FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit

Lore & Background

The BAU is part of the Investigations & Operations Support Section, a branch of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group. This section provides personnel and training to assist investigations throughout the country and at US embassies worldwide, and supports other Critical Incident Response Groups, FBI headquarters and field offices, FBI legal attaches, and all US law enforcement agencies. The section is divided into the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime and the Operations Support Branch.

The National Center consists of five Behavioral Analysis Units: BAU-1 handles counterterrorism, arson, and bombing; BAU-2 handles threats, cyber crime, and public corruption; BAU-3 focuses on crimes against children and supports other law enforcement through criminal investigative analysis; BAU-4 handles crimes against adults and operates the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP), established in 1984 to help solve and identify serial murders; and BAU-5 focuses on research, strategy, and instruction, developing and applying behavioral profiles through extensive training and law enforcement experience.

The Operations Support Branch contains the Crisis Management Unit, Special Events Management Unit, and Rapid Deployment & Technology Unit.

Reader's Guide

The BAU uses a concept known as psychological profiling to generate profiles of offenders. Belief in psychological profiling has often been supported by anecdotal evidence, such as a homeless man in North Carolina who was apprehended after a BAU profile was issued for a case local police could not solve. However, the concept of psychological profiling has not been empirically proven. In studies comparing professional criminal profilers to other groups—students, police officers, and clinical psychologists—participants were presented with details of a previously solved crime and asked to write a profile.

In no study did the profilers outperform the other groups, and in some studies they were clearly outperformed by both police officers and chemistry students. Despite these findings, members of the BAU continue to use psychological profiling. Public confidence in psychological profiling remains high, greatly promoted by TV shows such as Criminal Minds. Some forensic psychologists, such as Robert Homant, have also dismissed the criticisms.

Did You Know?

• The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) was established in 1984 and uses a 15-page format to request information about crimes.
• BAU-3 focuses specifically on crimes against children and supports the Violent Crimes Against Children program (VCAC).
• The BAU released 'The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective' report to help identify and evaluate threats in schools.