Peter Kürten is a very interesting case. The crimes he was sentenced for were quite different from each other (MO, victim selection, motive). A famous investigator from Berlin named Ernst Gennat wrote an interesting article about Kürten's crimes before they were solved, trying to discuss arguments pro and contra the linkage between the cases: Gennat, E. (1929) Die Düsseldorfer Sexualverbrechen. In this article, Gennat coined the term serial killer ('Serienmörder') and discussed the difficulties of MO based crime linkage.
Certain myths have probably glamorised the job as well, helped by films and books (Mindhunter, Hannibal Lecter, Cracker). I think that in the UK, at least, police profiling is currently staying very lowkey as it tries to reorientate itself as a science- and data-focused aid to investigators.
Peter Kürten is a very interesting case. The crimes he was sentenced for were quite different from each other (MO, victim selection, motive). A famous investigator from Berlin named Ernst Gennat wrote an interesting article about Kürten's crimes before they were solved, trying to discuss arguments pro and contra the linkage between the cases: Gennat, E. (1929) Die Düsseldorfer Sexualverbrechen. In this article, Gennat coined the term serial killer ('Serienmörder') and discussed the difficulties of MO based crime linkage.
Indeed! It’s all in Wednesday’s newsletter.
Certain myths have probably glamorised the job as well, helped by films and books (Mindhunter, Hannibal Lecter, Cracker). I think that in the UK, at least, police profiling is currently staying very lowkey as it tries to reorientate itself as a science- and data-focused aid to investigators.