FBI
expert, author speaks in Pugh
By Alannah DiBona
Old Gold and Black Reporter
>
February 16, 2001
Student
Union will be hosting Special Agent John Douglas, the head of the FBI’s
pioneering Investigative Support Unit, at 8 p.m. Feb. 20 in Pugh Auditorium.
An expert on serial killers, Douglas has hunted many of the most notorious
criminals in recent history.
His interviews and studies of criminals such as Charles Manson, Sirhan
Sirhan, Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, James Earl Ray and David Berkowitz
have led to the captures of many other serial killers and assassins.
Sophomore Ashley Larson, the lectures chair of the Student Union, was
responsible for selection of the speaker.
“I thought that inviting Douglas to speak was an opportunity that
was almost impossible to resist,” she said. “Not only has
he led an incredible life, but also, by selecting him to speak on campus,
I feel like Student Union has provided students to see how what we’re
learning here at Wake can eventually be applied in the real world.”
Douglas’ aggressive style has become a new standard for the FBI’s
Investigative Support Unit.
Douglas
was head of the unit during a period of time that included some of the
FBI’s most difficult cases. He has tracked the Trailside Killer
in San Francisco, an Atlanta child murderer, a Tylenol poisoner, a man
who hunted prostitutes for sport in the woods of Alaska and Seattle’s
Green River killer.
“Douglas uses many of the psychological theories and principles
taught in our own psychology department, and, as a direct result of
this knowledge, hundreds, if not thousands, of dangerous criminals are
off our streets,” Larson said.
Douglas was the model for Scott Glenn’s character in the movie
Silence of the Lambs, and also director Jonathan Demme’s first
choice for the role.
Douglas, who has a doctorate in education, is the author of many articles
and has done numerous presentations on criminology. His psychological
principles on behavioral science and criminal profiling have proved
so effective that they have become standard procedure in parts of the
FBI.
Douglas
has written several national bestsellers about criminal science, including
Obsession, Mind Hunter and Unabomber: On the Trail of America’s
Most Wanted Serial Killer.
His lecture programs draw from these books and are supplemented by an
insider’s view on the predator and prey circumstances involved
in hunting publicized assailants.
Over the course of his 25-year career, Douglas has been an assistant
to police departments and prosecutors around the world. His most recent
books are Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives and Motives and Crime
Classification Manual.
Several hours prior to his lecture, Douglas will be signing copies of
his books in the University Bookstore.
“Just to think for a moment exactly how many lives John Douglas
has saved gives one a sense of awe,” Larson said. “I just
hope that our students will realize what an incredible opportunity it
is to be in the presence of a national hero and will take full advantage
of it.”
