Are Real Life Criminal Psychologists like the Profilers on "Criminal Minds?"

Did you ever think of becoming a criminal psychologist, like the psychologists on the smash hit television show, "Criminal Minds?" Do you dream of digging into the mind of a mass murderer and then going along with the police to arrest him? You should think twice about your dreams. Experts in criminal psychology say such experts just don't get involved in apprehending criminals.

On the other hand real life criminal profilers say even though a career in criminal psychology is far different than what is portrayed on television, it can be just as exciting-as such experts are often responsible for the apprehension of Internet sex offenders.

Dr. Keith Durkin, chair of the department of psychology and sociology at Ohio Northern University, said in an interview published on kucampus.kaplan.edu, criminal psychology in real life is far different than in television shows, but it can be just as exciting.

For one thing, according to Durkin, all of the psychologists on the "Criminal Minds" that work on getting into the mind of criminals are FBI profilers. He said in real life there are only a handful of FBI profilers because there just aren't enough serial killers to justify the expense of having so many.

"We all love the thrill of the chase and arrest, however, psychologists don't typically accompany officers in the apprehension of suspects," Marc T. Zucker, academic chair of the Undergraduate School of Criminal Justice at Kaplan University, pointed out in the same interview another difference between "Criminal Minds" and real life.

Zucker also said real life cases are never as easy to solve as the ones portrayed on television. Complicated criminal cases can take weeks, months, or maybe even years to solve.

Durkin said, however, that a career in his field is just as interesting as what is portrayed in television, even though it is very different. He said he had no idea when he became a criminal psychologist that he would be helping to get Internet sex offenders off the street, so they wouldn't harm children. That is because there "was no Internet" when he went to school. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports law enforcement careers will grow between 9 to 14 percent through 2014. No doubt, many people in such careers will have to have knowledge of computers and the Internet.

While on the show, a profiler may be involved in the apprehension of a criminal, Durkin points out real life criminal psychologists spend many hours in front of a computer screen, reading articles and books, and interviewing convicted offenders and suspects. They may also spend a lot of time educating people involved in solving crimes by lecturing and training police officers, writing papers, and books.

The majority of criminal psychologists have doctoral degrees, although some have only a Master's degree. The topics studied to earn the degree will include criminology, sexual violence, workplace violence, domestic violence, the principles of human behavior, and addiction as a dependency.

Dr. Steven Hundersmarck, a psychology professor at Ohio Northern University, says criminal psychologists spend a lot of time trying to determine why criminals do the things they do. For example, why does someone become a serial killer, or why does a killer target prostitutes?

Such work can involve interviewing criminals, examining past cases, and constructing model crime scenes. Psychologists might learn what type of person a criminal might be from examining a crime scene. They might even examine how a criminal answers questions.

According to an article in allaboutpsychology.net, a criminal psychologist can be invaluable to a police department in helping to solve crimes. That is because a criminal psychologist has years worth of experience from which to draw on. Many times a criminal psychologist knows what a criminal will do next. It is this knowledge which often helps a police officer to prevent a crime. Many times nobody knows for sure how much crime has been avoided because of the work of a criminal psychologist.

While the real life of a criminal psychologist may be different than on "Criminal Minds," it can be exciting.

Citations:

Real Life Criminal Minds by Paul D. Rosevear, kucampus.kaplan.edu

Criminal Psychologist Profile, no author listed, hubpages.com

Criminal Psychology, no author listed, allaboutpsychology.net