Profiling Violent Crime: A Behavioral and Forensic Approach

Presented from the perspectives of a former FBI profiler and a forensic violence-risk expert, Profiling Violent Crime: A Behavioral and Forensic Approach educates readers about the nature of criminal profiling including how it works, the techniques it draws on, the types of offenders it applies to, and the psychological make-ups of those offenders.

Drawing from technique, as well as from theory and the latest clinical research, Profiling Violent Crime delves into precisely what it means to profile. Students learn what it’s like to be on the ground as an FBI profiler, dispelling myths and detailing the actual process. Subsequent chapters detail crime scene analysis; determination of the type of offender that may be at work; the fascinating interplay between mental illness and criminality; and breakdowns of the various types of criminal offenders including stalkers, murderers, rapists, mass murderers, and serial killers. The book also offers multiple real-life case examples to shed light further into the criminal mind.

Rooted in the authors’ personal experience in law enforcement and forensic psychology Profiling Violent Crime is an excellent text for courses in criminal justice, psychological profiling, and forensic psychology. It provides readers with real, intimate insight into criminal profiling, addressing its strengths and drawbacks, as well as offering a glimpse of where this crucial field has yet to go.

Peter M. Klismet, Jr. holds a master's degree in criminal justice from California Lutheran University and another in public administration from the University of Southern California. He is a former agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was one of the first formally-trained psychological profilers within the Agency. He served in law enforcement for over thirty years before joining the faculty at Pikes Peak Community College as an associate professor of criminal justice, going on to chair the department. He is now the founder and director of Criminal Profiling Associates, a law enforcement consulting company.

Dr. Clarissa Cole received her master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Baylor University, and began her career by working at Napa State Hospital. More than a decade ago, she transferred to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Currently, she is a senior forensic psychologist in an experimental program—the first of its kind, in the United States—wherein she supervises violence-risk assessments for the Board of Parole Hearings. Along with specializing in violence risk, Dr. Cole co-hosts a weekly true-crime radio show, and maintains her own blog/opinion page.