Profilers; a closer look at the real life of criminal profilers

(NEWSCHANNEL 3) – They're part of Hollywood's obsession with crime. Criminal profilers are on just about every legal drama out there, helping police zero in on criminals by figuring out the type of person to look for.

Hollywood makes it look glamorous, but what is it really like for profilers out on the beat every day? In a special report Newschannel 3 takes a closer look at the real life of criminal profilers.

In 1986 Dr. Gary Kaufmann became the head of the Michigan State Police's behavioral science section, which does profiling. The State Police's spokesperson says Dr. Kaufmann wrote the book on profiling, and Dr. Kaufmann was kind enough to give Newschannel 3 an inside look.

With apologies to Simon Baker and The Mentalist, keen observation isn't exactly criminal profiling.

“I know the mentalist is supposed to be a great observer of behavior,” said Dr. Kaufmann, “however our work is less dramatic and theatric.”

Dr. Kaufmann says if Baker's character spent his time reviewing scores of records his depiction of a profiler would be more accurate. While it makes for good drama, there's also the fact that real profilers hardly ever go to a new crime scene.

“Criminal profiling in the real world is a last resort,” said Dr. Kaufmann. “We never would get called into cases, usually, until there appeared to be nowhere else to go.”

For decades Dr. Kaufmann worked with agencies across Michigan. His work usually involved a team looking at case files and studying victims; the primary source of information when a case is cold.

“We look to a lot of sources for information,” said Dr. Kaufmann, “including forensic pathologists who are doing the autopsies, and what they're finding along with the detectives.”

When he started as a profiler, Dr. Kaufmann had two cases that highlight the spectrum of his work.

The first, a simple profile, was a case that grabbed headlines in the early 1980s when the bodies of two young men were found in a field in rural Kent County. That case eventually led to serial killer Randy Kraft.

Dr. Kaufmann traveled to Grand Rapids and had stayed at the Amway Grand Hotel, the same hotel the two young men were at for a convention.

“Based upon the info we had, we thought that the hotel, either a staff person or someone staying there, might have been a potential suspect,” said Dr. Kaufmann, “and if it wasn't the staff then perhaps it was someone attending some kind of meetings.”

That simple deduction eventually put authorities on Kraft's trail, although Kraft was actually caught during a routine traffic stop in his native California.

Another case from the 80s shows the other side of Dr. Kaufmann's work.

“Really not a profiling case,” said Dr. Kaufmann, “it was much more of an investigative consultation case.”

Gwen Graham and Cathy Wood were nurses at the Alpine Manor Nursing Home in Walker, but they were also lovers who were eventually accused of killing patients.

Dr. Kaufmann says Walker Police asked him to look at the relationship between the two, to see if they were capable of the crime.

“How would you know these homicides fit within that relationship and what role would such homicides play in a relationship,” said Dr. Kaufmann of what police wanted him to explore.

Bodies were exhumed during the investigation, and testimony from one of the suspects helped seal the case, but understanding the women's relationship was also key.

“The officers, while they had some notions about that, they also wanted to know was there anything specific to look for,” said Dr. Kaufmann.

Dr. Kaufmann says some cases are clear, some more complex, but for him, profiling has its risks as well as its rewards.

“It is always the last option because it is an art and profiling teams need to dare be wrong,” said Dr. Kaufmann.

As for The Mentalist, Dr. Kaufmann says he has it easy.

“Frankly, noticing people's behavior is probably a lot easier than looking at records and trying to formulate something from that,” said Dr. Kaufmann with a laugh.

Dr. Kaufmann says he did countless profiles on killers and offenders, but stresses that serial killers are very rare.

Dr. Kaufmann is now retired and lives in South Carolina.