Former FBI profiler says she knew it was time to quit after she hid every kitchen knife in her house

Former FBI profiler says she knew it was time to quit after she hid every kitchen knife in her house The turning point for former FBI agent Jana Monroe came when her husband couldn't find a single kitchen knife in their home.Monroe had spent years studying serial killers, violent crime scenes, and the psychology behind some of the country's most disturbing crimes. By then, she realized she had started bringing those cases home with her."I'd been working several cases where a knife was involved," said Monroe, who spent over 20 years as an FBI agent across several units. "They were all stabbing victims, and all of them, the offender had come in and used their own knives — the victim's knives."She gathered every knife in the house and hid them in the clothes dryer in the basement of the family's three-story townhouse.Psychologists and law-enforcement agencies sometimes describe this kind of reaction as occupational hypervigilance: the state of constantly scanning for danger that can be useful at work but difficult to turn off at home."I thought, 'Aha. Somebody breaks in here, they're not going to use our knives. They're going to have to bring their own knife,'" Monroe told Business Insider for an episode of its video series "How Crime Works." Jana Monroe, at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., in 2004. Dennis Brack/Bloomberg via Getty Images Her husband came home while Monroe was away interviewing female prisoners. Looking to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he called to ask where all the utensils had gone. "I told him and he said, 'I think we need to talk when you come home,'" Monroe recalled.The moment crystallized something Monroe had already begun to notice."I'd kind of gone to the dark side," she said.Looking at humanity through crime scenesMonroe joined the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in 1985 after becoming the first woman assigned to the elite profiling group.Fun fact, she advised and coached Jodie Foster's character in "The Silence of the Lambs," Clarice Starling. Monroe advised Jodie Foster (right) on her Academy Award-winning role as Clarice Starling in "The Silence of the Lambs." John Barr/Liaison During Monroe's tenure, she worked approximately 850 cases involving homicide investigations, interview strategies, and behavioral analysis.Eventually, she said, it began changing how she viewed other people.The same instincts that helped Monroe spot behavioral patterns in violent offenders also made it harder to see ordinary people as safe. She found herself expecting the worst from strangers, replaying violent scenarios, and making decisions at home based on crimes she'd investigated."I began to look at all human nature as bad," Monroe said.Many of her friends and colleagues also worked in law enforcement, meaning conversations often centered on violent crimes, terrorism investigations, or other disturbing cases."It became just something to me that was like a cloud or an anvil hanging over," she said.Learning to see the good again Courtesy of Jana Monroe Monroe's reaction of hiding all the knives in her home was extreme, but the occupational risk behind it is well-documented.Studies have estimated that roughly 4% to 19% of police personnel experience PTSD, though the rate varies depending on how researchers measure it.The Justice Department has also warned that routinely operating in a state of hypervigilance can affect the nervous system, while repeated exposure to trauma can contribute to burnout, sleep problems, depression, and difficulties in personal relationships.After the knives incident, Monroe ultimately decided to leave profiling and return to more traditional FBI assignments. She eventually became the bureau's first assistant director of the cyber division.Looking back, she said she doesn't regret her years as a profiler. "I wouldn't trade it for anything," Monroe said.However, stepping away from profiling also helped restore something she felt she had lost."I started looking for and finding the good qualities in people," she said. "It made me more tolerant because I know what we're capable of as human beings, because I saw it, but I also know that there's the good part too." Read next Jessica Orwig is a senior editor at Business Insider, where she collaborates with reporters, editors, and producers across teams to shape, write, edit, and publish stories that connect with a global audience. While her roots are in science and technology journalism, her work today spans business, careers, culture, and the big ideas shaping the future.She earned her Master’s in Science & Technology Journalism from Texas A&M University and holds a Bachelor’s in Astronomy & Physics from The Ohio State University. Throughout her career, she’s helped lead coverage on everything from space exploration and climate change to innovation, the future of work, and evolving cultural trends.Career HighlightsLed coverage on scientific milestones, including:Blue Origin's inaugural New Glenn launchIntuitive Machine's groundbreaking moon landing for the USSpaceX’s Polaris Dawn historic spaceflight NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Historic FlybyJapan’s SLIM lunar landingThe first image of a black holeIndia’s historic Moon landingSpaceX’s inaugural Starship-Super Heavy launchDiscovery of gravitational wavesNASA’s Pluto flybyReported on breaking news and scientific discoveries, including:Microplastics in the human brainPeregrine Mission One’s failed flightThe Palisades firesSpaceX Starship explosionsDark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument’s 3D map of the universe and what it revealsA local cosmic void that shouldn’t existThe Boeing Starliner missionMexico City’s water crisisEarth’s mysterious inner core behaviorPopular stories she’s edited on science and health:What it will take to modernize the American grid and usher in the clean-energy revolutionI study toxic microplastics. Here's how I protect myself and my kids at home.A mega-earthquake could strike the Pacific Northwest any day — and we're not preparedFlying is about to become even more miserableWhy the US can’t send humans to MarsThe world's most popular banana faces extinction but scientists' new creation could help save itScientists finally think they know where the most dangerous part of this US earthquake zone is and it's bad news for WashingtonOne of Mt. Everest's deadliest passages is growing even more treacherousJupiter's moon Europa generates enough oxygen to keep a million people alive for a day, NASA saysPopular stories she’s written and/or edited on careers, culture, life, and business:He weighed over 400 pounds as an FBI undercover agent — and it became his best disguiseA former FBI Special Agent who infiltrated the Italian Mafia, Mexican cartels, and Russian and Asian organized crime groups says he fears 1 group above the restHe was diagnosed with colon cancer at 31 in prison, and his survival odds weren't great. Now 59, he says spiraling is pointless.I stopped bartending full-time to sell ice. My company now makes nearly $3 million a year, catering to Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City.My dad ran a food cart and called it the 'worst business.' I decided to follow in his footsteps anyway.I moved from the US to Rome for a slower pace of life, but after 7 years I've realized I'll never fully adjust to some Italian waysAfter losing too many bidding wars for a home in LA, I bought a 5-bedroom house in the suburbs. I quickly realized it was a mistake.We bought our dream home in Colorado, but wildfires and home insurance trends had us selling 1.5 years laterA woman who retired early at 58 thought she was ready with over $500,000 in savings. A few years later, it was gone.I've made over $40,000 selling plush dolls I scoop from claw machines. Here's how I learned to beat the game and turn my hobby into a profitable side hustle.A 17-year-old designed a cheaper, more efficient drone. The Department of Defense just awarded him $23,000 for it.Yukon gold miners are unearthing mummified ancient creatures and truckloads of fossils from the Ice Age. Take a look.Archaeologists are finding mysterious ancient objects on Norway's melting glaciers. Take a look.I'm an American mom in Italy. When I couldn't help my daughter with her homework, I realized how isolated I felt. Carter Thallon is a NYC-based senior managing producer for Business Insider's video team. He has previously worked at Vox, CBS, and A&E Networks. FBI Careers Health More Lifestyle Home