Chapter 10 - Criminal Profilers and the Media: Profiling the Beltway Snipers

Abstract

This chapter discusses the relationship between criminal profilers and the media during the Beltway Sniper shootings in October 2002. The first five killings in the shooting spree took place within a 2-mile radius inside of Montgomery County, Maryland, over a period of only 16 hours. In a misguided attempt to assuage increasingly concerned parents, Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan and Chief Charles Moose of the Montgomery County Police declared public schools to be safe havens for area children. The media picked up on the connection between what was being said by their pundits, what was being said by authorities, and the sniper's actions. The inductive thinking in the sniper investigation was officially buttressed by the involvement of geographic profiler Kim Rossmo. One of the great advantages of inductive profiles is that they are ready made, requiring little or no work to render. The statistical probabilities and/or experiences of the profiler are easily summoned for dispersal. This makes inductive conclusions available and easy to use for anyone. It is suggested that in the case of the Beltway sniper, the widespread inductive reasoning suffered from what logicians refer to as a fallacy of presumption.