Unsubs and Profilers: Reality or Fiction? Depictions of Criminal Profiling in the Television Series "Criminal Minds" Author: Emily Ann Legros Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/1199 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2010 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. UNSUBS AND PROFILERS: REALITY OR FICTION? DEPICTIONS OF CRIMINAL PROFILING IN THE TELEVISION SERIES CRIMINAL MINDS By Emily Ann Legros A Senior Honors Thesis Submitted to the Department of Communication of Boston College May 2010 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................2 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................................4 CHAPTER ONE..........................................................................................................................................................5 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER TWO.........................................................................................................................................................8 REVIEW OF LITERATURE............................................................................................................................................8 Crime in Print ......................................................................................................................................................8 Crime on Television: Fictional Programming .....................................................................................................9 Women of Television Crime Drama...................................................................................................................11 The Forensics of Television Crime Drama ........................................................................................................12 Crime on Television and Cultivation Analyses ..................................................................................................13 Criminal Profiling-Based Research...................................................................................................................16 Overview of Findings.........................................................................................................................................17 CHAPTER THREE...................................................................................................................................................19 CRIMINAL PROFILING ON TELEVISION: A SUBJECT WORTHY OF ANALYSIS ............................................................19 CHAPTER FOUR .....................................................................................................................................................21 CRIMINAL PROFILING: WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT .......................................................................................................21 Criminal Profiling: The Phenomenon................................................................................................................21 Criminal Profiling and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ...................................................................22 CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................................................................25 CRIMINAL MINDS: AN OVERVIEW OF THE SERIES.....................................................................................................25 General Premise of Criminal Minds ..................................................................................................................25 Characters of Criminal Minds ...........................................................................................................................25 Popularity of Criminal Minds ............................................................................................................................27 CHAPTER SIX..........................................................................................................................................................28 METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................................................................................28 Episode Selection ...............................................................................................................................................28 Textual Analysis: Frameworks Applied .............................................................................................................28 Crime Classification Manual II (CCM-II) ...................................................................................................................... 29 Organization of the Manual ....................................................................................................................................... 29 Modes of Classification ............................................................................................................................................. 30 Classification by Number ..................................................................................................................................... 30 Defining Characteristics.................................................................................................................................. 31 Victimology ............................................................................................................................................... 31 Crime Scene Indicators.............................................................................................................................. 31 Staging....................................................................................................................................................... 33 Forensic Findings....................................................................................................................................... 33 Investigative Considerations and Search Warrant Suggestions.................................................................. 34 Classification by Type, Style, and Number of Victims ........................................................................................ 34 Additional Profiling Considerations..................................................................................................................... 35 Modus Operandi (MO).................................................................................................................................... 35 Signature Aspect ............................................................................................................................................. 36 Beyond the CCM-II: Mental Disorder Evaluation .......................................................................................................... 36 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) ................................................. 36 "Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R)" ...................................................................................................... 37 3 CHAPTER SEVEN ...................................................................................................................................................39 ANALYSIS OF “L.D.S.K.” ........................................................................................................................................39 An Episode Summary: “L.D.S.K.”.....................................................................................................................39 Analysis: Crime Classification Manual II (CCM-II)..........................................................................................42 Classification by Number................................................................................................................................................ 42 Defining Characteristics ............................................................................................................................................ 43 Victimology.......................................................................................................................................................... 43 Crime Scene Indicators......................................................................................................................................... 45 Staging.................................................................................................................................................................. 46 Forensic Findings ................................................................................................................................................. 47 Investigative Considerations................................................................................................................................. 47 Classification by Style, Type, and Number of Victims................................................................................................... 50