Criminal Profiling Project OBJECTIVE Students will demonstrate the understanding of forensic criminal psychology by engaging in internet research and by creating a PowerPoint about a criminal’s acti

Criminal Profiling Project

OBJECTIVE

Students will demonstrate the understanding of forensic criminal psychology by engaging in internet research and by creating a PowerPoint about a criminal’s actions and the criminal mindset.

• NOTE: The emphasis of this project is WHY these individuals committed these horrific crimes more than WHAT they did.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS:

Using internet and library resources, you will create a PowerPoint individually. Use full sentences that is bulleted. Spell check and proofread your PowerPoint. 

The PowerPoint should include multiple and detailed slides containing the following information:

• Cover Slide: which contains your name, the name of the criminal and at least 3 images of the individual

• Background information on the individual, his/her family background/history, education level, socioeconomic level, “abnormalities” in his/her childhood experience, etc.

• Detailed information about the crimes he/she committed (“Who, What, When, Where, How”)

• Your analysis of the psychological reasons he/she may have committed these crimes (“Why”). What “type” of profile(s) would be assigned to this individual? Does he/she possess all of the typical characteristics of that profile?

• “References” Slide

o​Do not just write www.google.com or www.crimeIibrary.com O Use a minimum of 3 DIFFERENT sources for your research.

•  DO NOT PLAGARIZE; PUT EVERYTHING IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

•  PLAGARISM WILL RESULT IN A ZERO

You can choose from the following list. You should works on one topic.

1.​David Berkowitz (’Son of Sam’ serial killer terrorized New York City in the late 1970s.)

2.​Boston Strangler (serial killer and rapist Albert De Salvo)

3.​Ted Bundy (stalked and murdered young college women)

4.​Jeffrey Dahmer (necrophiliac and cannibal)

5.​Butch DeFeo (responsible for Amityville Horror Murders on Long Island)

6.​Albert Fish (cannibal model for Hannibal Lector)

7.​John Wayne Gacy (contractor and murderer AKA The Clown Killer)

8.​Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (Columbine school shooters)

9.​Jack the Ripper (serial killer) * NOT RECOMMENDED DUE TO LIMITED INFORMATION

10.​Charles Manson (made followers, The Family, kill on command)

11.​Timothy McVeigh & Terry Nichols: (responsible for Oklahoma City terrorist bombing)

12.​The Zodiac Killer (mysterious serial killer) * NOT RECOMMENDED DUE TO LIMITED INFORMATION

13.​Richard Ramirez (aka “The Night Stalker”)

14.​Hillside Stranglers (serial killers that attacked during the late 1970’s)

15.​Ed Gein (inspiration for the character Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs)

16.​David Koresh (Branch Davidian cult leader in Waco, Texas)

17.​Dennis Rader (aka BTK, the Bind-Torture-Kill serial killer)

18.​Seung-Hui Cho (VA Tech shooter)

19.​Aileen Wuornos (female serial killer)

20.​Joel Rifkin (murdered prostitutes)

21.​Gary Ridgeway (serial killer, murdered at least 49 women)

22.​Harold Shipman (British serial murderer, doctor who killed his patients)

23.​Charles Whitman (University of Texas mass shooter from bell tower)

24.​James Egan Holmes (2012 Colorado theatre shooting, killed 24)

25.​Adam Lanza (2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, killed 28

•​SOME RESOURCES FOR THIS PROJECT: Court TV’s Crime Library http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/index.html http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/profiling/

http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal mind/psychology/index.html

•​SERIAL KILLERS: 

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/complete_list.htmI

•​NOTORIOUS MURDERS: http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/complete_list.html

•​THE CRIMINAL MIND: 

http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/complete_list.htmI

www.biography.com

Grading Rubric

Criteria

Points- 200

Cover Page

Name

The name of the criminal 

At least 3 images of the individual

10

Background Information

Background information on the individual

His/her family background/history

Education level

Socioeconomic level

“Abnormalities” in his/her childhood experience, etc.

Accurate and not plagiarized

50

Crimes Committed

Detailed information about the crimes he/she committed (“Who, What, When, Where, How”)

Accurate and not plagiarized

50

Psychological Reasons

Your analysis of the psychological reasons he/she may have committed these crimes (“Why”). 

What “type” of profile(s) would be assigned to this individual? 

Does he/she possess all of the typical characteristics of that profile?

Accurate and not plagiarized

75

References Slide

Includes the exact sources and website links

3+ sources included

15