Why The Behavioral Analysis Unit Is Interesting.

   Every year I spend atleast half of my summer at my sister Lacie’s house. She has two daughters named Ella and Emileigh. They both mean the world to me. I have four sisters total, but I am not as close to the my other sisters. Lacie and I have a very special bond, she is more like a second mother to me.

It was a late night, I had just got back from a date. I was dropped off at my sisters for the night. Both of the kids were in bed and there was not much to do. I turned on the television to find a show I would like. I was looking through the channels when the title Criminal Minds sparked my interest. I asked Lacie if she had ever watched the show. She told me she has seen almost every episode and that they were much better the CSI and L.O. I decided to give the show a shot.

The first episode I watched was about a family whose parents were killed with an axe. The killer cleaned all of the finger prints and left no evidence. The children of the victims were in the house while it happened, but left untouched. The children kept receiving gifts that reminded them of the brutal murder of their parents for years after. The Behavioral Analysis unit profiled the killer as an adult, much like a large kid. They assumed it was an accident and the gifts were being sent out of guilt. One of the daughters told them a detail she left out when they were interviewed after the murder. The family had went to a carnival the day before the murder. The daughter said there was a strange clown following her so they had to leave. The B.A.U visited the carnival and talked to the owner. The owner said there was no clowns in the carnival, but their was a clown right in front of them. They chased the clown down and arrested him. The owner of the carnival was the clowns father. The clown was just like a big kid and had very little knowledge of right and wrong. He followed the little girl home the night of the murder, because he wanted to play with her. The father saw the clown and hit him with an axe. The clown was large and took the axe, being scared and hit the father repeatedly with the axe, killing the father and mother. The clown didn’t mean to hurt them he was just scared and unaware of the situation. The owner of the carnival cleaned the finger prints at the scene and left. The clown was arrested and the family could finally move on.

This episode was the first of many. My sister and I watched a marathon afterwards. This is what originally sparked my interest in the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Since then I have watched almost every episode and researched this career. I think its very interesting how they profile criminals on how the think and react. This is hopefully what I will get into after college, or something very similar. They help people and save many lives, and I would love to be apart of that.

What are the three different units and how do they work? What college and classes would be best for this career? What training would you need to go through? What kind of crimes have been solved with behavioral analysis unit? What are other jobs similar to this career? How do they profile criminals? What types of profiles are there?