The science of profiling is relatively new, having first been tried in the United States in the 1940s. It took another twenty years of development and refinement before it was recognised as a valid investigative tool in the apprehension of criminals. Profiling can be described as an 'educated attempt to provide investigative agencies with specific information about the type of individual who could have committed a particular crime'. Today it is used in conjunction with other investigative techniques. Profiling Serial Killers and other crimes in South Africacontains a comprehensive introduction to the subject, followed by chapters on serial killers, pyromaniacs, rapists, child molesters, stalkers, and white collar crime and intelligence profiling.
