Behavioral Analysis Unit - Criticism

Criticism

In order to generate profiles of offenders member of the BAU use a concept known as psychological profiling. Belief in psychological profiling has often been supported by anecdotal evidence describing BAU profiles as a necessary key to solving a crime. A homeless man in North Carolina for example was apprehended after a BAU profile was issued for a case that the local police force had not been able to solve. Although anecdotal evidence such as this abounds in popular media the concept of psychological profiling has not been empirically proven.

In a number of studies professional criminal profilers have been compared to other groups such as students, police officers and clinical psychologists. In order to evaluate these groups each participant was presented with the details of a previously solved crime. The profile written by the participant was then compared to a profile of the guilty party. In no study did the group of profilers outperform the other groups and in some studies they were clearly outperformed by both biology and chemistry students.

Despite these findings, members of the BAU continue to use psychological profiling. Public confidence in psychological profiling is also high and has been greatly promoted by TV shows such as Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour. Some forensic psychologists, such as Robert Homant, have also dismissed the previously mentioned studies by stating that they lack external validity as they do not truly represent the situations in which member of the BAU work.