--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The more I questioned these guys, the…" description: "\"“The more I questioned these guys, the more I came to understand that the successful criminals were good profilers.”\" — John E. Douglas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/john-e-douglas-17408_criminals_the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-mor_2450848.jpg" --- # The more I questioned these guys, the more I came to… ![“The more I questioned these guys, the more I came to understand that the successful criminals were good profilers.” quote by John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/john-e-douglas-17408_criminals_the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-mor_2450848.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/john-e-douglas-17408_criminals_the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-mor_2450848.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/john-e-douglas-17408_criminals_the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-mor_2450848.jpg) > ““The more I questioned these guys, the more I came to understand that the successful criminals were good profilers.”” [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective criminals often possess strong profiling skills, making them harder to catch. **In simple terms:** Good profilers make criminals harder to catch. Key Takeaway Study profiling to anticipate criminal behavior. Themes crime investigation psychology profiling Mood analytical inquisitive Type educational professional When to use this quote - law enforcement training - interrogation techniques - criminal investigations Key Concepts behavioral analysis criminal mindset Questions to Reflect On - What traits make a criminal a good profiler? - How can law enforcement improve profiling accuracy? A Different Perspective Profiling alone cannot guarantee capture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Criminals Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals-good-569147/) [Good Profilers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-profilers-569148/) [Questioned Guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questioned-guys-569149/) [Successful Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-criminals-569146/) ## Related quotes > [For the offense with a child putin the jail of crime of getting admission in school there are a large criminal education that how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/for-the-offense-with-a-child-putin-the-jail-of-crime-of-getting/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [We are good citizens, and we cannot protect ourselves because you allow the criminals to run wild. ... I'd like you to come and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/we-are-good-citizens-and-we-cannot-protect-ourselves-because-you/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [“Maybe that’s the difference between criminals and good people—what they have to lose and how desperately they’re willing to gamble with it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-higginson/maybe-that-s-the-difference-between-criminals-and-good-people-what/) [Rachel Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-higginson/) > [Cyber criminals are good... but they cut corners. They don't spend a lot of time tweaking things and making sure that every aspect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-alperovitch/cyber-criminals-are-good-but-they-cut-corners-they-don-t-spend-a-lot/) [Dmitri Alperovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-alperovitch/) > [I always watched movies and rooted for the bad guys, you know? I've always been that kind of guy. I still hold some respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-townes-earle/i-always-watched-movies-and-rooted-for-the-bad-guys-you-know-i-ve/) [Justin Townes Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-townes-earle/) > [Humanity is not perfect in any fashion; no more in the case of evil than in that of good. The criminal has his virtues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-choderlos-de-laclos/humanity-is-not-perfect-in-any-fashion-no-more-in-the-case-of-evil/) [Pierre Choderlos de Laclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-choderlos-de-laclos/) > [Nobody can really compare a relationship in which the victim is 15 years old to one where she's 6. While both criminal, they're very different circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/nobody-can-really-compare-a-relationship-in-which-the-victim-is-15/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [There's some criminals that wear badges. Guess what? There's some criminals that work in the media. There's some criminals that are football coaches. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabo-swinney/there-s-some-criminals-that-wear-badges-guess-what-there-s-some/) [Dabo Swinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabo-swinney/) > [A criminal trial is never about seeking justice for the victim. If it were, there could be only one verdict: guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/a-criminal-trial-is-never-about-seeking-justice-for-the-victim-if-it/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [What most needs explanation is not why some people are criminals, but why most people are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-q-wilson/what-most-needs-explanation-is-not-why-some-people-are-criminals-but/) [James Q. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-q-wilson/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [There are over 500,000 registered sex offenders across the country, and statistics have shown that the recidivism rate for those criminals is high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/there-are-over-500-000-registered-sex-offenders-across-the-country/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) ## More by John E. Douglas > [“Serial murder may, in fact, be a much older phenomenon than we realize. The stories and legends that have filtered down about witches and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/serial-murder-may-in-fact-be-a-much-older-phenomenon-than-we-realize/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“Manipulation. Domination. Control. These are the three watchwords of violent serial offenders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/manipulation-domination-control-these-are-the-three-watchwords-of/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“One of the first things every trainee is taught is that an FBI agent only shoots to kill. The thinking that went into this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/one-of-the-first-things-every-trainee-is-taught-is-that-an-fbi-agent/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“Traditionally, most murders and violent crimes were relatively easy for law enforcement officials to comprehend. They resulted from critically exaggerated manifestations of feelings we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/traditionally-most-murders-and-violent-crimes-were-relatively-easy/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“It all comes down to this: Whenever theory supersedes evidence, and prejudice deposes rationalism, there can be no real justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/it-all-comes-down-to-this-whenever-theory-supersedes-evidence-and/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 classic “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” may have been history’s first behavioral profiler.