Michael Cannell, Author of "Incendiary," on the History of Criminal Profiling

Today, a conversation about criminal profiling and how it came to be standard procedure in police investigations. Today, we take it for granted that when crimes occur, particularly serial crimes think Ted Kaczyinski or David Berkowitz or Jeffrey Dahmer that police will consult with experts who are able to provide a likely profile of these perpetrators so police can figure out who and where they are. Despite 19th century literary figures like Sherlock Holmes, who was fond of saying that identifying criminals was, ”Elementary, my dear Watson,” the field of criminal profiling is actually a relatively new phenomenon. In the 1950s, New York City was terrorized by a bomber who set off explosions at places like Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Station, and Penn Station. His rampage lasted 16 years; He exploded 32 bombs that led to 15 people being maimed or injured. The “Mad Bomber” as he came to be known sent letters to newspapers explaining that he was upset with Con Edison,Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.