Profiling, Probable Cause, and Plot Armor
Criminal Minds is an interesting example of a criminal justice-related show that incorrectly depicts police procedures. The unrealistic details range from the pacing, which allows for the entirety of a case to fit into a single episode, to the actual work done by the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), which in reality focuses more on investigative support than personally conducting every aspect of an investigation. For simplicity, we will be focusing on one episode of the show, Episode 6 from Season 2, titled "The Boogeyman," which follows the BAU as they travel to a small community in Texas named Ozona to investigate a series of child murders.
This episode can be broken down into three sections: the investigation, the suspects, and the capture. When the team arrives in Ozona, the first thing they do is split up to examine different crime scenes and gather more information. They then work with local police to dig further into the case. At this point, they create a profile of the killer and make sure the community knows how to stay safe. This part, which we're calling the investigation, includes multiple realistic aspects of police work, including collaboration with local law enforcement, crime scene investigation, behavioral profiling, and community safety. For example, Gideon uses the lack of evidence of a struggle at one of the crime scenes to suggest that the victim may have known the killer. This reflects how investigators use physical evidence to develop theories about a crime. However, while behavioral profiling is a real investigative technique, the show exaggerates how precisely it can identify an offender.
From their investigation, the team comes to suspect an old man named Joseph Finnegan. When another child goes missing, they storm Finnegan's house and find the child hiding, but no sign of Finnegan. Soon after, Finnegan is found dead, covered in leaves in a secluded area of the woods. For this part of the episode, the team uses contextual clues to narrow in on a suspect. When they storm the suspect's house, it is not clear whether they have a warrant. However, their entry could be justified under the Fourth Amendment's emergency-aid exception, since they had reason to believe a missing child might be inside.
Moving on, in Finnegan's home, fingerprint evidence on food trays points toward another man named James Charles, who works as a guidance counselor at the local school. Charles is arrested, and investigators also discover that he possesses a hat belonging to one of the victims. Although he denies involvement during his interrogation, the team believes they have found the killer. This scene shows the use of physical evidence to identify suspects and the process of custodial interrogation. However, the fingerprints alone do not establish Charles's guilt, especially since he explains that he delivers meals to elderly residents. This distinction is important because the evidence necessary to establish probable cause for an arrest is different from the evidence required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Additionally, Morgan's aggressive questioning of Charles raises questions about the limits of police interrogation. Although raising one's voice is not automatically unlawful, investigators must ensure that a suspect's statements are voluntary and that Miranda warnings are provided before custodial interrogation.
Finally, further investigation, specifically the discovery that whoever was staying in Finnegan's home had avoided the dairy products, leads the team to a third suspect: James Charles's son, Jeffrey Charles, who has a dairy allergy. This scene shows the importance of reassessing evidence, considering alternative suspects, and revising investigative conclusions rather than simply focusing on proving an initial theory.
The actual capture of Jeffrey Charles comes in the final moments of the episode. A little girl named Tracy Belle has gone missing and was last seen getting off the bus. The BAU thinks through the information they have so far and comes to the conclusion that Jeffrey must have lured Tracy into the woods. They split up and find Tracy just in time to prevent Jeffrey from seriously harming her. This scene shows another realistic aspect of police work, as officers must be prepared to intervene when someone is in immediate danger. Furthermore, Jeffrey's capture introduces the issue of juvenile criminal procedure, as his age would affect how he is processed after being taken into custody.
Ultimately, while Criminal Minds dramatically simplifies the work of the BAU and the speed of criminal investigations, "The Boogeyman" still realistically portrays several aspects of police procedure. From the initial investigation to the identification of suspects and the eventual capture of Jeffrey Charles, the episode illustrates the importance of collecting physical evidence, reconsidering investigative assumptions, and responding to immediate threats to public safety.
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