John Douglas is an American author and retired FBI special agent. He began his career in the FBI as a special agent in the Detroit and Milwaukee field offices in the early 1970s. In 1977, he joined the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico. In 1985, he created the Criminal Profiling Program for the National Center as part of the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC). Since his retirement in 1995, he has remained active as an author, speaker, and independent investigator.