The Jack the Ripper murders were a series of prostitute killings that took place in London, England, in the autumn of 1888. But could it solve the most infamous cold case in the world? Profiling the Ripper His research has aided law enforcement across the globe in capturing some of the world’s most dangerous killers. Currently showing on Netflix, the show is based in part on the writings of best-selling author Mark Olshaker and legendary FBI profiler John Douglas.ĭouglas was one of several pioneering FBI agents who basically invented computer-based, modern-day criminal profiling in the 1980s. Since then, the art and craft of criminal profiling has become a household name, largely due to books, documentaries and the recent television hit show “Mindhunter”. In the 1970s, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) started a specialised unit to monitor and record the behavioural characteristics of serial killers. In modern culture, characters such as Hannibal Lecter from the movie “Silence of the Lambs” and even Norman Bates in the Alfred Hitchcock classic “Psycho” have painted an image of what real monsters could look like into our minds. But what makes them who they are? And can we learn from them to prevent or capture the serial killers of tomorrow? Psychopaths and sociopaths are popular psychological terms when describing violent monsters which haunt our worst nightmares.
