Offender Profiling (An Introduction to the Sociopsychological Analysis of Violent Crime)

From the foreword by Professor Ralph In this book, two eminent scholars, George B. Palermo, M.D., M.Sc.Crim. and Richard N. Kocsis, Ph.D., both active in clinical and research work, grapple with the timely topic of criminal profiling. Their purpose in writing their very comprehensive and objective book is to attempt to separate myth from reality, the wheat from the chaff. The book stands on firm psychological/psychiatric foundations as the basis for offender typologies. In the first section, the authors describe the major violent crimes, particularly multiple/serial murder, serial arson, serial rape, and burglaryrelated felonies as strictly connected with the underlying personality of the offenders. In the second section of the book, they discuss the crime scene. A special chapter by former FBI agents Robert R. Hazelwood and Michael R. Napier presents the staged crime scene, often puzzling for investigators. The third section includes a historical review and criticisms of the major theoretical research on profiling. The book is well written, enlightening, and easy to read, even when presenting psychiatric and statistical research. The authors accompany the reader on an interesting voyage through the development of profiling without apparent effort, a quality that denotes a profound knowledge of the subject that derives from their many years of forensic experience. The book will be of interest to professionals involved in criminal work, whether psychologists, psychiatrists, attorneys, or criminal investigators. It is a major contribution to the field of criminal profiling.