crimes solved with the BAU

The objective of the BAU is to provide behavioral based investigative and operational support by using case experience, research, and training to difficult and time-consuming crimes, usually involving acts or threats of violence. The units areas supported include Crimes Against Children, Crimes Against Adults, Communicated Threats, Corruption, and Bombing and Arson Investigations. The BAU receives requests for help from Federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies. Response to these requests for BAU help are analysed through the network of field NCAVC coordinators. BAU assistance is provided during on-site case consultations, phone conference calls, and/or consultations held at the BAU with case investigators. However, the popular belief of a profiler is wrong , there is no such position in the FBI called "profiler", this position is commonly seen on television and in cinema.

The BAU provides assistance to Law Enforcement Angencies. This assistance is provided through the process of "criminal investigative analysis". Criminal investigative analysis is a job of reviewing crimes from both a behavioral and investigative side to a crime. It includes reviewing and assessing the facts of a criminal act, interpreting offender behavior, and interaction with the victim, as exhibited during the commission of the crime, or as displayed in the crime scene. BAU staff conduct detailed analyses of crimes for the reasoning of providing one or more of the following services: crime analysis, investigative suggestions, profiles of unknown offenders, threat analysis, critical incident analysis, interview strategies, major case management, search warrant assistance, prosecutive and trial strategies, and expert testimony.

The BAU keeps a reference file for agents in various forensic disciplines such as odontology, anthropology, entomology, or pathology.

The BAU may be of assistance in a serial criminal investigation for a variety of reasons. These may include:
The State, County, and/or Local Authorities are unable to gain any headway in a serial crime case
Exemption: Illinois and California have their own State Bureaus of Investigation but may still request assistance, if needed The criminal(s) cross(es) state lines
The criminal(s) cross(es) into any other country in the Americas
If passing to an overseas location, Interpol has jurisdiction The offender(s) is already on the FBI's wanted list
There are suspicions of terrorist activity; in which case, multiple branches of the FBI may be involved (including the Counter-Terrorism Unit)
More information to the above services, the BAU staff created the Child Abduction Response Plan to assist investigators faced with these investigations. Recently, the BAU released "
The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective" report to guide school administrators, teachers, parents, and law enforcement in identifying and evaluating threats in schools.



http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder

What Education Is Needed To Join The BAU?

Preferred majors to start a career in behavioral science include Criminal Justice or a related field such as Sociology, Psychology, Forensic Science, or Criminology. The best school to study at would be FBI Academy.

The FBI Academy, Behavioral Science Unit is a program to develop relevant programs of research, training , and knowledge in behavioral and social sciences that will help to improve the operational and effectiveness of the FBI squads. The law enforcement are also helped. The Behavioral Science Unit helps to create bodies of knowledge in special areas, and to help the learning of applied research on significant behavioral and social science issues for use in the training of the FBI and people who help with the support of operational matters. This program offers a Bahvioral Analysis intership. It last for twelve weeks. This is a volunteer Internship Program that brings students to work at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

The internship gives students a chance to work and apply their knowledge to real world criminals and their behavior. The internship duties will vary depending on what the BAU needs assistance with. Generally, duties include literature searches and reviews; research design; and data collection, coding, entry, and analysis. Interns also assist with special crime analysis projects such as researching various aspects of crimes and criminal behavior, and developing and extending resource materials for the Behavioral Science Unit in topical areas such as hate crimes, gang violence, law enforcement officers killed, counterterrorism, and other areas. Applicants have to be very be aware that the subject matter involved may be graphic and violent. Work hours are from 8:00am – 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. Experience working with computers is also very desirable.


There are plenty of colleges for this career. You just need to take as many psychology and sociology classes as possible. A good place to find a college in the study of behavioral analysis is in California, Texas, or Florida. Yale is another excellent school to attend for this career. The hard acceptance would be a major problem, but there are plenty of other colleges you may also attend. Yale is also very pricey which may be another issue. So if your really looking into behavioral science apply to as many colleges as possible. You will need scholarships, because there are few to no colleges for behavioral science in a place like Iowa. The price for you to go would be much higher, since you are out of state.











http://www.fbijobs.gov/2342.asp#1

What is The BAU?

The mission of the Behavioral Analysis Units (BAU) is to provide much needed support for complex cases with little time to be solved and other matters through the study of criminal profiling, investigative case experience, education, specialized training, and research. Each unit in the BAU has a special role they play.

The first unit is counterterrorism and threat assessment. This unit focuses on crimes involving terrorism, threats, arson, bombings, stalking, cyber-related violations, and anticipated or active crisis situations.
the second unit is crimes against adults. This unit focuses on serial, mass, spree and other murders. The unit also resources sexual assaults; kidnappings; missing person cases; and other violent crimes targeting adult victims. The BAU 2 also provides assistance in potentially non-violent investigations, such as white-collar crime, public corruption, organized crime, and civil rights matters.

The third unit is crimes against children. This unit helps with cases of abductions, mysterious disappearances of children, homicides, and sexual victimization.

If I were to join one of the units I would least likely join the first. I would most likely join the second, but its undecided. Each unit requires most of the same training so I will have plenty of time to change my mind.

Sources:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cirg/investigations-and-operations-support

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?