Criminal profiling promises a lot — being able to piece together a picture of a suspect through clues, intuition and psychology sounds great. But how reliable is it?

In our first episode of Forensic, a four-part series unpacking the psychological tools used to solve crimes, we examine the history of criminal profiling. How it got popular in the 1950s after bombings in New York City, its shortcomings when scrutinised by researchers, and the techniques it is built on that police deploy today (but with a lot more data).

Guests:

Michael Cannell
Author, Incendiary: The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber and the Invention of Criminal Profiling
Former Editor, The New York Times

Professor Craig Jackson
Professor of Occupational Health Psychology
Birmingham City University

Dr Victoria Berezowski
Lecturer, Forensic Science, Deakin University

Credits:
Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
Senior producer: James Bullen
Producer: Rose Kerr
Sound engineer: Isabella Tropiano

You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Further Information:
Incendiary - Michael Cannell
The Organized/Disorganized Typology of Serial Murder: Myth or Model?
Is criminal profiling dead? Should it be? Psychology Today
George Metesky, the ‘Mad Bomber’ – Wikipedia
Unmasking the Mad Bomber – The Smithsonian, 2017
A 16-Year Hunt For New York’s ‘Mad Bomber’ – NPR, 2011
An overview of offender profiling – International Journal of Police Science and Management, 2024
Offender profiling: a review of the research and state of the field – Police Psychology, 2021
The Grit, Glamour and Gall of Criminal Profiling – The University of Arizona, 2021
Casebook of a Crime Psychiatrist – James Brussel, 1968
Dangerous Minds - The New Yorker

All In The Mind

ABC Australia

Can criminal profiling identify a killer?

MAY 8, 202631 MIN
All In The Mind

Can criminal profiling identify a killer?

MAY 8, 202631 MIN

Description

<p>Criminal profiling promises a lot — being able to piece together a picture of a suspect through clues, intuition and psychology sounds great. But how reliable is it?</p><p>In our first episode of Forensic, a four-part series unpacking the psychological tools used to solve crimes, we examine the history of criminal profiling. How it got popular in the 1950s after bombings in New York City, its shortcomings when scrutinised by researchers, and the techniques it is built on that police deploy today (but with a lot more data).</p><p>Guests:</p><p>Michael CannellAuthor, <a href="https://www.michaelcannell.com/incendiary">Incendiary: The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber and the Invention of Criminal Profiling</a>Former Editor, The New York Times</p><p>Professor Craig JacksonProfessor of Occupational Health PsychologyBirmingham City University</p><p>Dr Victoria BerezowskiLecturer, Forensic Science, Deakin University</p><p>Credits:</p><ul><li>Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar</li><li>Senior producer: James Bullen</li><li>Producer: Rose Kerr</li><li>Sound engineer: Isabella Tropiano</li></ul><p>You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.</p><p>Further Information:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.michaelcannell.com/incendiary">Incendiary - Michael Cannell</a></li><li><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-17816-004">The Organized/Disorganized Typology of Serial Murder: Myth or Model?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/real-criminal-minds/201904/is-criminal-profiling-dead-should-it-be">Is criminal profiling dead? Should it be? Psychology Today</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Metesky">George Metesky, the ‘Mad Bomber’ – Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unmasking-the-mad-bomber-180962469/">Unmasking the Mad Bomber – The Smithsonian, 2017</a></li><li><a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/05/13/136287845/a-16-year-hunt-for-new-yorks-mad-bomber">A 16-Year Hunt For New York’s ‘Mad Bomber’ – NPR, 2011</a></li><li><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14613557241298825">An overview of offender profiling – International Journal of Police Science and Management, 2024</a></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128165447000188">Offender profiling: a review of the research and state of the field – Police Psychology, 2021</a></li><li><a href="https://www.uagc.edu/blog/grit-glamour-and-gall-criminal-profiling">The Grit, Glamour and Gall of Criminal Profiling – The University of Arizona, 2021</a></li><li><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL7197601W/Casebook_of_a_crime_psychiatrist">Casebook of a Crime Psychiatrist – James Brussel, 1968</a></li><li><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/11/12/dangerous-minds">Dangerous Minds - The New Yorker</a></li></ul>