John Douglas

John E. Douglas is a retired special agent and unit chief in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), having joined the bureau in 1970. During his tenure, Douglas served in multiple roles including serving as a sniper on the local FBI SWAT team and subsequently becoming a hostage negotiator. His impact was further felt when he created and managed the FBI's Criminal Profiling Program, now known as the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). His experience extended to interviewing some of the most notorious violent criminals such as David Berkowitz, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Charles Manson. This vast experience led to his retirement in 1995, after 25 years of service.

Post-retirement, Douglas has remained active, making occasional public appearances and serving as a public speaker. He has also ventured into teaching, currently collaborating with Masterclass to instruct a class on the FBI profiling method. His expertise continues to be utilized as he acts as a consultant and expert witness in criminal investigations and trials. His influence extends into popular culture, with the characters of FBI profilers Jason Gideon and David Rossi from the TV show 'Criminal Minds' being based on him.

In addition to his other achievements, Douglas is a prolific author, having written and co-written books on criminal psychology and true crime. Some of his non-fiction works include "Mindhunter", "Journey into Darkness", "The Anatomy of Motive", and "The Cases That Haunt Us". He has also co-authored books with Mark Olshaker, such as "The Killer Across the Table", "The Killer's Shadow", and "When a Killer Calls". His reach in the literary world extends further to writing books on careers in law enforcement and the FBI, as seen in 'John Douglas' Guide to Careers in the FBI' and 'John Douglas' Guide to Landing a Career in Law Enforcement'.