Behavioral Analysis Unit

The Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is a component of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) that uses behavioral sciences to assist in criminal investigations. The mission of the NCAVC and the BAUs is to provide behavioral based investigative and/or operational support by applying case experience, research, and training to complex and time-sensitive crimes, typically involving acts or threats of violence.

Structure
Four Behavioral Analysis Units constitute the NCAVC: Behavioral Analysis Unit-1 (Counterterrorism/Threat Assessment), Behavioral Analysis Unit-2 (Crimes Against Adults), Behavioral Analysis Unit-3 (Crimes Against Children), and the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP). The NCAVC in turn forms part of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group. The headquarters for the BAU is located in Quantico, Virginia.

Operation
The BAU receives requests for services from federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies. Responses to these requests for BAU assistance are facilitated through the network of field NCAVC coordinators. BAU services can consist of on-site case consultations, telephone conference calls, and/or consultations held at the BAU with case investigators.

BAU assistance to law enforcement agencies is provided through the process of "criminal investigative analysis". Criminal investigative analysis is a process of reviewing crimes from both a behavioral and investigative perspective. It involves reviewing and assessing the facts of a criminal act, interpreting offender behavior, and interaction with the victim, as exhibited during the commission of the crime, or as displayed in the crime scene. BAU staff conduct detailed analyses of crimes for the purpose of providing one or more of the following services: crime analysis, investigative suggestions, profiles of unknown offenders, threat analysis, critical incident analysis, interview strategies, major case management, search warrant assistance, prosecutive and trial strategies, and expert testimony. In addition to the above services, the BAU staff produced the Child Abduction Response Plan to assist investigators faced with these investigations. Recently, the BAU released "The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective" report to guide school administrators, teachers, parents, and law enforcement in identifying and evaluating threats in schools. The BAU maintains a reference file for experts in various forensic disciplines such as odontology, anthropology, entomology, or pathology.

References in popular culture
The BAU was brought into mainstream culture by television shows such as Criminal Minds, which depict an elite group of "FBI profilers" who travel the country assisting local law enforcement on diverse cases.

The CBS weekly drama series Criminal Minds and its spinoff, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior both feature the BAU. Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter novels and the corresponding films (Manhunter, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Red Dragon) featured the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU), which later created and developed what eventually became known as the BAU. The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Signature" (season 9, no. 12, January 8, 2008) heavily features a member of the BAU. Also, in season 5 of the HBO show The Wire two detectives go visit the BAU team in Quantico for a profile of the "fake" serial killer they are investigating.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no such position in the FBI called "profiler", a position commonly seen on television and in cinema.

Criticism
In order to generate profiles of offenders member of the BAU use a concept known as psychological profiling. Belief in psychological profiling has often been supported by anecdotal evidence describing BAU profiles as a necessary key to solving a crime. A homeless man in North Carolina for example was apprehended after a BAU profile was issued for a case that the local police force had not been able to solve. Although anecdotal evidence such as this abounds in popular media the concept of psychological profiling has not been empirically proven.

In a number of studies professional criminal profilers have been compared to other groups such as students, police officers and clinical psychologists. In order to evaluate these groups each participant was presented with the details of a previously solved crime. The profile written by the participant was then compared to a profile of the guilty party. In no study did the group of profilers outperform the other groups and in some studies they were clearly outperformed by both biology and chemistry students

However despite these findings members of the BAU continue to use psychological profiling. Public confidence in psychological profiling is also high and has been greatly promoted by TV shows such as Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour. Some forensic psychologists, such as Robert Homant have also dismissed the previously mentioned studies by stating that they lack external validity as they do not truly represent the situations in which member of the BAU work.