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It's a useful tool, but not a tool based on any insight about any particulars of the crimes. I used to work for a profiler. Profiling, despite coming from "soft scientists" is in fact math. Based on the truth that there is very little new in the universe. Nothing Jack the Ripper ever did was unique to the point that statistics could not be compiled. Other people did those things, got caught, and yielded information that is the basis for these conclusions.
To draw a paralell, the contributors to this board are white, late 30s-50s, male, Christian, British, middle to upper middle class, married with children. Why do I say that? Well, the Ripper murders happened to white people in England. So people interested in it are far more likely to be white and British. Gruesome murders appeal more to males than females. Most people are Christian. People younger than late thirties tend to use computers for far more personal interactions, but above the age of 60 become less likely to own a computer. Most people in that age range are married and have children. And lower class individuals tend not to have home computers, while high class individuals tend to be less interested in the plight of poverty stricken 19th century whores. That is how a profile is built. And it's a good profile for any contributor to this message board.
Of course, I say this as a white, Jewish, American, lower class, unmarried and unchild-ed woman who has been on this board since her late 20s.
So... statistically the profile is dead on. But any profiler will tell you that people are not statistics, and even in statistics outliers happen all the time.
The reason it's a useful tool is that it allows law enforcement to understand the type of person they are likely dealing with. This way they don't accidentally enrage a narcissist, but can do it to suit their purposes. A profile doesn't tell you who did it. A profile tells you what the suspects potential weaknesses are. In the case of this profile, his weakness is his inability to conceal his psychopathy, and his relationship with his parents. A killer like Gein could be convinced to turn himself in if there is a cop on tv talking about how terribly disappointed his mother would be in him. The man in this profile could be drawn out in a rage by talking about how much his mother is disgusted with him, how she would be making fun of him for this weakness. Every piece of information in the profile is valuable, but it doesn't draw a map to the killer. It lets you set traps, warn the appropriate victim pool, make better guesses as to where he runs to, and help interview him when he is caught. But it's statistics. Not laws. Just like I'm not a 45 year old British dude.
To draw a paralell, the contributors to this board are white, late 30s-50s, male, Christian, British, middle to upper middle class, married with children. Why do I say that? Well, the Ripper murders happened to white people in England. So people interested in it are far more likely to be white and British. Gruesome murders appeal more to males than females. Most people are Christian. People younger than late thirties tend to use computers for far more personal interactions, but above the age of 60 become less likely to own a computer. Most people in that age range are married and have children. And lower class individuals tend not to have home computers, while high class individuals tend to be less interested in the plight of poverty stricken 19th century whores. That is how a profile is built. And it's a good profile for any contributor to this message board.
Of course, I say this as a white, Jewish, American, lower class, unmarried and unchild-ed woman who has been on this board since her late 20s.
So... statistically the profile is dead on. But any profiler will tell you that people are not statistics, and even in statistics outliers happen all the time.
The reason it's a useful tool is that it allows law enforcement to understand the type of person they are likely dealing with. This way they don't accidentally enrage a narcissist, but can do it to suit their purposes. A profile doesn't tell you who did it. A profile tells you what the suspects potential weaknesses are. In the case of this profile, his weakness is his inability to conceal his psychopathy, and his relationship with his parents. A killer like Gein could be convinced to turn himself in if there is a cop on tv talking about how terribly disappointed his mother would be in him. The man in this profile could be drawn out in a rage by talking about how much his mother is disgusted with him, how she would be making fun of him for this weakness. Every piece of information in the profile is valuable, but it doesn't draw a map to the killer. It lets you set traps, warn the appropriate victim pool, make better guesses as to where he runs to, and help interview him when he is caught. But it's statistics. Not laws. Just like I'm not a 45 year old British dude.
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