in 1972 as part of FBI’s training division, the BSU has the role of developing various programs for training, research, and consultation in the realm of behavioural and social sciences for law enforcement (FBI Academy, 2019). Additionally, the entity conducts applied research on behavioural and social science law engagement issues for use in not only training and consultation but also operational matters. Moreover, the BSU is responsible for the provision of advice to law enforcement officers as and when required (Scherer & Jarvis, 2014). One of the primary functions of the BCU is training students in the FBI National Academy on issues to do with behaviour and social sciences (FBI Academy, 2019). For instance, it provides seven hours of instructions to new agent trainees at the FBI Academy on topics such as the management of stress, dangerous individuals, and even dangerous gangs. The NCAVC, on the other hand, was formed in 1984 and is run by BSU agents. The role of the NCAVC is the coordination of investigative and operational support functions (Scherer & Jarvis, 2014). Additionally, it engages in criminological research. Moreover, it is the responsibility of NCAVC to participate in the training of local and even international law enforcement agencies to investigate unusual and repetitive (serial) violent crimes.

Since the establishment of the FBI and its constituent, the NCAVC, there has been a lot of change in the realm of criminal profiling. In specific, in the process of criminal investigative analysis, crimes have now been reviewed from not only the investigative perspective but also the behavioural perspective (Turvey, 2014). The investigative professionals have now been able to evaluate and assess the facts of criminal acts, interpret the behaviour of the offenders, and their interaction with the victim based on the factors from the nature of commission of the crime or as displayed in the crime scene. Apart from crime analysis, the BSU and NCAVC have enabled investigators to understand the profile of unknown offenders, analyze threats, conduct effective interviews, and even adduce proper expert testimony (Scherer & Jarvis, 2014). Additionally, investigative professionals have been educated on aspects of stress management and effective ways to deal with situations arising from criminal justice sociology, criminology, and psychology (FBI Academy, 2019). As such, the creation of BSU has been instrumental in ensuring that investigations are observed from a behavioural angle which has resulted in the identification of serial offenders through criminal profiling.

The BSU is primarily concerned with the criminal profiling of serial offenders. In specific, the body deals with the analysis of a series of unsolved murders, unidentified human bodies, and persons missing under suspicious circumstances. According to Briggs (2015), with the use of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) technology, investigators in the NCACVC realm of the BSU have now been able to narrow down the search for an unknown subject and then create a likely offender profile by matching the details present in an open case to the details of other closed cases. Notably, the (VICAP) deploys an artificial intelligence system which has been programmed to reason like a human being via the application of “if-then” scenarios (Scherer & Jarvis, 2014). The NCAVC research team updates the system regularly to ensure that anything new about the behaviour of serial offender is programmed into the Profiler in the form of a new line of reasoning. In specific, according to Turvey (2014), the Profiler is a tool which deploys logic and statistics to arrive at human-like conclusions by examining a variety of possible scenarios. The idea of criminal profiling used in the BSU is based on the belief that behaviour reflects personality. As a result, the investigators believe that the personality of an unknown perpetrator of a violent crime can be predicted.

The focus of the BSU is on serial violent crimes such as homicide. For instance, in a serial homicide crime, the FBI agents would examine any insights into the criminal personality by answering various questions related to the behaviour of the murder. For instance, they would explore the antecedent to the murder including any fantasy or plan and the triggers of the murderer to act. Additionally, the method and manner of the commission of a crime including the type of victims selected by the serial killer and the method of murder such as strangulation shooting, or stabling are examined (Turvey, 2014). Moreover, the nature of body disposal is examined in the criminal profiling process. For instance, the FBI agents would establish whether the murder and body disposal took place at one scene and whether there was an attempt to hide the body. Post-Offence behaviour is also vital in criminal profiling. In specific, for the investigators, it is crucial to establish whether the murderer tried to inject himself/herself into the investigation through reactions to news media (Fox & Farrington, 2018). Through the examination of the fantasies and habits of notorious serial killers, then agents can conclude as to the murderer. However, Briggs (2015) warns that it is not all the time that the agents have used VICAP and arrived at the right conclusions.

In conclusion, criminal profiling is a field which has enabled investigators to establish the motive of a crime from not only an investigative but also a behavioural perspective. The creation of the BSU unit under the FBI in 1972 ensures that trainee agents are educated on how to deal with cases involving dangerous offenders and gangs as well as methods of identifying violent serial offenders. Since the start of the BSU unit, criminal investigations have now focused on the personality and behaviours of the murderers. The primary focus of BSU and its constituent agency, the NCAVC, is on serial and notorious violent killers by examining their motives and fantasies. Using the VICAP technology has enabled the profiling of the murderers and hence the identification of the most probable offender based on the “if-then” narratives.