Criminal Profiling: History

"Criminal Profiling is the process of inferring distinctive personality characteristics of individuals responsible for committing crimes." (Swanson) A process Swanson, Chamelin and Territo claim has a history of fifty years, in all actuality can be dated back more than twice as long.
The first documented act of criminal profiling involves Dr. Thomas Bond, the surgeon who performed autopsies on the five women killed by Jack the Ripper. Bond said that one person alone who was physically strong, cool, and daring had committed all five. He thought the man would be quiet and inoffensive in a…