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By: Ian Essling
SUGAR GROVE, Illinois - Roy Hazelwood, a veteran of both the military and the FBI, spoke at Waubonsee Community College on September 19. Hazelwood served as an elite FBI profiler for a number of years, and now serves as the Vice President of Academy Group, Inc, a Forensic Behavioral Science Company that provides consultation and training.
Hazelwood's lecture covered a number of topics about criminals, predators and FBI profiling, but he was quick to point out the difference between real profilers and so-called FBI profilers portrayed in movies and books.
"Silence of the Lambs has an FBI profiler [as a main character]," Hazelwood said, "The only thing that was realistic in that movie was the elevator; if you go to Quantico, you can see that elevator, and that's about it."
"People often ask if Hannibal Lecter was a real person, and the answer is no," Hazelwood explained, "The character was a composite of a number of different of serial killers. Thomas Harris [author of Silence of the Lambs] met with us to develop the character."
Hazelwood went on to describe the three primary jobs of an FBI profiler: conducting research, consulting on cases, and education and training.
For research, profilers like Hazelwood often interview serial killers and offenders, but they also interview wives and girlfriends of those offenders. Hazelwood said that the significant-other interviews were often much more interesting, because they had a different perspective of the offenders. The wives and girlfriends could give insight into actions taken by killers that the killers themselves could not provide.
"We are after predators," Hazelwood stated, adding that the term 'predator' is thrown around so much that it doesn't mean much to people anymore, but explained that "sexual sadists are the true predators."
Hazelwood, throughout his career, consulted on a number of high-profile cases involving such killers and offenders.
He was retained by the United Nations to examine statements of rape victims in the Bosnian War Crimes case in the 1990s. This case involved a number of heinous crimes committed against women and children, and was the first international war crimes trial since World War II.
Hazelwood also took part in the hunt for the infamous Bind-Torture-Kill (BTK) killer three times.
The BTK case was Hazelwood's longest active case, spanning over 31 years, and Hazelwood considers the BTK case his most frustrating case professionally, because, as he said, the killer was "seemingly invisible;" he would appear and disappear so quickly that it was extremely hard to pursue him.
The BTK case also had a number of very interesting surprises (which Hazelwood did not elaborate on), that makes it one of the profiler's most interesting cases.
Project CARE, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police initiative that involved 33 investigators, was another case that Hazelwood consulted on.
The project revolved around the murder of seven prostitutes in Canada. "Prostitutes used to be 'throw-away' victims, [they were] considered not worth the time," Hazelwood explained. "It shows how far law enforcement has come, [because] now we are investigating the murders of prostitutes."
Hazelwood went on to explain the three principles that have guided him in his job.
First, he says that common sense, what he calls "practical intelligence," is extremely important. Hazelwood said that while a college education is extremely important, people should never "let education get in the way of common sense."
Another principle is that in all cases there are no absolutes.
"There are exceptions to every single thing," Hazelwood said. He explained that making assumptions or letting personal bias enter into profiling a killer are the makings of a failed case. Hazelwood elaborated further when he listed words such as "sick," "pervert," "weirdo," and "psycho," that are banned from FBI profiler terminology when talking about an offenders.
"What does a 'weirdo' look like?" Hazelwood asked, continuing, "How do you find a 'weirdo'? How do you define 'weirdo'?"
He mentioned a number of serial killers he pursued over the years that looked and acted completely normal when they had to interact with the world.
A study that Hazelwood took part in profiled 20 sadistic killers in an attempt to find commonality that would assist in apprehending future criminals.
The shocking part of the study was how "normal" many of the killers appeared.
"Seventy-five percent had stable employment, 50% were married, only 35% had arrest histories, and just one was actually psychotic," Hazelwood said, "When they had to, these people could walk down the street just like you or I."
The final principle Hazelwood adheres to is one he learned in the military. "K-I-S-S. Keep it simple, stupid!" he said with a laugh.
Hazelwood closed his presentation by mentioning a few myths about FBI profiling. For example, he said that profiling is actually a "very small part" of what FBI profilers do, about 10% of their work. "We only profile when other means of investigation have run dry."
Another myth is that sexual sadists and other predators are psychotics. In fact, nearly none of the serial offenders Hazelwood worked to catch were true psychotics (psychotics are out of touch with reality; they exist in their own sphere of existence and have an extremely hard time comprehending the normal flow of the world).
"Only 3% of serial offenders are true psychotics," Hazelwood explained.
Hazelwood also talked about confusion as to what causes violence. "Poverty, brain damage, drugs, mental illness, music, video games, TV, chemical imbalances. These are all things you hear about that 'cause' violence. In reality, none of them do," Hazelwood said, adding that while none of the above cause violence, some of them can have an impact.
"In the end each person reacts differently to different things; it's all about culture and values," he said. "Our society is making this worse, because we have lost important brakes on behavior. We've lost our sense of responsibility and our sense of shame. We've moved from explaining behavior to excusing it."
An interesting point of interest is how Hazelwood started to work in law enforcement.
After starting in college majoring in business, Hazelwood gave up on that major when he got stumped on an accounting class.
"I switched to sociology at that point," Hazelwood said with a chuckle.
When he went to join the ROTC, Hazelwood said he wasn't sure which branch of the military to go into, until he watched demonstrations by each group.
"The army guys were just covered in mud, and I was thinking, 'well that's sure not for me,'" Hazelwood said, continuing that neither the tankers who drove "steel coffins" nor artillery officers who were "deaf" offered the right choice for him.
When the Military Police unit came out, however, Hazelwood was immediately interested in the "shiny white boots."
"Honest to God, that's why I joined [the military police]," he said.
Hazelwood served a two year contract as an MP with the U.S. Army. He enjoyed his time in the Army so much, he continued to serve for a total of 11 years.
After leaving the Army, Hazelwood served 22 years in the FBI. Sixteen of those years were spent in the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy.
Hazelwood has published more than 40 articles and has co-authored five books.
He served as an Affiliate Professor of Administration of Justice at George Mason University, an Adjunct Faculty member of the University of Virginia, a member of the Associated Faculty with the University of Pennsylvania, a faculty member of the FBI Academy and the U.S. Army Military Police CID School, and the Technical Faculty of the Southern Police Institute.
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