C. Gabrielle Salfati is a Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Investigative Psychology Research Unit at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is part of the first group of people who emerged within the new field of Investigative Psychology, and was instrumental in its development as an international research field on the empirical analysis of violent criminal behavior. Her main areas of expertise relates to how psychology is applied to police investigations, in particular with reference to behavioral crime scene analysis, offender profiling, and linking serial crime. All of her work has focused on developing evidence-based practice tools for law enforcement and the crime analysis field, specifically as it pertains to behavioral analysis, has been done in collaboration with law enforcement agencies internationally. Her work in the field of Positive Psychology focuses on the development and evaluation of the impact of positive psychology based resilience training programs to support wellness and prevent burnout for law enforcement, first responders, and mental health professionals. She has completed two separate Visiting Professorships, in 2010 to Bramshill Police College in the UK, and in 2016 to the UK College of Policing, where she was involved in leadership training and research on decision making and behavioral analysis. She is the recipient of several research awards, including Outstanding Contribution to the Field awarded by the International Association of Investigative Psychology, as well as numerous teaching and mentoring awards.

Research Topics:

Offender Profiling and Behavioral Crime Scene Analysis; Homicide and Sexual Assaults, Behavioral Consistency and Linking Serial Crimes

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Current Projects/Research Interests

Investigative Psychology:

Psychology in the policing context – The psychology of behavioral crime scene analysis, offender profiling, and linking of serial crimes.

Positive Psychology:

Psychology in the policing context – The psychology of resilience and burnout, specifically as applied to law enforcement, the military, and first responders.

Evidence Based Training:

Translation of scientific evidence to be applicable in practice through the development of practitioner-focused training, and developing best practice for training impact.

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Recent Publications

Salfati, C. G. (2021) Investigative Psychology. Chapter 1.3. In Brown, J., & Horvath, M. (Eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology (2nd ed., Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Salfati, C. G. & Sorochinski, M. (2021) Evidence-Based Offender Profiling Of Serial Sex Worker Victim Homicides. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology Special issue on Police Investigations and Investigative Practices.

Salfati, C. G. & Sorochinski, M. (2019) MATCH: A New Approach for Differentiating & Linking Series of Sex Worker Homicides and Sexual Assaults. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. Special Issue on Sexual Homicide. 63, 9, 1794-1824.

Salfati, C. G. (2019) Consistency Of Offender Behaviors And Victim Targeting In Serial Sexual Violence: An Overview Of The Field. Chapter 47 in Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention. Springer.