How to Become a Criminal Profiler: An Intriguing Career Path

By Dr. Matthew Loux and Derek Loux  |  01/13/2025

Criminal profiling is an essential and fascinating component of the criminal justice system. TV programs such as “Criminal Minds” and “The Mentalist” provide a window into criminal profiling, crime typologies, and human behavior. However, these shows sometimes lack an accurate look at how the criminal profiling process operates and how criminal profilers play an important role in finding and apprehending the bad guys.

According to FBI administrators John E. Douglas, M.S. and Alan E. Burgess, M.Ed., criminal profilers help to identify likely suspects and links them to potential cases. Criminal profiling can involve analyzing crime scenes, victim characteristics, and other evidence to develop a psychological profile of the offender.

This profile can include information about the offender's personality, behavior, habits, and potential motivations. It can be especially helpful for pinpointing the potential suspects who may be the perpetrators of serial crimes.

The Psychological Theory in Criminal Profiling

Criminal profiling has deep roots in psychology. Whether professional organizations call the process “investigative psychology” or “criminal investigative analysis” is moot; all are the same. The profiling process considers evidence from crime scenes and victims to produce psychological and demographic variables. These variables are used to craft a description of the offender(s) in question.

Criminal profiling is distinct from race-based profiling. Criminal profiling relies on criminal behavior and other factors. Race-based profiling involves making assumptions based on an individual's race or ethnicity and is illegal.

In their paper about the criminal profiling of violent criminals, Canadian scholars Michael Woodworth and Stephen Porter explore the psychological process of offender profiling. Investigative psychology takes initial assessments and assumptions from law enforcement and crafts a profile that includes empirical and psychological findings.

As psychology evolves scientifically, so too does the accuracy of criminal profiling. The profiling process began with the psychological method known as “CRIME,” which stands for:

• Crime scene evaluations
• Relevancy of research
• Investigative opinions
• Methods of investigation
• Evaluations

CRIME expanded into subfields that integrated approaches to improve the profiling process. Some call profiling an art more than a science. However, following the CRIME process and emerging research will enhance logical conclusions. This knowledge helps law enforcement find criminal behavior patterns to follow and succeed. 

An Historical Overview of Criminal Profiling

Criminal profiling has played a part in understanding the mindset of various criminals, particularly serial killers. Some of these criminals include:

• Jack the Ripper
• Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber
• George Metesky, the Mad Bomber

Over time, criminal profiling has evolved and is used by law enforcement agencies worldwide to help solve crimes and identify suspects. In fact, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) was created to aid in criminal profiling.

What Is a Criminal Profiler and What Does a Criminal Profiler Do?

Criminal profilers typically are highly trained experts who analyze crime scenes, looking at physical evidence and patterns. Criminal profilers play a critical role in conducting criminal behavior analyses that include the personal habits, motives, and personality traits of potential subjects.

In addition, successful criminal profilers analyze victim characteristics to determine why certain victims may have been targeted. Criminal profilers spend time examining crime locations or geography for the location of attacks or even a subject’s base of operations.

The FBI’s Douglas identified key steps in the criminal profiling processes:

• Evaluating the criminal act
• Conducting a comprehensive evaluation of crime scene(s) specifics based on evidence, behavior patterns, and victim characteristics
• Performing a complete analysis of the victim(s), including relationships, lifestyle, and potential motives of why the victim(s) were targeted
• Evaluating preliminary police reports and medical examiner autopsy protocols
• Developing a profile with critical offender characteristics
• Asserting suggestions on the construction of the profile

What Steps Should Be Taken to Become a Criminal Profiler?

In order to become a criminal profiler, both education and training are necessary. For instance, an aspiring criminal profiler will require at least a bachelor’s degree in psychology, forensics, or criminal justice. A graduate degree – such as master's degree or a doctoral degree – in these areas can be equally helpful for anyone seeking to become a criminal profiler.

A criminal profiler will also need to develop skills in active listening and critical analysis. Being detail-oriented is also a key part of this profession, because even the smallest detail can be crucial to solving an investigation and helping federal or local law enforcement agencies arrest the people who commit crimes.

