Up to Markowitz's Rant
I just came across your article Fitting The Profile: On the Trendiness of Witch Hunting. While I do agree that profiling is relied too heavily upon at times, I also believe that this is not the profilers intention. I have read several books by profilers, John Douglas, Robert Ressler, and Robert Keppel, to name a few. Keppel is not even an FBI agent. It is standard procedure for the profiler to mention that the profile is meant only as a guideline and in no way should be used to eliminate a suspect. I have read accounts by the profilers again and again stating that this is not a replacement for good old fashioned police work, just another tool.
Regarding your thoughts on the Atlanta Child Murders, although John Douglas' testimony was used in the conviction of Wayne Williams, it was, in fact, a profile put together by a task force of consultant police detectives that fingered Williams, not the FBI profile. John Douglas testified to signature, not to the profile.
What happened to Richard Jewell is truly a sad event. However, I attribute this to more to the media feeding frenzy that took place then to bad FBI procedure. The FBI, based on the profile, made Jewell a suspect. The media tried and convicted him before the rest of the evidence was evaluated. I think what needs to be examined here, is not criminal profiling, but our media system.
I will close by commenting on the show the Profiler. It is garbage. It does not in any way reflect actual profiling. It should not even be mentioned in the same article as John Douglas and the others who actually put their lives on the line to stop these monsters. Our society has glorified the serial killer, what is wrong with a little glorifying of those who catch them?
-Patricia DeHart
Copyright © 1998 by Patricia DeHartPDeHart@Planetdirect.com All Rights Reserved.
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