Why Rossi's Line About The BAU In Criminal Minds Means More Than You Think

At one point early in Criminal Minds, Rossi makes a throwaway comment about the BAU's current digs, and says that their old offices were in a bunker. That may not seem like an important detail — the character clearly had a long history with the agency, so it came off as just a random point of reference. However, those who know their FBI history may have found his observation to be noteworthy.

The real-life Behavioral Analysis Unit has a bit of a complicated history, but it's one that connects directly to Rossi's line about the bunkers. It was established in 1997 as a branch of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, but its origins also lie in the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU), which was created in 1972 to help the FBI track down violent criminals (via FBI.gov). Today, The Behavioral Science Unit is known as the Behavioral Analysis Unit 5 (BAU-5). When it was started, the small team of agents assigned worked out of a bunker beneath the FBI's Quantico offices.

Fans of David Fincher's Netflix series Mindhunter might find this backstory familiar — that series tells the story of the BSU's origins, and it shows the team working in below-ground offices. So, when Rossi mentions the BAU's previous offices being in a bunker, it was almost certainly a reference to the real BAU's origin story. If nothing else, it's a clever way to tether the fictional world of Criminal Minds to reality, and pay subtle homage to the real agency responsible for inspiring the series.