By Dr. Jarrod Sadulski | 06/17/2025
Criminal personality traits are a controversial topic – but one worth discussing. In my two decades in federal and local law enforcement, I have made hundreds – possibly over 1,000 – arrests.
From that experience, I have interacted with many different personalities. While I don’t believe that any single personality trait guarantees criminal behavior, I do believe that there are certain traits that may increase the risk of engaging in it.
Impulsivity and Juvenile Criminal Behavior
One personality factor that I often observed in criminal behavior was impulsiveness. Impulsivity was especially common among juveniles and young adults.
I found that people who struggled to control their impulsive behavior without considering the consequences frequently committed criminal acts. Often, these acts involved juvenile delinquency compounded by other factors, such as a low self-esteem or low self-control.
Factors That Influence Adult Criminal Behavior
There are many other factors that influence adult criminal behavior. Some of these factors include:
- A lack of empathy or remorse
- Unnecessary violence
- Substance abuse and personality disorders
A Lack of Empathy or Remorse
Among the suspects I've encountered, a lack of empathy or remorse was often evident. I saw this lack of feeling most clearly among drug dealers entrenched in criminal life, who seemed indifferent to the devastating effects their drugs had on addicted buyers.
Unnecessary Violence
I have also apprehended suspects who harmed others during a crime even when violent acts weren’t necessary. While working gang-related investigations, I often encountered this type of situation.
It is not uncommon for gang members to use unnecessary force against a compliant victim. In one case, gang members robbed a gas station. The store clerk provided all the cash in the register without argument.
As the suspects departed the gas station, they turned around to shoot and kill the clerk. The surveillance video showed no apparent reason for this violence.
Substance Abuse and Personality Disorders
Substance abuse can impair empathy or remorse – a long-standing challenge for the criminal justice system. When illicit drugs are combined with psychopathic traits or an antisocial personality disorder, I have seen individuals become especially violent toward their victims.
Antisocial behavior does not always lead to criminal acts. However, it can lead to victimization, especially when it’s combined with anger issues, manipulative tendencies, or aggression.
Interviews with Convicted Traffickers in Prison
I have spent years working to counter human trafficking. I've studied criminal activity and the criminal mindset, both from experience in the field during my law enforcement career and in my role as a criminologist.
I've conducted interviews with human traffickers in the United States and foreign prisons to gain a deeper understanding of the psychology and personality traits of offenders.
In one California prison, I interviewed a sex trafficker incarcerated for murder. To identify risk factors, personality characteristics, and affective traits, I asked questions designed to reveal what goes through a trafficker's mind to help me understand risk factors, motivations, or empathy thresholds.
Here are some statements that provide insight into the personality dimensions and mindset of a human trafficker:
- They believe they are businessmen and women.
- They believe that they are smarter than most criminals.
- They are very likely to use sextortion as a form of coercion.
- They are both male and female.
- Traffickers blend in with everyday people as they balance two lives.
- Traffickers are initially very kind and soft-spoken, and they cater to a victim’s interests.
- They lack any compassion or care for their victims, who they exploit by lying to them.
- They have always been involved in violent crime and feel that “If I don’t take advantage of this person, someone else will.”
Why a Personality Assessment Isn’t Enough
Assessing someone's personality only provides a limited insight into criminal behavior. From a personality perspective, there are often other factors that have an influence on how someone behaves. Some of these factors include:
- Emotional stability
- Childhood trauma in that person's life
- Their experiences growing up
- The criminal events they witness
For example, I conduct interviews a couple of times a year with a convicted criminal in prison for trafficking in Central America. Each interview sheds more light into the feelings and mindset of human traffickers.
In this person’s case, this trafficker was part of a Mexican cartel. He described a criminal lifestyle, including unimaginable violence.
This trafficker also discussed how victims – including young children – were controlled and the risks they would take.
He spoke about his criminal involvement with cold indifference, even stating he had seen “too many murders to count.” He said those words without emotion or any concern for the victims. He was 25 years of age the last time I interviewed him.
Risk Taking and Neuroticism
When I ask convicted offenders what drew them into criminal activity, many speak about a difficult childhood. Others say they have a risk-taking or thrill-seeking motivation.
High neuroticism is a tendency to experience negative emotions more often and intensely than the general population, which is another tendency linked to criminality. For example, I’ve interviewed criminals responsible for theft whose motivation for the crime was because they enjoyed the thrill of taking a risk or seeking a different sensation. Other criminals steal out of necessity to feed substance use or to feed themselves.
Nature, Nurture, and the Role of Genetics
Criminal justice research has explored individual differences – such as childhood experiences and genetics – to learn more about what leads people to commit crimes.
One study found that genetic factors are likely to be associated with behavioral characteristics associated with crime, but genes alone do not create criminals. Criminals are created from the combination of traits and life circumstances.
Future research should continue to focus on the relationship between criminal personality traits and offender behavior in an effort to better protect society. Resources that highlight traits that are consistently linked and most associated with criminal behavior should be provided to probation officers, correctional officers, and law enforcement.
The criminal justice system is consistently evolving to identify offenders and better understand why crimes are committed. Law enforcement is unable to mitigate crime on its own.
The criminal justice system, as a united whole, must work together. The criminal justice system can share resources and research to continue to build an understanding of why people engage in crimes.
From Understanding to Prevention
Understanding criminal personality traits is not about placing blame on biology or upbringing. It’s about equipping professionals with the tools to intervene earlier, support rehabilitation, and prevent future harm to children or adults.
By continuing to explore the psychological, environmental, and social influences that shape criminal behavior, we can move closer to building a justice system that’s not only reactive, but also preventative and informed.
AMU’s Criminal Justice Degrees
For adult learners who want to learn more about criminal psychology and what drives people to commit crimes, American Military University (AMU) has these criminal justice degrees:
The courses in these academic programs discuss a wide range of topics that are taught by expert instructors, including criminology, evidence and procedures, and criminal profiling. Other courses include criminal law, criminalistics, digital forensics, and crime analysis. In addition, these programs enable students to choose from different concentrations to suit their educational goals.
For more information, visit AMU’s criminal justice degree program page.
Note: These degree programs are not designed to meet the educational requirements for professional licensure or certification in any country, state, province or other jurisdiction. These programs have not been approved by any state professional licensing body and does not lead to any state-issued professional licensure.
Note: These degree programs are not designed to meet the educational requirements for professional licensure or certification in any country, state, province or other jurisdiction. These programs have not been approved by any state professional licensing body and does not lead to any state-issued professional licensure.
Dr. Jarrod Sadulski is an associate professor in the School of Security and Global Studies and has over two decades in the field of criminal justice. He holds a bachelor’s degree Criminal Justice from Thomas Edison State College, a master’s degree in criminal justice from American Military University, and a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Northcentral University.
His expertise includes training on countering human trafficking, maritime security, mitigating organized crime, and narcotics trafficking trends in Latin America. Jarrod has also testified to both the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate on human trafficking and child exploitation. He has been recognized by the U.S. Senate as an expert in human trafficking.
Jarrod frequently conducts in-country research and consultant work in Central and South America on human trafficking and current trends in narcotics trafficking. Also, he has a background in business development.
