The "Dirty Dozen" in Criminal Minds refers to a group of twelve serial killers who were particularly notorious and difficult to catch. They are:
- The Boston Strangler: Albert DeSalvo, who terrorized Boston in the early 1960s with a series of brutal murders.
- The Zodiac Killer: An unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He sent cryptic messages to newspapers and taunted police.
- The Son of Sam: David Berkowitz, who terrorized New York City in the 1970s, leaving behind chilling messages and claiming to be acting on the orders of a demon.
- Ted Bundy: A charismatic and manipulative serial killer who murdered dozens of young women in the 1970s.
- John Wayne Gacy: A serial killer who tortured and murdered 33 young men in Chicago in the 1970s.
- Jeffrey Dahmer: A serial killer who murdered and cannibalized 17 men in Milwaukee in the 1980s and 1990s.
- The BTK Killer: Dennis Rader, who terrorized Wichita, Kansas, in the 1970s and 1980s with a series of murders. He was known for his taunting letters to the media.
- The Green River Killer: Gary Ridgway, who murdered 49 women in the Seattle area in the 1980s and 1990s.
- The Night Stalker: Richard Ramirez, who terrorized Los Angeles in the 1980s with a series of brutal murders and rapes.
- The Unabomber: Theodore Kaczynski, who mailed bombs to universities and airlines in the 1970s and 1980s.
- The D.C. Sniper: John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, who terrorized Washington, D.C., in 2002 with a series of random shootings.
- The Golden State Killer: Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., who committed a series of rapes and murders in California in the 1970s and 1980s.
These serial killers are featured in the show as examples of the types of criminals that the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) profiles. They are often used as case studies to illustrate the different types of criminal behavior and to help the team understand the motivations behind the crimes.
