David Icove

David J. Icove (born May 14, 1949) is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Profiler and FBI Academy Instructor in the elite Behavioral Analysis Unit. He was one of the FBI's first criminal profilers to specialize in the apprehension of serial arsonists and bombers.^[1] He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers and co-author, along with Gerald A. Haynes, of Kirk's Fire Investigation, the leading textbook in the field of fire investigation.^[2]

David J. Icove
Icove c. 1986
Born	(1949-05-14) May 14, 1949 (age 75) Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Education	Shaker Heights High School, 1967; BS-Electrical Engineering, University of Tennessee; BS-Fire Protection Engineering, University of Maryland; MS-Electrical Engineering, University of Tennessee; Ph.D.-Engineering Science and Mechanics, University of Tennessee
Alma mater	UT Knoxville and University of Maryland
Occupation	Professor of Practice
Employer(s)	University of Tennessee, Min H. Kao Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Known for	Expert in forensic engineering investigation and reconstruction of fires and explosions
Board member of	Murder_Accountability_Project
Call sign	WA8NQE, FCC Amateur Radio. Extra Class

Early life and education

David Icove was born May 14, 1949, in Akron, Ohio, and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He graduated in 1967 from Shaker Heights High School and attended college at the University of Tennessee and the University of Maryland.

Career

A leading authority in forensic engineering examinations of fires and explosions, he is co-author of Kirk's Fire Investigation, Combating Arson-for-Profit, and Forensic Fire Scene Reconstruction, three of the leading expert treatises in the field.

Kirk's Fire Investigation has long been regarded as the primary textbook in the field of fire investigation.^[3] It is currently in its 8th edition (published in 2017, ISBN 978-0-13-423792-3). Paul Leland Kirk (1902–1970), the author of the original text Fire Investigation, was the basis for Kirk's Fire Investigation.^[4]

Hired in 1984 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, he developed the first modern-day motive classification system for arson for the FBI.^[5] He also developed at the FBI an Artificial Intelligence research project known as PROFILER PDF, a rule-based expert system programmed to detect and link serial violent crimes using data parsed from real-time news stories, the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, and other FBI databases.

Representing the FBI, he testified three times before key U.S. Congressional Committees seeking guidance on key legislative initiatives.^[6][7][8]

In 1993, he transferred to the U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority Police to eventually become the Assistant Chief of Police for Criminal Investigations. After the September 11 attacks, he represented TVA full-time as a Task Force Agent on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, until his retirement in 2005.

In May 2015, he joined a board of directors to form the Murder Accountability Project (MAP), a nonprofit organization that detects and disseminates information about homicides, especially unsolved killings and serial murders committed in the United States. MAP's board consists of a group of retired detectives, investigative journalists, homicide scholars, and a forensic psychiatrist, who strive to use Artificial Intelligence to identify and link clusters of homicides based upon a combination of victim/offender relationships, manner of death, and geographic location.^[9]

As of 2019, David Icove is the UL (safety organization) Professor of Practice at The University of Tennessee in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, where he directs their Fire Protection Engineering Graduate Program.^[10]

Professional associations

• Registered Professional Engineer
• Board Certified Diplomate and Fellow, National Academy of Forensic Engineers
• Fellow, Society of Fire Protection Engineers
• Senior and Life Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Member, National Society of Professional Engineers
• Member, National Fire Protection Association
• Member and Certified Fire Investigator, International Association of Arson Investigators

Awards

• Shaker Heights High School Alumni Hall of Fame, Class of 1967
• Charles Edward Ferris Award – University of Tennessee
• National Arson Prevention Award – Insurance Committee for Arson Control

Personal

Dr. Icove currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee.

See also

• Crime Classification Manual
• FBI Method of Profiling
• fire investigation
• Kirk's Fire Investigation
• Offender profiling

References

1. "Motive-Based Offender Profiles of Arson and Fire Related Crimes | Office of Justice Programs". www.ojp.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
2. See Lapointe v. Commissioner of Correction, 112 A. 3d1, 33 (Conn. 2015) (acknowledging that Kirk’s Fire Investigation is a “treatise is utilized not only by students but also by investigators in the field.”); Yell v. Commonwealth, 242 S.W.3d 331, 345 (Ky.2007) (citing Kirk’s as part of the substantial scientific agreement on technical questions of fire investigation); and CIC Partners v. Sunbeam Products, Inc., No. 09-3274, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5047 at *26 (D. Minn. January 17, 2012) (recognizing Kirk’s to be an authoritative source for fire investigation methodology)
3. Decker, John F.; Ottley, Bruce L. (2009). Arson Law and Prosecution. Durham, N.C: Carolina Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-59460-590-1. OCLC 268784006.
4. Kirk, Paul Leland (1969). Fire investigation; including fire-related phenomena: arson, explosion, asphyxiation. New York: Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-48860-6.
5. "Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes | Office of Justice Programs". www.ojp.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
6. Science, United States Congress House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on (1993). Arson Prevention Act of 1993: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Science of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session, April 20, 1993. U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-16-041253-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
7. Subcommittee, United States Congress House Committee on Government Operations Government Information, Justice, and Agriculture (1986). The Federal Role in Investigation of Serial Violent Crime: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, Second Session, April 9 and May 21, 1986. U.S. Government Printing Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. Consumer, United States Congress Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on the (1995). Arson Prevention: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Consumer of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session, November 18, 1993. U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-16-046767-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. Wilkinson, Alec (2017-11-20). "The Serial-Killer Detector". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
10. "David Icove | Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science". 9 January 2020.

External links

• Personal Home Page
• UTK Home page