Developing an accurate profile of a serial or mass murderer is a tricky task. Although some characteristics are common to many serial murderers—for example, the majority of serial murderers are men—other characteristics, such as the motivation to kill, vary considerably. Therefore, it becomes impossible to describe all the characteristics of a serial murderer accurately without some type of guiding framework. The guiding framework and key profiling technique criminal profilers use is known as a typology. Typologies aid in the construction of a criminal profile by illustrating the categories or types of serial murderers. These same typologies often are applied to mass murderers as well. All serial and mass murderers who fall into one particular category share a range of characteristics such as personality traits and social skills. Serial and mass murderers can be classified into typologies based on evidence gathered at the crime scenes, such as the weapon used to murder the victim or whether the body was moved. After a criminal profiler successfully categorizes a serial or mass murderer, the profiler can describe other characteristics of the offender, such as age and employment status. Typologies also help in the construction of a psychological profile of serial and mass murderers.
Review the article “Criminal Profiling from Crime Scene Analysis.” Consider how the stages of the criminal-profile-generating process relate to the classification of a serial killer into a particular typology.
Review the section titled “Motivations and Types of Serial Murder: The Symposium Model” in the article entitled “Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators.” Reflect on how the FBI uses information about the motivation to murder when constructing a murderer’s profile.
