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Criminal Profiling Investigative Strategies for Arson Investigations

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Abstract

In 1986, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) entered into a unique joint venture with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by detailing a veteran special agent to what was then the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU), a component of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC), located at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The ATF agent began an intensive 9-month training program at the NCAVC in the relatively new discipline of Criminal Personality Profiling. Known as the NCAVC Police Fellowship Program, the training was offered to selected criminal investigators and detectives from throughout the United States and abroad (i.e., Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands), and certain US Federal law enforcement agencies. At the end of the training, the ATF agent remained at Quantico to provide criminal profiling services—primarily related to arson and bombing crimes—to ATF, the FBI, and other Federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies upon their request. Additionally, this first agent and the ones who followed partnered with their FBI colleagues to conduct research into the behaviors and motivations of arson and bombing offenders, resulting in a number of foundational publications in the field (Sapp, Gary, Huff, & James, 1994; Sapp, Huff, Gary, & Icove, 1995; Sapp, Huff, Gary, Icove, & Horbert, 1994; Sapp, Huff, Gary, Icove, & James, 1993; Sapp, Huff, Kelm, & Tunkel, 2001). Thus began a partnership, little known in mainstream media, that has lasted 30 years. The current author, an ATF Special Agent and FBI-certified Behavioral Analyst, was assigned to the BSU’s successor, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU)—for nearly 18 years.

The views and opinions expressed in this chapter are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the U.S. Department of Justice, or the U.S. Government.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington, DC, USA

    Ronald F. Tunkel

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  1. Ronald F. Tunkel
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Correspondence to Ronald F. Tunkel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

    Vincent B. Van Hasselt

  2. Behavioral Analysis Unit, Investigative Operations Division, United States Marshals Service, Washington, DC, USA

    Michael L. Bourke

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Tunkel, R.F. (2017). Criminal Profiling Investigative Strategies for Arson Investigations. In: Van Hasselt, V., Bourke, M. (eds) Handbook of Behavioral Criminology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61625-4_39

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