Can profiling prevent school violence?
For two decades, agents in the behavioral science unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., have relied on psychological profiling to develop behavioral “fingerprints” of the Ted Bundys and the Jack the Rippers of the world. Now, as a measure to improve school safety, one of Pittsburgh’s largest suburban school districts is thinking of following suit. North Allegheny Assistant Superintendent Richard Domencic has proposed the district look into what some consider a radical tactic in the battle to stem school violence: student profiling to identify students who are believed to be prone to violence. “You will never know if you overreact,” Domencic told the board when he presented his proposal last month, “but you will always know if you underreact.” Domencic said he was intrigued by reports that FBI and Secret Service agents have been instructing school officials across the United States on behavioral science and psychological profiling. While he conceded he wasn’t sure exactly how profil