A criminal profiler also requires investigative skills for a crime scene analysis. These skills are typically developed through on-the-job training.

Psychology, pathology, interviewing skills, and communication are vital for a criminal profiler. A profiler must get into the mind of a criminal, understanding the criminal's abnormal psychology and potential abnormal cognitive deficits. Similarly, criminal profilers may be called upon as expert witnesses to provide expert testimony in a courtroom.

Criminal profiling techniques involve much more than DNA evidence, eyewitness testimony, and placing someone near the crime scene to aid law enforcement agencies. These components form the bedrock of a profile. A profiler must use his or her knowledge to synthesize information about human behavior and explain it to other people in a manner that helps a team apprehend and convict a killer, kidnapper, arsonist, or other people who commit violent offenses.   

What Types of Organizations Hire Criminal Profilers?

Criminal profilers typically work for various law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. However, a criminal profiler must apply to become an FBI agent in order to work for the BAU, which requires a bachelor’s degree. The requirements for becoming an FBI agent include:

• Earning a bachelor’s degree and at least two years of work experience or possessing an advanced degree and one year of work experience
• Being at least 23 years of age and applying before your 36th birthday
• Meeting the physical requirements
• Having a valid driver’s license
• Obtaining a Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) Clearance
• Attending the FBI law enforcement academy for about four months

According to former Senior Profiler Mary O'Toole, criminal profilers have about seven to 15 years of experience as agents or criminal investigators before applying to the BAU. She recommends that aspiring criminal profilers take courses in psychology, philosophy, sociology, and public speaking.

These types of courses create a solid foundation that works holistically and helps profilers to develop a range of skills. With this type of educational background, criminal profilers can more easily determine the characteristics of a criminal, work with local and federal criminal investigators to develop a criminal profile, and narrow down suspects.

O'Toole also notes that the BAU is comprised of individuals with a broad range of degrees. She observes that once you are selected for the highly competitive position of criminal profiler in the BAU, you will have at least two or three years of hands-on training and work with a senior profiler.

Other opportunities to become a criminal profiler include the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). ATF criminal profilers are well-trained and seasoned criminal investigators who are put through a 13-week criminal profiling course focused on pathology, social sciences, psychology, criminal behavior, and other topics. 

ATF criminal profilers must also complete training at the FBI’s BAU course to become a criminal profiler. The ATF criminal profilers assist with complex violent crimes, threats, or other law enforcement cases. 

Other opportunities for aspiring criminal profilers include local law enforcement agencies (such as police departments) or organizations that may have a behavioral science program, such as:

• The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)
• The California Department of Justice's Violent Crime Investigative Support Section

Psychology, pathology, interviewing skills, and communication are vital. A profiler focuses on getting into the mind of a criminal, understanding their psyche and potential abnormal cognitive deficits.

Criminal profiling is much more than crime scene analysis, DNA evidence, eyewitness testimony, and placing someone near the crime scene. These components form the bedrock of a profile, and the profiler must use their knowledge to synthesize information and explain it to the uneducated in a manner that helps the others on a team apprehend and convict a killer, kidnapper, arsonist, or others that commit a violent crime.   

The Future of Criminal Profiling

There is ample room for technological advancements in criminal profiling. Artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and machine learning are rapidly evolving and can potentially create interesting benefits for criminal profilers, criminal investigators, and police departments. However, it is also necessary to ensure that these tools avoid bias and false data to ensure accuracy.

Criminal Justice Degrees at American Military University

For adult learners interested in learning how to become a criminal profiler, American Military University (AMU) offers criminal justice degrees designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills to help become a criminal profiler.

Courses in these criminal justice programs cover a wide range of topics, including evidence and procedures, criminal profiling, criminal justice administration, and criminal investigation. Other topics include ethics in criminal justice, crime scene evidence, crime analysis, and criminology.

For more information about these degrees, visit our criminal justice program page.

Note: These degree programs are not designed to meet the educational requirements for professional licensure or certification in any country, state, province or other jurisdiction. These programs have not been approved by any state professional licensing body and do not lead to any state-issued