CUTV News Radio Spotlights Investigative Psychologist Marilou Erb

Hanover, PA – Forensic psychology is the intersection of psychology and the law. Investigative psychology puts the psychologist on the crime scene on the front end of an investigation, looking at a suspect from a psychological perspective

As a former prosecutor, Marilou Erb understands the requirements of a good investigation. She was a lawyer for 28 years before she decided to get her master's degree and now her doctorate in forensics. Today, Marilou Erb is an expert in investigative forensic psychology.

Forensic psychology helps police departments understand a likely criminal, behavioral, victim and geographic profile so they know what they're looking for and who they are looking for.

“Geographic profiling helps police narrow the vicinity of where they're looking to help them apprehend a suspect,” says Erb. “If I was to geographic profile a person, I would look at how they move in their environment, where they work, where they shop, where they get gas, where they go to the grocery store. If you're geographically profiling a serial offender, you would look at where they get their victims, where they dump a body. I plot a general vicinity of where they're doing their criminal activity and from there we can pinpoint, at least in a neighborhood, where they live or work.

“No profiler says to a police officer, ‘Here's the name, here's the address. Go get him.’ We're giving them a potential suspect or a potential residence or a potential worksite for these people.”

“Profiling isn’t always for serial killer,” explains Erb. “It can be an armed robbery or a burglary or a simple property crime. Some people are more vulnerable than others.”