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/of-edgar-allan-poe-s-1841-classic-the-murders-in-the-rue-morgue-may/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“from the Adairsville PD. What you’ve got to do is imply that you understand the subject, understand what was going through his mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/from-the-adairsville-pd-what-you-ve-got-to-do-is-imply-that-you/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“I knew the way these guys operated; I'd seen it over and over again. They had a need to manipulate and dominate their prey.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/i-knew-the-way-these-guys-operated-i-d-seen-it-over-and-over-again/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“By studying as many crimes as we could, and through talking to the experts—the perpetrators themselves—we have learned to interpret those clues in much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/by-studying-as-many-crimes-as-we-could-and-through-talking-to-the/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“So much of what a law enforcement officer does is difficult to share with anyone, even a spouse. When you spend your days looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/so-much-of-what-a-law-enforcement-officer-does-is-difficult-to-share/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“Even though their crimes were completely different, the one thing the maladjusted genius Ted Kaczynski and the sadistic but banal underachiever Dennis Rader shared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/even-though-their-crimes-were-completely-different-the-one-thing-the/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“If a bank robber tapes over the lens of a surveillance camera, that’s MO. If he feels a need to tear his clothes off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/if-a-bank-robber-tapes-over-the-lens-of-a-surveillance-camera-that-s/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“I've come out many times publicly in support of the death penalty. I've stated that I'd be more than willing personally to pull the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/i-ve-come-out-many-times-publicly-in-support-of-the-death-penalty-i/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“The problem with offering up the top guy, in addition to encouraging other desperate little people to try the same thing, is that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/the-problem-with-offering-up-the-top-guy-in-addition-to-encouraging/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“Behavior reflects personality. The best indicator of future violence is past violence. To understand the "artist," you must study his "art." The crime must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/behavior-reflects-personality-the-best-indicator-of-future-violence/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) [Explore all 37 John E. Douglas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) ## More Criminals quotes > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [There are over 500,000 registered sex offenders across the country, and statistics have shown that the recidivism rate for those criminals is high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/there-are-over-500-000-registered-sex-offenders-across-the-country/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) > [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [What most needs explanation is not why some people are criminals, but why most people are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-q-wilson/what-most-needs-explanation-is-not-why-some-people-are-criminals-but/) [James Q. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-q-wilson/) > [A criminal trial is never about seeking justice for the victim. If it were, there could be only one verdict: guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/a-criminal-trial-is-never-about-seeking-justice-for-the-victim-if-it/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [There's some criminals that wear badges. Guess what? There's some criminals that work in the media. There's some criminals that are football coaches. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabo-swinney/there-s-some-criminals-that-wear-badges-guess-what-there-s-some/) [Dabo Swinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabo-swinney/) > [Nobody can really compare a relationship in which the victim is 15 years old to one where she's 6. While both criminal, they're very different circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/nobody-can-really-compare-a-relationship-in-which-the-victim-is-15/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Humanity is not perfect in any fashion; no more in the case of evil than in that of good. The criminal has his virtues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-choderlos-de-laclos/humanity-is-not-perfect-in-any-fashion-no-more-in-the-case-of-evil/) [Pierre Choderlos de Laclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-choderlos-de-laclos/) > [“criminals were all derived from the same ethnicity – scumbag”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-h-thomson/criminals-were-all-derived-from-the-same-ethnicity-scumbag/) [L.H. Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-h-thomson/) > [New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/new-orleans-food-is-as-delicious-as-the-less-criminal-forms-of-sin/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-a-doctor-does-go-wrong-he-is-the-first-of-criminals-he-has-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-participates-in-it-sometimes/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [War should be made a crime, and those who instigate it should be punished as criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-evans-hughes/war-should-be-made-a-crime-and-those-who-instigate-it-should-be/) [Charles Evans Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-evans-hughes/) [Browse all 1,886 Criminals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The more I questioned these guys, the more I came to understand that the successful criminals were good profilers.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John E. Douglas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-more-i-came-to-understand-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Criminals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-more-i-came-to-understand-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/john-e-douglas-17408_criminals_the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-mor_2450848.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/john-e-douglas-17408_criminals_the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-mor_2450848.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/john-e-douglas-17408_criminals_the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-mor_2450848.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The more I questioned these guys, the more I came to understand that the successful criminals were good…” — John E. Douglas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John E. Douglas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The more I questioned these guys,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-more-i-came-to-understand-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/the-more-i-questioned-these-guys-the-more-i-came-to-understand-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```