Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool

by Ronald M. Holmes, Stephen T. Holmes

"Excellent book, I have used this for my Criminal Behavior course for a number of years. Very authoritative."
―Harry Cramer,  Quincy University

The Fourth Edition of this best-selling text provides students with the most up-to-date information on the increasingly popular field of psychological profiling. Well-known authors Ronald M. Holmes and Stephen T. Holmes build upon their continued research and involvement in field investigation as a source of relevant and often high-profile case studies to illustrate theory and application of the methods discussed. The text is particularly readable and engaging, making frequent use of illustrative tables and figures and presenting occasional photos.

New to the Fourth Edition Intended Audience
This best-seller has long been a successful supplemental text for undergraduate criminology and criminal justice courses, including Criminal Investigation, Criminal Profiling, Violent Crimes, Criminal Behavior, Field Investigation, and Forensic Psychology.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Psychology

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1989

Reviews

[Jane Vohden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for a class in profiling. The newest edition is somewhat dated.

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful on many levels.

[Meaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might have done better to find a more recent edition of this. My edition (written in I think about 1993 or 1994) and what it says about computers is quaintly out-of-date. It tells you how to write code to construct your own text-only computer database to compare different crimes, and speculates that one day in the far distant future there might be some kind of statewide or nationwide system that could monitor criminals and sort out suspects that match the profile.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've got very little exposure to criminology literature but it did strike me as a fairly comprehensive survey of the subject. That said, I walked away unconvinced that profiling is a particularly useful tool for law enforcement rather than the source of an entertaining sub-genre of police procedurals.

[Sarah Yasin · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is one of the only resources available in my entire library consortium on the titular topic, so I am happy to have access to it. However, the sources cited in this resource are extremely old - some are 25 years old, and there is a serious need for newer case studies in this book. I would have liked to read a bit about Santa Muerte in this book.

[Justina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great overview of exactly who criminal analysts analyze. While an in-depth look into a killer or bomber won't be found here, it's a great book to expand the brain beyond "serial killers are weird."

[Amber Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! I'm studying Criminology at university next year and this was on the reading list! It was the best book I have read on this topic and this is just amazing! So much information in readable short paragraphs.

[Joshua Friesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a victim of a violent crime early in life, I find this stuff endlessly intriguing.