Violent Criminal Apprehension Program
The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) is a national database established by the FBI that focuses on serial murders and other violent homicides. Launched in 1985, ViCAP serves as a centralized resource for law enforcement agencies across the United States to share critical information about violent crimes, missing persons, and unidentified remains. The program was conceived in the 1950s by Los Angeles detective Pierce Brooks, but advancements in technology were necessary for its realization. With around 16,000 law enforcement jurisdictions, ViCAP facilitates the comparison of cases, which is particularly important when investigating mobile serial killers who may operate across different areas.
ViCAP maintains detailed records that include case statuses, offender and victim demographics, crime motivations, relationships, and weapon types. It allows for the submission of various homicide cases, including open or closed cases, as well as those involving missing persons where violence is suspected. The program aims to enhance communication among agencies to uncover investigative leads and identify patterns that may link murders to common perpetrators. In response to usability challenges, ViCAP underwent significant redesigning in 1996, introducing more user-friendly features and the ability to store images, with future upgrades planned to include geographic mapping capabilities. Overall, ViCAP plays a crucial role in the cooperation and coordination necessary for addressing violent crime in the criminal justice system.
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Violent Criminal Apprehension Program
IDENTIFICATION: National database of information on serial murders and other violent homicides
SIGNIFICANCE: The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, or ViCAP, allows wide access to patterns of murderous violence and characteristics of missing persons so that personnel working in various law-enforcement jurisdictions can share information.
ViCAP is a national online database that was launched in 1985. It serves as a clearinghouse of information for use by law-enforcement officers at the municipal, state, and local levels when investigating serial murders, missing persons, and unidentified remains. Los Angeles detective Pierce Brooks originally envisioned the ViCAP system in the 1950s, but the technology needed to put the idea into practice would not be available for three decades.
With approximately sixteen thousand separate law-enforcement agencies nationwide, officers and investigators from different locales needed a way to compare and share information with agencies in other jurisdictions. This is particularly true in investigating roaming serial murderers and sexual killers who strike over wide geographic regions. ViCAP was developed so that officers could have access to information on crimes that occurred in other jurisdictions, allowing them to discern patterns of violence that could be useful for their own investigations.
Some serial killers are highly mobile and move from one jurisdiction to another to commit murders and evade detection. ViCAP provides the opportunity for officers from different locales to identify suspects or otherwise advance their own investigations. Among the information maintained by ViCAP is the case status (open or closed), age and ethnicity of the offender and the victims, what caused the crime, any known relationships between the offender and victims, and weapon types.
Criteria for submission of cases to ViCAP vary by the crime. Homicide cases can be solved or unsolved and should appear to be random, motiveless, sexual, or serial. Missing persons cases must involve strong suspicion of a violent end. Unidentified bodies of those who appear to be homicide victims are also ViCAP reportable. The primary goal of ViCAP is to allow law-enforcement agencies to exchange information that could uncover investigative leads in victimology; modi operandi; suspect characteristics; behaviors before, during, and after the crime; and other details that could contribute to the emergence of a pattern and the identification of a common perpetrator.
The original version of ViCAP was cumbersome and underused, particularly by urban agencies. ViCAP was redesigned in 1996 to be more streamlined and user-friendly and be able to store and display images, so that crime scene photographs can be accessed and viewed. Other upgrades planned for the future included the introduction of data from geographic information system (GIS) so that locations of events could be mapped and displayed. The program’s mission to foster cooperation and communication among agencies in order to identify, apprehend, and prosecute violent offenders will remain an integral part of the criminal justice system.
Bibliography
Osterbug, James W., and Richard H. Ward. Criminal Investigation. 3d ed. Cincinnati: Anderson, 2000.
Ressler, Robert K., Ann W. Burgess, and John E. Douglas. Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1988.
"ViCAP " Violent Criminal Apprehension Program." Texas State Department of Public Safety, 21 Nov. 2022. www.dps.texas.gov/section/crime-records/vicap-violent-criminal-apprehension-program. Accessed 11 July 2024.
Witzig, Eric W. “The New ViCAP: More User-Friendly and Used by More Agencies.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (June, 2003).