The Profile Dossier: John Douglas, the FBI Agent Who Profiled the World’s Most Dangerous Serial Killers
“If a man fails at home, he fails in his life.”
John Douglas spent 25 years interviewing and studying the world’s most violent criminals. As the FBI’s chief criminal profiler for two decades, he’s interviewed the most famous and notorious serial killers, including Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, David Berkowitz, and Edmund Kemper.
Often considered a pioneer in the field of criminal profiling, Douglas is often known as “the mindhunter.” That’s because he hunts the most twisted criminals in our society in an attempt to understand their motives. But to understand serial killers, you must first understand what drives someone to kill.
Traditionally, Douglas explains, most murders and violent crimes are relatively easy for law enforcement officials to comprehend. They are often the manifestation of an extreme feeling of anger, jealousy, greed, or revenge. “Once this emotional problem was taken care of, the crime or crime spree would end,” Douglas says. “Someone would be dead, but that was that and the police generally knew who and what they were looking for.”
Serial killers, on the other hand, are more complicated. This type of offender does not stop his spree of violence until he is caught or killed. He is someone “who learns by experience and who tends to get better and better at what he does, constantly perfecting his scenario from one crime to the next,” Douglas writes.
What is it that serial killers ultimately want? According to Douglas, the three watchwords are manipulation, domination, and control. He doesn’t believe that anyone is born destined to be a murderer thanks to some “killer gene,” but rather, it hinges more on the psychological make-up of the person who’s been abused or neglected during his formative years. “A lot of it is displaced anger,” Douglas says.
When he was working in the FBI’s Behavioral Science unit, Douglas helped pioneer criminal profiling, an investigative technique used to identify potential perpetrators using a mix of psychology, behavior, and pattern recognition.
“The difference is [that] the mental-health professionals start with the personality and infer behavior from that perspective,” Douglas writes in his book, Mindhunter, that’s been adapted into a Netflix series. “My people and I start with the behavior and infer the personality from that perspective.”
Over the years, Douglas became an expert at unlocking the psyches of some of the world’s most notorious serial killers. He developed techniques that allowed him to figure out what was going on inside their minds.
“Confrontation and moral indignation do not achieve that,” he says. “In the end, talking to killers is about playing the long game, with every move a deliberate one—outrage, anger, these emotions are ever present in the background, but they work against you only if they come to the surface.”
Here’s what we can learn about behavior, body language, and spotting the patterns of violence from the world’s leading expert in criminal profiling.
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On the myth of the ‘genius killer:’ Hollywood often portrays serial killers as possessing superhuman intelligence. It’s not about how smart they are, Douglas says, it’s that there are more than 1,700 law enforcement agencies in the country, making it difficult to track someone across various states.
On the art of criminal profiling: In his book Mindhunter, Douglas covers many topics, including why there aren’t really any female serial killers, how he and his team evaluated potential perpetrators, and whether he believes these violent offenders can truly be rehabilitated.
On how appearances deceive: Douglas’s mother died in an accident after a TV fell on top of her and crushed her head. When he saw her, he went into “work mode” to try and deconstruct what happened in practical terms. When he got home, he cried his eyes out. “That’s one of the things that bothers me, too, when you look at JonBenét Ramsey’s father being stoic,” Douglas says. “Many people see this persona and say, ‘Look at him. He lost a daughter, Jon Ramsey, and look how he comes across.’ I was with John Ramsey because I assisted on that investigation, and he was crying like a baby. But when he’s out in public, this is the way his business persona was. Same with Amanda Knox, who I helped in Italy, or Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three.”
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On dysfunction in the family: In his research, Douglas found a strong correlation between domineering mothers and men who grow up to be predators. It’s important to note that the vast majority of those with such mothers do not grow up to be offenders, but of those who do, he says a domineering mother constitutes a significant influencing factor. In this interview, he explains that it’s more about the dysfunction in the family as a whole where the person may have experienced physical, sexual, or psychological abuse as a child at the hands of a parent.
On how fantasy becomes reality: Many of these repeat killers start with a fantasy to murder or rape long before they carry it out. In this fascinating interview, Douglas and professor of psychiatric nursing Ann Burgess answer questions about the individual cases that inspired the Netflix Series, Mindhunter.
POLINA’S TAKEAWAYS.
Remember that behavior reflects personality: Who are we, really? Douglas believes that our behaviors are reflections of our personality. “The best indicator of future violence is past violence,” he writes in his book, Mindhunter. “To understand the ‘artist,’ you must study his ‘art.’ The crime must be evaluated in its totality.” Above all, he says, remember this formula for identity: “Why + How = Who.” In essence, he posits that our identity is a reflection of the things we do and the way we do them.
Learn the patterns of violent individuals: Douglas’ job was to get into the minds of the world’s most violent serial criminals. In his time, he’s found three persistent similarities across the subjects he’s interviewed: 1) Many of them showed cruelty toward animals when they were children; 2) They demonstrate a serious unwillingness to assume personal responsibility for anything in their life, and 3) They have two emotional concepts that are constantly at war within them. As Douglas says, “One is a feeling of grandiosity and entitlement. The other is a deep-seated and pervasive sense of inferiority and inadequacy.” Learn how to watch for these signs in potential partners or leaders before allowing them to enter your life.
Be mindful of body language: We can learn a thing or two about the role that body language plays in tense situations or high-stakes interviews. When he interviewed Charles Manson, Douglas understood the importance Manson placed on feeling superior so he manipulated the environment. He changed the lighting and moved around the furniture to make Manson gain a feeling of superiority. “I am gonna go in there with no paper, not gonna be taking notes or making audio tapes,” Douglas says. “I am trying to bring them back to the crime, to see their body language and physical reaction.” You can change your body language to put the other party at ease, which allows you to create a sense of connection faster and more effectively in high-pressure situations.
Be the role model that your loved ones need: One of the most common questions Douglas is asked is, “Can you predict which children will become dangerous criminals later in life?” Douglas and former FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood say they can often spot warning signs early on, but so can any good elementary school teacher. The key is to identify the signs and intervene early. “If we can get them treatment early enough and intensively enough, it might make a difference,” Douglas writes. “A significant role-model adult during the formative years can make a world of difference.” This is tricky and controversial because there are many times that adults misdiagnose children, but the key takeaway for me is to be present, attentive, and aware as a parent. It’s not more prisons, police, or money that society needs, Douglas says, it’s more genuine love and curiosity within our own families.
QUOTES TO REMEMBER.
“If a man fails at home, he fails in his life.”
“To know the offender, you have to look at the crime.”
“One of the hallmarks of narcissistic, borderline, and sociopathic personalities is the unwillingness to assume personal responsibility for anything. It is always someone else’s fault.”