Although much has been written and many theories brought forth on identifying the criminal mind, it is still evident that there is no foolproof way to know in advance whether a person is prone to criminal activity. Law enforcement agencies have begun using a method called profiling to identify serial killers and terrorists. Some school districts are looking into the concept as a way of early detection into the minds of troubled children whose violent ways might be discovered before it is too late. By watching for certain signals educators hope to intervene before these students actually complete a violent act (Lord PG).
Some have felt it is the influence of drugs or alcohol that induces this kind of criminal behavior. While substance abuse may affect a person as far as committing offenses, it is far unlikely that substance abuse alone could create a serial or mass murderer. Mitchell (PG) points out that there are "studies correlating a geographical prevalence of alcoholism and serial murder and might show that there is some relation between the two (although this relationship might well be spurious)."
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