Author and former FBI criminal profiler John Douglas, whose exploits are the basis for a new Netflix original series, will speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 12 at the El Dorado Conference Center as part of the South Arkansas Community College Lecture Series. The event is free and open to the public.
At the FBI in the 1970s, Douglas developed new investigative techniques for capturing serial killers and other high-profile violent criminals, becoming known as the world’s top authority on criminal profiling. His methods blended psychology, pattern recognition and inductive and deductive reasoning to predict the age, background, personality and other identifying characteristics of unknown offenders.
He drew on these techniques while leading the FBI’s Investigative Support Unit. He went on to join the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit and rose to the rank of unit chief. Douglas was involved in investigations such as the Son of Sam case, the Atlanta Child Murders and the Green River Killer case.
He said that at one point he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of working on such cases. An Air Force veteran with a doctorate in education, he began as an FBI special agent in the upper Midwest. At age 32, he was the youngest instructor at the FBI Academy.
He retired in 1995, but continued as an independent investigator, writer and lecturer. He penned several different books and textbooks, including “Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit,” “The Anatomy of Motive” and “The Cases That Haunt Us,” all with co-author Mark Olshaker.
Douglas also frequently has been a model for fictional characters in movies such as “Silence of the Lambs” and “Red Dragon,” and the TV series “Criminal Minds.” The new Netflix original “Mindhunter,” on which Douglas has a writing credit, will launch in October.