The FBI created several profiles in the early 80's regarding the Unabomber. John Douglas, who is seen as the model for Jack Crawford in the Hannibal Lecter series and the recent Mindhunter series on Netflix, came up with a criminal profile that said he was 'highly educated, quiet, antisocial, meticulous.' They also predicted his targets weren’t personal and was selecting targets for their meaning. This all fit with the theory that his motive was technological progress.

The FBI disregarded parts of this profile however and went a competing profile that said he was an airplane mechanic. The FBI also believed the Unabomber was in his late 30s or 40s, but Kaczynski was 53. Even Douglas’s profile had inaccuracies, as he thought The Unabomber was living or working around San Francisco.

What is important to remember is the criminal profile didn’t catch Kaczynski. His brother turned him in after reading ‘Industrial Society and Its Future,’ Kaczynski’s manifesto and believing it shared similarities with his views. He then hired a private investigator to look into it, which led to the FBI raiding his cabin.

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Cole, R. (1995, October 29). Unabomber Will Kill Again, Says Ex-FBI Agent in Intriguing Profile : Crime: John Douglas sees the culprit as a meticulous underachiever in his late 30s or 40s, smart and relatively anti-social. Los Angeles Times.
Franks, L. (1996, July 22). DON'T SHOOT. The New Yorker.
Gladwell, M. (2007, November 12). Dangerous Minds. The New Yorker.
Howlett, D. (1996, November 11). FBI Profile: Suspect is educated and isolated. USA TODAY.
Labaton, S. (1993, October 7). Clue and $1 Million Reward In Case of the Serial Bomber. The New York Times. Newsweek Staff. (96, April 21). A Delicate Dance. Newsweek.
Taylor, M. (1996, April 6). Mixed Success for FBI Agents in Profiling Unabomber Suspect / Loner predicted -- but not a scholar. San Francisco Chronicle.

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