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Although much has been written and many theories

brought forth on identifying the criminal mind, it

is still evident that there is no foolproof way to

know in advance whether a person is prone to

criminal activity. Law enforcement agencies have

begun using a method called profiling to identify

serial killers and terrorists. Some school

districts are looking into the concept as a way of

early detection into the minds of troubled

children whose violent ways might be discovered

before it is too late. By watching for certain

signals educators hope to intervene before these

students actually complete a violent act (Lord

PG).



Some have felt it is the influence of drugs or

alcohol that induces this kind of criminalistic

behavior. While substance abuse may affect a

person as far as committing offenses, it is far

unlikely that substance abuse alone could create a

serial or mass murderer. Mitchell (PG) points out

that there are "studies correlating a geographical

prevalence of alcoholism and serial murder and

might show that there is some relation between the

two (although this relationship might well be

spurious)."



Some personality traits have been shown to be

more prevalent in the makeup of serial or mass

murderers. Impulsiveness, low self-esteem and poor

social skills, as well as competitive and

aggressive behavior are quite common among these

killers as is hypersensitivity to criticism

(Mitchell PG). It has also been pointed out that

those with active or high fantasy prone

imaginations are...